the screw keeps falling out of my glasses

[Jerry Adams]

The screw that holds the two sides together is where the blue line is

But the lens is just a bit bigger than the frame so there’s a gap where the red line is.

Close-up:

After about 6 months, the screw fell out.  Fortunately it was at home and I found the screw and screwed it back in.

Once this happened with a different pair of glasses.  When I was backpacking.  In the middle of the night.  Luckily, I found the screw in the dirt and put it back.

My theory is the lens and frame have different thermal expansion, so over time, it gradually unscrews the screw.  If the glasses were made correctly, there’d be no gap.

Anyone else have the screw unscrew itself and just fall out?

If I just tighten the screw occasionally it won’t fall out, no big deal.

[lee kingry]

Hey Jerry I use clear fingernail polish, like a locktite. I put a little bit that drips into the threads, screw the screw and then a little bit on top of the screw. it seems to hold up extremely well for long periods of time.

Lee

[Nick Gatel]

Use the Blue 242, not the Red

[JCH]

It looks like the lower flange through which the screw goes is cracked…That can’t help anything.

[MJ H]

There’s no way I can put one of those screws back in without my glasses. In the field, I would be in trouble.

[Nick Gatel]

It looks like the lower flange through which the screw goes is cracked…That can’t help anything.

I see that now. Time for Jerry to sell some gear on Gear Swap and use the proceeds to buy new glasses ;-)

[JCH]

“There’s no way I can put one of those screws back in without my glasses. In the field, I would be in trouble.“

I now include a small eyeglass repair kit similar to this in my emergency kit. Mostly I just sometimes need to tighten a screw (never actually lost one, but nice to know that I have a spare just in case). The life saver is the small magnifying glass included in the kit.

[Nick Gatel]

When I retired I quit wearing glasses. Now I can thread needles and read fine print without glasses.

http://popupbackpacker.com/senior-moments-declining-eyesight/

[Chris R]

I’ve had the thread strip on the screw before. My optician replaced it for free.

[Jerry Adams]

Looking closely, from the side, it’s just a surface scratch, not a crack

I’ve been thinking about loctite.  242?  $6 on amazon.  I’ll try it, thanks.

I am near sighted.  I can see quite well close without glasses.

These glasses are 9 months old.  Normally I go much longer than I should, years.  Cheapskate.  I just don’t like going to eye doctor.

 

 

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I have astigmatism and presbiopia. For hiking and backpacking I purchased glasses with only my astigmatism prescription, no magnification. (From Zenni where I was free to create a custom prescription. The lady at the Costco counter laughed in my face when I asked for this.) Then I purchased clip-on, flip-up magnifiers. It looks ridiculous but works great. 99% of the time I don’t need to clip on the magnifiers, and it seems that as the trip goes on I get better at being able to read things without magnifiers.

[Jerry Adams]

My glasses prescription have a prism of 5, for cross eyedness

Costco and Zenni won’t make lenses with that large a prism, bummer

Only the optician at the eye doctor.  And I forget how much they were, $100s…

Hmmm… Zennis are so cheap I could buy some with a lower prism and see if my eyes adapt.  You can get them to make a pair that isn’t your prescription?  I’ve wondered about that.

[M B]

Some places make whatever prescription you put in…. Others make you fax or attach your actual prescription

[J R]

Zenni you input the prescription yourself — could be what the doctor wrote or whatever else you want to input.

[Dan]

+1 for the removable Loctite.

[Jerry Adams]

That worked.

Except those screws are so tiny it’s hard to wrestle them into place.  The loctite gets off the screw and onto nearby surfaces.

Ooops, that little guy got loose and now I can’t find it.  But plenty of old glasses to get spare parts off of.  The screw’s a little longer than the old one though:

The original screw was flush, this one sticks out a little, that actually may stay screwed on a little better.

Amazing what good closeups you can get with phone cameras

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

Zenni isn’t as cheap as it appears. The frames are pretty cheap but once you add it all up, it’s expensive.

[Nick Gatel]

Jerry,

Most of the eyeglass repair kits come with a little magnifying glass.

[Nick Gatel]

Diane,

It has been a while since I bought from Zenni. At the time I bought a titanium frame and got progressive lenses for just under $100. I think it was 5 years ago and was waay cheaper than any other options, even with my insurance for a similar pair.

[Roger Caffin]

Well, we find that Zenni is about 1/4 of the local prices, or cheaper.
Sure, they offer lots of options or add-ons, but maybe only 1% of customers take them.

Cheers

[Author]

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