Ping RDS

I have had the same frames from SS for my previous three pairs of main glasses. When one of them broke I thought "no problem, I will recycle the lenses back into an old pair". Turned out not to be an option, it looks as though when fitted the lenses are ground to fit the frames. In my case there was enough difference that the old frame would not clamp around the new lens. Not even bodgeable with hot melt or epoxy.

Ah!

Perhaps there is more to being an optician than I imagined:-)

Sadly, in an excess of tidiness I binned a matching frame after salvaging the screws.

Elastoplast!

In the old days, you could see that the lenses were ground by hand by interruptions in the grinding pass. These days, the edge appears uniform all the way around. I suspect they have something like a pantograph tool that grinds the lens to match the frame.

I was always impressed in the old days by the way opticians could "pop" glass lenses into and out of plastic frames without breaking anything.

My mum broke her glasses. I managed to find some of the exact same frames by looking them up on t'internet (eBay), using the number on the plastic bit at the end of the arms. Easy to swap the lenses.

No such trail of breadcrumbs on mine:-(

I dare say S.S would tell me if it were possible to contact them by telephone:-(

Glasses are mostly commoditised these days. It's cheaper to make them in a factory on machines in volume, rather than do custom one-off fitting jobs by your local optician's shop. A bit like getting a new pair of shoes off the peg v re-soleing an old pair - you only do the latter if they're a very fancy pair to begin with.

So your old lenses are essentially worthless now. If you can find the right kind of frames on one of the internet glasses outfits, they can make up a pair for not-very-much. Some of them will reglaze an existing pair for more money than a new frame, but it's more faffy since you have to send it in.

If you have super fancy lenses then maybe the arithmetic changes, but you might find it's still about comparable to get a new pair from one of the internet places.

Theo

Are the lenses plastic? Brian

In message <sfd42c$1ne$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, "Brian Gaff (Sofa)" snipped-for-privacy@blueyonder.co.uk> writes

Yes. Were you thinking angle grinder:-)

It's doable but we tend not to bother because if they are just bog standard single vision the lenses are worth 50p for the pair. And if they are valuable lenses we end up with falling outs if it goes squiffy.

We deal with a guy that could solder/weld your other pair if you are particularly fond of them, probably get change from a tenner.

Or if you get a frame you can send it to us and i'll put standard lenses in for £12.

Or email me a pic and dimensions and i'll see what we have here (reply to is valid).

OK. I'll get on it tonight.