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Cutting lenses by hand (a guide)

Thanks. I need to update it though. There are a lot of little tricks that may it easier.
Dam you already made this epic write up.. but you have even more hacks to improve/speed up the process, an you're willing to share them at no extra charge?. Dam you are one humble dude!

Just hope it's not my own personal favorite trick, for when I need to get anything done.. Which is having someone else do it for me lmao... I can't trust my attention span, especially near power tools


Boss man has some splaining to do...
 
Thanks for the guide @SiRacer420.

I got off my lazy butt this morning and practiced sanding down the edge a little on an old lens. Worked great, except when I peeled off the tape, the top layer of film came off the lens with it. :confused:

I don’t know how much the lens being old had to do with it. Or maybe it was the type of tape I used? It’s 3M general painting #2094. Any suggestions from the class?
 
Thanks for the guide @SiRacer420.

I got off my lazy butt this morning and practiced sanding down the edge a little on an old lens. Worked great, except when I peeled off the tape, the top layer of film came off the lens with it. :confused:

I don’t know how much the lens being old had to do with it. Or maybe it was the type of tape I used? It’s 3M general painting #2094. Any suggestions from the class?
I had the same issue with some 20 year old Gold Square Wire lenses I cut. The blue tape pulled off the Iridium. Also had it happen with Ice plaintiffs but I don’t know how old those were.

@"TRUMP" suggested Frog Tape so I tried some with the same gold and ice lenses again but different pairs. They came out perfect. Frog Tape is less tacky.

Give that a shot next time.
 
Thanks for the guide @SiRacer420.

I got off my lazy butt this morning and practiced sanding down the edge a little on an old lens. Worked great, except when I peeled off the tape, the top layer of film came off the lens with it. :confused:

I don’t know how much the lens being old had to do with it. Or maybe it was the type of tape I used? It’s 3M general painting #2094. Any suggestions from the class?

Noooooooo that's general tape. The worst you could of used. That stuff can rip paint off drywall if you leave it there for a while

You have to either use 3M blue painters tape (the delicate surfaces one) or frog tape like 420 said.
 
I have also tried hand cutting glasses and it worked.
The first try I cut lenses exactly like you. But during the procedure I had to made some small changes.

1. I used cheap no-name Masking Tape.
I was scared if I would use high grade 3M tape of great adhesive force, I would pull the top layer of the lens.

2. I put tape on the inside of the lens as well.
I was scared to scratch the inside of the lens with abrasive particles on my fingers from tools or sand paper.

3. Instead of a Dremel Tool I used a fine grid Bench Grinder. You have more control of the lens and you can see the markings on the tape so much better wile you cut away excess material.
Take your time at the wheel or the plastic starts to get to hot and forms a burr.

4. I also use a caliper at the end during the fine cut on the Belt-Sander.
To rely only on the thin sharpie line was too risky for me.

Other then that it went perfect.
Now I have scratch free gray lenses in my first Monster Dog.

As I said in another thread. I do not have easy access to a lens cutter in Germany.
I better learn everything I need, to be independent.
I also want to learn every day something new.

Thanks man for all the hard work you put into this.
 
I have also tried hand cutting glasses and it worked.
The first try I cut lenses exactly like you. But during the procedure I had to made some small changes.

1. I used cheap no-name Masking Tape.
I was scared if I would use high grade 3M tape of great adhesive force, I would pull the top layer of the lens.

2. I put tape on the inside of the lens as well.
I was scared to scratch the inside of the lens with abrasive particles on my fingers from tools or sand paper.

3. Instead of a Dremel Tool I used a fine grid Bench Grinder. You have more control of the lens and you can see the markings on the tape so much better wile you cut away excess material.
Take your time at the wheel or the plastic starts to get to hot and forms a burr.

4. I also use a caliper at the end during the fine cut on the Belt-Sander.
To rely only on the thin sharpie line was too risky for me.

Other then that it went perfect.
Now I have scratch free gray lenses in my first Monster Dog.

As I said in another thread. I do not have easy access to a lens cutter in Germany.
I better learn everything I need, to be independent.
I also want to learn every day something new.

Thanks man for all the hard work you put into this.
Hey man I’m glad to hear it worked out!
 
Reporting back to the class...

If you're not a noob and know what you're doing, then you don't need to read past this paragraph. Thanks again, @SiRacer420, @"TRUMP", and @StG. Followed your suggestions and had success with my project, without f**king up the lenses.

For those who are still considering cutting your own lenses, here's my noob experience. A couple of disclosures first. I was only trying to shave 1+mm off one side of each lens, and the lenses were for a Split Jacket, so the end product probably didn't need to fit as precisely as for a frame without jaws. This is a good thing because while I can build an outdoor shed or pergola, indoor furniture is too precise for my patience or skill.

I started yesterday on some test lenses using 3M general painting tape #2094. That was a major mistake! I had old lenses that were pretty much shot and when I peeled off the tape, there was a pretty film left on the tape and no iridium coating on the lens.

As suggested above, I got Frog Tape for Delicate Surfaces today. With the other lens of the shot pair the Frog Tape took off about half the iridium coating. I had also taped the inside surface and half of that coating came off, too. Just like Racer said, the takeaway is that old (shot?) lenses are going to be a crap shoot. On a newer test lens and the lenses for the SJ, the Frog Tape had no discernible effect on the lenses.

As far as the shaving of the lenses goes, things went very smoothly. I tried to hold only the edges, but that wasn't entirely possible, so it was a good thing that I taped both sides like StG suggested. I have plenty of sandpaper but don't have a Dremel. So, I used a 120 grit held flat on a table while running the lens over it. Then I moved up to the 320 grit and finished with a 2000 grit to get a smooth edge.

I don't think that holding the face of the lens and applying the kind of force I need to is the optimal way for a more substantial project with a lot more cutting, but overall, Racer's method works.
 
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