Millions of people wear glasses and they often break or the screw keeps coming loose in the arms. Rather than keep replacing the frames it is quite easy to repair them using silver solder. You can also silver-solder the hinges’ screws in place. It takes time and care but is an inexpensive alternative to new frames or paying repair fees.
Instructions
things you’ll need:
Sandpaper
Copper wire
Silver Solder
Metal arm from an old pair of glasses
Alligator clips
Silver core solder
Flux
Magnifying glass
Mini butane torch/lighter
1. Unscrew the broken arm and lay it on a bench. Remove the plastic ear-piece to avoid damage. Clean both new and old arms with sandpaper.
2 Clamp the piece you are using to reinforce the main arm to it and wrap copper wire around the two. Hold in place with alligator clips. Put flux on all sides of the assembled pieces.
3 Heat for one second, touching solder to the top part and keeping solder behind the flame. This will melt the solder into the flux and wire by capillary action.
4 Ensure the entire assembly is covered by solder and leave to harden (around 10 seconds). If it’s not hard, add a little more solder and heat again for 1 second and leave to harden. Leave to cool. Remove the clips. Take out any protruding copper wire. Polish the whole arm and the solder should not be noticeable.
5 To fix loose screws, remove lenses; clean area to be soldered thoroughly. Fix in a stable position by using alligator clips. Drop a small amount of solder onto the joint, heat briefly, leave to harden and then cool. The screw should be firmly held in place. Polish to ensure a clean finish.
Tips & Warnings
• Use a magnifying glass for optimal vision when attempting hinge repair.
• Make sure the solder and flux are lead-free, as not only is lead poisoning possible but the process will not work as well. Don’t heat near a joint, as this could cause the arm to come apart. Wear goggles when completing this task.