Custom moisture chamber glasses - Mark at "Special Eyes" in Winnipeg

[avee]

But do they get foggy? I used the foam from onion goggles (which unfortunately don't fit me) and made my own sunglasses airproof. The problem is that sometimes they get foggy because they are so tight now. In a car for example.

[Guest]

As they are right now, they haven't fogged up at all. Once I get them a bit more closed up, no doubt they will be more prone to fogging once in a while... I don't think there's any way around that if I want really good protection from moving air.

My Wiley's seal quite well to my face... barely any gaps... and they rarely fog up on me. If it is hot and humid out, and there is no wind, then they for sure will fog... but it's a small price to pay for having almost perfect protection the rest of the time.

For me, I want my custom moisture chambers primarily for work - I'm always running around, and the stores tend to have moving air - plus, due to a/c in summer, heating in winter, and NO humidifier, the air tends to be very dry. So, in this particular environment, I can wear fairly sealed-up glasses with no fogging.

Those same glasses that work so well in this kind of environment would probably fog up in my well-humidified house... but that's ok, since I'll won't be wearing these at home.

Regarding fogging up in the car... I get this with my Wiley's in summer if I don't have the a/c on... usually, if I turn on the a/c, it gets rid of the fogging.... the little bit of moving air helps.

[Guest]

Well, have my newly sealed up glasses done!

Someone had asked how they are made... me being paranoid that I won't be able to find someone to make me a new pair when these wear out, I asked Marc if I could watch while he made them so I could learn how it's done!

The side shields are made out of the exact same stuff that people use to protect their tablecloths... you know that clear plastic? So you can pick some up at any fabric store.

Something I noticed though... the first pair he made for me, I believe the plastic was from Fanny's Fabrics (1)... the second pair, he picked up the plastic from Walmart's fabric department (2).

1 was a slightly thinner plastic, and therefore more invisible... even up close and staring at me, you wouldn't see the plastic shields (unless looking from the side view).

2 is a bit thicker, and definitely more visible from the front. However, perhaps the increase in thickness will make them more durable... who knows...

Anyhow, this difference in thickness would never be noticeable between the 2 plastics unless comparing one side-by-side with the other. Due to the more discreet appearance of #1, if I were doing this again, and had a choice, I'd definitely pick #1... it might wear out a bit sooner, but it just looks a bit better when viewed from right up close.

#1 rates a 10/10 in terms of appearence, whereas #2 is maybe an 8/10.

To get the shields in, the plastic is cut into a rectangle... long enough to wrap around the lens as far as you want (all the way around like mine, or part way... whatever you need). On my metal frames, there was a screw that you loosen to remove the lenses. The screw that comes with the frames needs to be replaced with a longer screw... that way, the screw has enough length to hold everything together even while loosened.

The lens is beveled to fit into a fine groove inside the frame.

The lens itself will need to be grinded down a bit so that there is enough room for the frame to fit the plastic in there too... Marc said when he grinds it down, he bevels it a bit sharper so that it can grip that groove even through the plastic. (this is the part that would make it tough for a do-it-yourselfer... you need an optician with a lab to do this...)

Once the lens is grinded down, you wrap the plastic around the lens... then fit the whole thing back into the frame.... you'll see the plastic forming a tube that sticks out the front and back of the frame.... then he fiddled with it until he had the lens lined up with that groove inside the frame, and tightened the screw. Also, he played with the plastic until it came out the back at the right angle... he said coming straight out seems to work best... there's definitly some fiddling with this... don't want the plastic looking like it flares out or anything.

Next, he uses a sharp blade, and trims off the plastic hanging out the front of the frame. You have to be careful not to scratch the lens, or the finish from the frame.

The last part is just trimming the plastic off the back to fit your face.

So, there you have it.

As I see it, doing it yourself can save you money IF you can figure out a way to grind the lens down yourself, you can find the right sized longer screw that I was telling you about, and you don't kill the savings by scratching the lens or frame badly (thus needing a replacement)... messing up could be costly

The good news is that these should be able to be made anywhere... you just need to be really handy, or have a willing optician!

