Soldering eyeglass Frames

Yes, buy a new pair of glasses.

Will it hold? We can't tell you that not knowing what the material is that you are soldering. It may be brass, titanium, zinc, or something else. If they are junk now, you have nothing to lose so give it a try. Worse case scenario is you get a new pair.

Consider brazing the joint; you may be able to find a hobbyist minitorch that uses tiny propane and oxygen cylinders -- Radio Shack used to sell these in the States.

FWIW, I have also made repairs on tiny objects using very low currents with a wire-feed welder; build up the repair and grind to final shape.

Michael

I tend to be skeptical that solder joints hold well. They're meant to provide an electrical connection, not to be a structural component. But then I also pretty well suck at soldering.

Since the glasses are fairly useless as is, why not try soldering them and find out empirically how well it works?

- Logan

You could try a little JB Weld. It might look awful, but it might also work.

Lead and Tin will not work. I learned how to repair eyeglass frames from my Dad working in his office. He was an "old school" Optometrist. Back in the day when Jewelry stores had Optometrists. His office was one of the few places that repaired broken frames. It requires gold solder and an acetylene jewelers torch. Quick and easy if you have the tools. It will discolor the finish some. If you attempt any other method, it will not work for long and they will be rendered un-repairable. See if you can find a good Jewelers.

john

Cannibalize dollar store readers for a replacement temple piece.

You can braze with propane or MAPP and air.

A soldered butt joint won't typically hold, but it may work if you splint with a bit of steel or stainless wire there (any old guitar strings around?). You can gammon with fine Nichrome wire sold for ignitors on eBay.

How about taking it to a jeweler who can use a harder, stronger kind of solder and is familiar with metals other than the ones we ordinarily work with?

For the cost of hiring a jeweler to fix the frames, it's quite likely he could buy a new set of glasses.

Anthony

Have you priced prescription glasses recently? I wear a progressive lens with anti-glare coating and darkening lenses. Typical price is about $400. $500 at one place I checked. Actual cost is probably $20 in material.

I use bifocals and love my frameless glasses from

-- Walter

True, but the OP could use the original lenses in new frames. There's no law that says a frame and lenses must be sold together.

Solder would never hold, those frames are typically brazed. You can certainly re-braze them, though you would potentially also need to re-paint / re-finish them afterwards.

They keep changing frame shapes to prevent that (more profits). The lenses may be perfectly fine, but it's very likely you won't find new frames of the same size and shape if it's more than a year or two old.

They were sold to my under Hillary's health care plan. I see the world differently now!

Your uncle's right. Eyeglasses frames are brazed, not soldered. Last time I had to get frames repaired (about 5 years ago), it cost $25, which is a *lot* cheaper than a new set of frames.

Try

Another possibility is to contact the frame's manufacturer. They might be able to supply an exact-replacement temple (or a compatible one).

When my mother's frames broke, the first shop we went to said they didn't have frames to fit her lenses, but they could do both frames and lenses. When I said we go someplace else, it was amazing how fast they found a pair of frames that fit.

Marsha/Ohio

There are too many factors to be able to argue the point. For instance, if the lens is small, and it's a bifocal prescription, trimming it might remove too much of one of the focal "zones". It all depends....

Not sure where the OP is, but I'd hit one of the flea markets that cater to blacks. All of them have a row a Korean selling gold and most of them will do jewelry repairs on the cheap. Cheaper than investing in a torch and high strength solder (or learning to braze).

Jeff