I just bought a new pair of eyeglasses over the internet and saved a bundle. I’ve only got one complaint however. I don’t like the way the temple-pieces hug my face and ears. This problem can easily be solved by bending them to my liking, but I know you’re supposed to heat the frames before you bend them.
The pros use a tray of hot sand. How can I approximate the heating process at home? How hot is the right temperature? Any instructions/advice/tips you can offer are appreciated.
Thanks all.
PS – Please don’t suggest I go to a local eyecare shop and ask them to do it. I know that many of them will adjust frames for free as a good will gesture, but I’ve seen them do it and it’s obvious that most of the counterpeople have zero sense of mechanics or geometry.
I’ve used a pan of water about two minutes off the boil to make plastic frames malleable. That was a few years ago though, and who knows what miracle plastics they’ve come up with now in order to make formerly simple operations more complex.
The temperature really isn’t critical. In fact, the temperatue limit has little to do with the plastic itself.
Obviously, the plastic should be impervious at temperatures of 120F (50C) - roughly the upper end of “ordinary” air temperatures (e.g. the hottest of summer days) and a black car dashboard in direct summer sun can reach 140-170F in minutes. The human hand and face begin to experience discomfort at somewhere between 150-170F (65-75C).
I wouldn’t worry about damaging the plastic of your frames at any temperature your hands and face can comfortably tolerate.