[syclone]

This is just a great idea! I visited some opticians yesterday and found out that there`s still some craftsmanship left. I showed them a picture of your glasses and in every place they said; no problemo. These smaller shops usually got some highly-skilled old guys hanging around and all kinds of machinery one can hope for.

They plastic itself (PVC with some "softening additive") can be found in several thicknesses here and it cost something like 1 $ / 1 sq-feet.

I`ll post some pics too as soon as I get my glasses done.

[Guest]

Wonderful! Can't wait to see your pics!

[Guest]

Update... still loving these things... went to the Bon Jovi concert tonight... it was an outdoor concert, and since it was in the evening, my sunglasses Wiley's would not have been ideal... wore my custom moisture chambers, and all I can say is that they worked wonderfully! They kept my eyes comfortable for the entire 4 hours we were there! AWESOME!

All I can say is if you can get your hands on a pair of custom moisture chambers it will be soooo worth it! They allow you to go out, protect your eyes, and not feel conspicuous!

Especially once it got dark out, my hubby said you'd never know there was anything unusual about them!

[calli66]

Thanks for the update! I am very encouraged by your success and have printed out the "explanation of how they're made" post from June 15 and also the photos from your blog page. I hope to show these to local opticians and try to find somebody who has the skills to do this.

If you have the time, could you post a couple more pictures that would show the "inside" of the frames with the moisture shields? I'm trying to figure out how the vinyl fits around the bridge and nose pad holders.

Thanks again

Calli

[Guest]

It fits just to the inside of the nosepad holders. I'll try to post more pics when I get the chance... didn't think to take a pic from that angle... sorry about that!

[syclone]

Dry eyes, you may win the battle but lose the war:



I picked my lenses from the grinder a couple of hours ago and just finished making this lovely piece of art. 50 $ for the glasses, 90 $ for the optician, 1 $ for the materials and 0 $ for making the shields.

The edges of the shields may look rough but I just couldnt wait any longer for wearing these. Maybe I`ll put some real effort on making new ones in the near future as the plastic itself is virtually free.

They start to fog up nicely after some 10 minutes of wearing and that can, of course, be avoided just by loosing the fit just a little bit. Thank you SAAG for bringing up this great idea!!

[calli66]

They turned out well! I wonder if the vinyl would fit as well if the lenses were thick (like mine).

Thanks for posting the picture.

C

[syclone]

I`m pretty sure that the plastic will fit fine even with thick lenses.

And I have to say I definitely agree with SAAG; this kind of glasses are AWESOME! They are goodlooking, easy to made, somewhat cheap and protect the eyes as well as my Panoptix moisture chamber glasses.

[Guest]

Haven't had time to take a pic yet... but I think syclone's pic kind of shows it... the plastic fits just to the inside of the nosepads.

And he's right, it shouldn't matter how thick the lenses are!

[calli66]

So the plastic goes into the groove where the lenses fit into the frame? Did you have an easy time juggling the plastic/lenses/frame to get the whole thing to go together?

Thanks for the info and picture.

Calli

[katiedid]

Out of curiosity, how do you store these glasses? Can you fold the arms of the glasses without bending or compromising the plastic sides? They really do look great.

[Guest]

Out of curiosity, how do you store these glasses? Can you fold the arms of the glasses without bending or compromising the plastic sides? They really do look great.

I went to a craft store, and made myself a custom case for mine....

I bought a rectangular cookie tin, lined the interior (including lid) with cotton batting (I think it's meant for quilters)... added a rectangular "cushion" of sorts to go between the arms (to ensure they cannot fold up while in transit... I'm thinking if I use this as a travel case for them the arms can't bounce closed and dent the side shields)... then used a glue gun to line the whole interior with an attractive (if I do say so myself) fabric...

I used a LOT of glue to hold it all together, but didnt' know what else to do...

It's the largest eye glasses case EVER, but it looks nice, and protects them well.