Precision solder placement

Darrell Green

I am attempting to modify a pair of eyeglass frames. I do not intend to use them for more than just a few poses so permanent is not the intent. However, I have two nose pads on metal stalks that I need to attach to the frames on a very thin lens frame edge. I do not want to get adhesive, solder, or residue on any other side of this frame edge but one. The same piece has a slit in which the lens sits so I don't want to accidentally fill it. I need guidance on precision adhesion placement with no overruns. 

My plan was to shield the other faces with tape or fingernail polish that could then be removed. 


Those nose pads have the wire rod still attached and I could easily solder them back to the frame stems but I don't know how to keep the solder only on the stem face seen from this angle. No solder seeping around the stem. This is not easy to describe but I don't want any solder on any side of the two little stems other than the back. How can I prep this so the solder does not flow around the sides? I could use epoxy or glues but I proffer the same question for prepping for those. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated

Darrell Green

Please note, this is a prop. Quite a lot of prep can be done if necessary as it will not be a servicable set of frames when complete. No property loss will occur if it fails, so no pressure on advice results.

Chris Ellerby

That's a tricky one.  Solder likes to flow wherever the heat takes it, and wick into small spaces, so I'm not sure how to prevent it from filling the slot for the lenses.

If the lenses are glass, you could try soldering with them in place and applying the heat mainly to the wire on the nose pads.  Solder will want to flow toward the hottest end of any heat gradient, so that may help you keep it under control.

One other thought was to use UV-cured adhesive, that way you can apply the light mainly from one side to prevent curing any adhesive that may wander.

/Chris

Darrell Green

Thank you Chris. I completely forgot about the UV cure adhesives. That really is the solution here. I used super glue and have the glasses sitting in the case protected from impact, awaiting the photo shoot. After the shoot, I will redo the bond with the UV cure for a permanent solution. On a positive note, I was told that the optics lab can cut prescription lenses from my custom lenses. So, my handcrafted version is actually usable after my photoshoot.