If you routinely wear eyeglasses, owning an eyeglass repair kit and carrying out small repairs yourself can save a lot of time and trouble—especially if you do not have a spare pair. Most eyeglasses stores and many department stores carry these kits containing a jeweler’s screwdriver, tweezers, nose pads and spare screws. However, the repair kits do not contain replacement ear supports, known as temple arms. Consequently, if you damage or break a temple arm, you must replace it with the nearest match you can find through the store you bought your glasses from, or from an online supplier.
Instructions
things you’ll need:
Jeweler’s screwdriver
Tweezers
Needle
Eyeglass repair kit
Clear nail varnish
1 Insert the tip of a jeweler’s screwdriver into the tiny slot on the head of the temple arm hinge screw. A lug on the left- and right-hand edges of the eyeglass frame holds the arm hinges. Support the hinge on the edge of a table. Apply downward pressure to the head of the screw with the screwdriver and twist counterclockwise. When the screw is loose, lift it out with a pair of tweezers and put it to one side.
2 Insert the attaching lug at the end of the replacement temple arm between the two hinge brackets, the right way up. Line up the hinge and temple arm screw holes by inserting a needle into the screw orifice and moving it gently from side-to-side.
3 Attach the temple arm to the hinge with a new screw from the eyeglass repair kit. Support the hinge on the edge of the table. Tighten the screw by turning it clockwise with the jeweler’s screwdriver until it starts to bind and then won’t turn any farther.
4 Paint a dab of clear nail varnish onto the exposed end of the new temple arm screw and let it dry. The nail varnish will act as a thread seal, which will prevent the screw from working loose.
Tips & Warnings
Don’t discard the old temple arm screw until you have found a replacement in the eyeglass repair kit. If all the replacement screws are too short, use the old screw and secure it with clear nail varnish.
Do not support the hinge with your finger or thumb when undoing or tightening the temple arm screw. The screwdriver may slip off the head of the attaching screw and stab your finger.