Quick Prescription Goggles

I'm interested in applying the Steampunk aesthetic to daily fashion, but I am not so interested in Steampunk costuming so I really only wear goggles when I am cutting steel or brazing with my oxyacetylene torch. But since I wear glasses, when  I do use goggles to protect my eyes I need corrective lenses.  

This is a quick and easy project to add a pair of old glasses lenses with a "good enough" prescription to a pair of inexpensive welding goggles.

I have an astigmatism so my lenses are not axisymmetric. There is a measurement opticians refer to as "azimuth" that is important to get right. Step one is to don your goggles and look in the mirror. While looking in the mirror mark the center of your pupils with a piece of tape. This tape line should be straight and pass through both pupils.

Next you need to mark your old lenses with circular sections the same size as your goggle's inside diameter. Your pupils need to be in about the same place on the lens as they were when the lenses were in your glasses frame, but this measurement is less critical than the azimuth. I scratched a line in my lenses with and X-acto knife to mark this circular section and since the bridge of the goggle pair is typically much larger than most glasses frames, most of the material will come off of the inside of the lenses.

I shaped my lenses with a belt sander, but a block of wood with sandpaper on it or a file will work fine.

I set the lenses in from the back with the filters screwed on and secured them with hot glue. I've taken the filter off to show you the results but make sure you do not move the filters before you secure your lenses. You need that tape line to align your lenses properly!

The finished goggles which will be used primarily for cutting and brazing with my oxyacetylene torch but will probably also accompany me to Burning Man next year.