What is it with the eyeglass frame industry? They put tiny screws in eyeglass frames to help hold the lens, but the screws readily loosen and fall out?!?!?! Didn’t they consider people are NOT stationary objects? Why don’t they use Locktite or such? Have these guys all got a screw loose? 
Because eyeglasses ain’t cheap!
I’ve worn glasses for the last 35 years – haven’t had problems with screws coming out for decades.
Sounds like you need to get your frames checked out by the optometrist, Jinx.
And why do the damn things cost hundreds of dollars?
Rarely a problem with decent prescription glasses I’ve had unless they were several yeas old and the threads became stripped from me tightening them to $any times. At that point locktite would,t help. Most eye doctors I had would adjust and repair frame for free or really cheap.
Since I had laskik three years ago I have found that sunglasses, even the expensive ones are bad about this. I tend not to loose them like most folks since I used to wear glasses and find that the screws back out on those after only a season or two.I’m in the same position as **Ice Wolf{/b]; I’ve worn prescription glasses for decades - sometimes one pair for a few years straight - and haven’t had problems with the screws since I was a kid.
I’ve always had problems with screws falling out, until the most recent pair. These screws are in permanently, worth the extra money I had to pay. When you go shopping for frames, tell them about the problem.
Ya think those teeny tiny screws are cheap? 
I’ve mostly had problems with the temple screws, and I recall the many times I heard my optician hammering on something after I brought my glasses in for a tune-up, peening the ends of the offending screws!
I am wondering if the reason ya can’t just Loctite® 'em is because if the Loctite gets into the hinge your screwed?
CMC +fnord!
I’m nearsighted so I need my glasses for driving and watching movies or tv or when I was in school - for reading the blackboard. I started wearing glasses in 8th grade and have had several pairs over the years. Since my parents stopped paying for my glasses I always have a clear pair and a pair of sunglasses. I never had much trouble with screws falling out. I went for about 5 years with the same set because I was broke and didn’t want to spend a couple hundred on new glasses. I beat the hell out of those glasses. I’d stick them in my back pocket and sit on them. I’d drop them in my purse (not in their case) with all the other crap. The last year is when they started to fall apart. The nose pads fell off, the screws fell out and I did replace them myself.
I finally got new glasses about a year ago. Since then each pair has lost a nose pad or two and each pair has lost their screws and had the lenses fall out. I even treat these glasses better than the last ones, I always try to put them back in their hard case when I’m not using them. The good thing is VisionWorks* fixes them for free but it’s still a pain in the butt to go back there so frequently.
My theory is that they just don’t make things like they used to.
*No cracks, please, that’s where my insurance sends me. A teeny discount is better than none.
Hey, finally a thread I can post to as an expert.
I was a sunglass salesperson for three and a half years and a (trainee) optician for one.
Short answer - eye- (and sun-)glass frames are the result of a lot of compromise. One of the results is that the industry standard frame material is monel. It isn’t very strong, but it is somewhat flexible, and ductile (can be drawn into a wire).
Unfortunately, screws (usually nickel/silver in eyewear applications) don’t adhere well. Also, most frames use only three screws per side - one functions as the pin for the hinge, one keeps the two sides of the orbital (bit that goes around the lens) together, and one holds the nose pad (lots of modern frames use a pop-in nosepad and dispense with this screw).
You can (people do) put threadlock into the orbital screw if you like, but a) the tolerances on the thread and hole are so tiny that you may not be able to get the screw all the way back in; and b) you’re then screwed if you need to replace a lens, or if one gets popped out through impact. You can’t use fixative on the other screws, because nosepads need to be replaced relatively frequently, and the hinge, for obvious reasons, needs to move.
The frame flexes a lot more than you’d think. Every time you raise your eyebrows or sniffle or whatever, the frame is moving too. The screws are going to move with you. Over time, all that motion will cause the screw to back out.
Also, a lot of foreign matter collects around the screw heads. Dead skin, oil, makeup, moisturizer… if it’s on your face, it will get on your glasses. Got a pair of eye- or sunglasses more than three years old? Look around the bracket where the nose pads are attached- you’ll see a weird green buildup that looks a bit like verdigris. All that gunk is lubricating your screws, which obviously isn’t good.
There is hope… titanium (NOT beta titanium, which is an uber-flexible titanium alloy) doesn’t flex much at all compared to monel, so the screws remain seated longer. Beryllium should work well in theory too, but it’s a very new market segment and I personally don’t have any experience with it.
Plus, you can get an inexpensive (>$5.00) optical screwdriver set at a pharmacy or optician, and tighten your screws yourself. Don’t overtighten them- things will go pop.
You’re sort of right here. Back in the day, frames were generally a lot thicker- more metal means longer screws, which obviously stay in better. Also, the relatively modern spring hinge puts a lot more stress on the screw; many spring hinge wearers wind up having their glasses adjusted to where the hinge is slightly over-extended, because otherwise the frame can feel loose.
We must be getting the runt of the world’s frame designs, then, I wager! They advise against a dab of superglue, but I swear by it! I guess it cuts into the opto guys repeat business, huh?
It’s also toxic and not a terrific substance to have near your eyes.
I get my prescription reading glasses from Zenni Optical. Instead of $200+ that my eye doctor’s office charges, I pay $40-50 max, including shipping. The construction is, AFAICT, as good as, or better than, the store-bought glasses. (Of course, as long as they last more than a quarter of the life of the expensive glasses, you’ve made out on them.)
Just get a printed copy of your prescription from your eye doctor, go to the Web site, pick out the frame you like, then enter the details of your prescription. A couple weeks later your glasses arrive from China.
The only downside is that you can’t pick them up and feel them or see how they look on your face before buying. Not a big deal for me, and I’ve been happy with the glasses I’ve gotten. I wear one pair pretty much all day, every day.
Only in liquid form. Cyanoacrylate superglues are moisture-cured adhesives; atmospheric water causes the liquid to polymerize, resulting in a solid, inert acrylic resin. There are no fumes once the curing process is complete, typically a few minutes after application.
Won’t it splinter in an impact?
I suppose it could, so scraping off any excess wouldn’t be a bad idea. But, if it’s applied neatly only to the screw threads, I don’t see an issue with it.
Because you (et al) are sheep. If you all abandoned the high-fashion frames the prices would plummet.
Wrong. Frame manufacturers would (and, in fact, do) discontinue nonsellers, and the price of basic frames would go up.
Even better!
I’ll stay with my low-priced frames and you can have the pleasure of paying those absurd prices. Baaa
I don’t have much trouble with the screws on mine and don’t mind occasionally needing to tighten them a bit.
My big issue is that the ear-pieces on every pair I’ve ever had have been to damn short.
Now I know that I’m not freakishly big-headed but come on people!
I want em’ to hook around to just short of the underside of the ear.
Next time I get a new pair, I’m welding on some extensions.