Make Your Own Prescription Swimming Goggles

Wearing your glasses in the water is a sure way to end up having to buy a new pair, and contacts tend to pop out when swimming. I don't wear glasses, but lots of my friends do, and I have seen many a pair of expensive glasses lost into the deep blue yonder, or the murky abyss.

Cindy came up with this simple and great idea to make her own prescription goggles for only $12 (the cost of the goggles), saving $$ compared to buying a pair from the optometrist or dive shop. If you have an old pair of prescription glasses, you can probably make a pair of these for cheap, and in only a few minutes.

Not only do these work well for swimming, but they are especially useful if you're doing a water sport, like surfing, kayaking, bodyboarding, kitesurfing, etc, where if you're like me you will end up doing a face plant.

Ok ok, so you're not going to look like a rockstar wearing these, but if they are carefully made, no one else will notice that the lenses are glued on. Only with thicker lenses do you notice because of the distortion, which is visible with regular glasses anyways. Although, who wears swimming goggles to look cool? They're all about functionality, and what's more functional than not only keeping water out of your eyes, but also being able to see clearly.

See more cool projects at:
www.Engineerable.com

Daniel Bauen

Step 1: Materials

The materials you will need to make the prescription swimming goggles are:

1. Pair of old prescription glasses that you don't use anymore. The prescription just has to be good enough to see, not read.

2. Pair of Swimming Goggles. The Boomerang Goggle from Speedo worked the best of any goggle I found. $12 at Target, probably available elsewhere too.

3. ~~5 minute Epoxy~~ As many people have suggested, use SILICONE adhesive instead, It remains more flexible, seals better, and makes a stronger bond.

4. Fine grit sandpaper

I said it was simple, right?

Step 2: Remove Lenses From Your Old Glasses

Use an eyeglass screwdriver (usually a small flathead screwdriver) to remove the screw that clamps the frame around your lenses. If the lenses are held in the frame without screws, they may just be popped out by hand.

Step 3: Test Fit the Lenses Onto the Goggle Frames

The size and shape of the lenses may determine what pair of swimming goggles will fit the best.

First, put the goggles on, and hold the lenses up to the goggles to check if you can see well with them. Ideally the lenses should be close to the same distance away from your eye as the eyeglass frames originally held them, and this quick test will determine if you will be able to see well with them once they are glued on.

The lenses should at least overlap the frame of the goggles on the left and right sides. This is the minimum amount of glue area that you will need, as shown in the pictures of the clear goggles below. In this case, the top and the bottom edge will be open, allowing water to flow freely between the glasses lens and the goggle lens. This is probably the easiest and most reliable solution.

If the lenses overlap the frame all the way around, as shown in the pictures of the pink goggles, then the glue can be applied all the way around. This will created a sealed space between the glasses lens and the goggle lens. There needs to be as little moisture trapped in the space as possible to prevent fogging, so this should be done in a dry place, or you can apply some anti-fog to the lenses on the inside of the space. Also, the glue needs to be properly applied to prevent leaks.

If you are going to buy a pair of goggles, you may want to remove the lenses from your old glases first, take them with you to the store, and see if they would fit well over the goggles.

Step 4: Note: Curved Vs Flat Lenses

You may have to glue the lenses on differently depending on whether they are very curved, or flat.

If the lenses are very curved, as shown by the clear goggles in the pictures below, then you should only apply glue at the edges where the lenses touch the goggle frames. This is the preferred method, because you don't have to worry about leaks.

If the lenses are flat, and they fully overlap the goggle frames, as shown by the pink goggles in the picture below, then you can apply glue all the way around. This is risky, because you may end up with leaks. I therefore highly recommend putting a temporary spacer between the lenses and the goggles to allow for a 1 to 2mm gap, and only applying glue to the edges, leaving a space at the top and bottom to allow water to flow through.

Step 5: Sanding the Surfaces in Preperation for Gluing

The edges of the prescription glass lenses that overlap the goggle frames need to be sanded for better glue adhesion, if you are using plastic lenses.

Using the fine grit sandpaper, lightly sand around the edge of the lenses (on the inside surface) where they will be glued to the goggles.

You should also lightly sand/roughen the goggle frames to which the sanded edges of the lenses will touch. This will help the glue adhere to the goggles.

Step 6: Glue the Lenses to the Goggles (Very Curved Lenses)

Follow these instructions if your lenses are very curved.

1. Mix the epoxy very well.

2. If the epoxy is very runny at first, you may want to wait till it thickens a little. Just don't wait too long, because when it begins to harden, it will harden quickly!

3. Apply the glue on the edges of the frame where the lenses will overlap the goggles. The top and bottom is left open for water to flow through. Put just enough so that there will be a good bond between the frame and the lens

4. Position the lenses onto the frames, and hold in place until the glue hardens. It should only take a few minutes.

Step 7: Glue the Lenses to the Goggles (Flat Lenses)

Follow these instructions if your lenses are almost flat, or overlap all the way around the frames.

1. Mix the epoxy very well.

2. If the epoxy is very runny at first, you may want to wait till it thickens a little. Just don't wait too long, because when it begins to harden, it will harden quickly!

3. Apply the glue all the way around the edges of the frame where the lenses overlap. Put just enough so that there will be a good bond between the frame and the lens. I made the mistake of putting a little bit too much the first time and making a mess.

4. Position the lenses onto the frames, and fill in any gaps with epoxy. Make sure that there is a watertight seal between the lenses and the goggles.

5. Hold the lenses in place until the glue hardens. It should only take a few minutes.