The definitive goggles thread volume 2

[Capt. Dirigible]

made from an old cake tray, two bottles, canning lids and a strap from an old army helmet

the only tools used where, a rock, a nail, a ratchet head, and a board

There's the essence of Steampunk right there!! Well done, that man!

[IGetPwnedOften]

Here's a set of goggles I threw together for the missus the other weekend. Nothing special about them apart from the fact I converted them in under an hour (not including paint drying time).



And illuminated (you know me and LEDs )



The reason I made them so fast is because we needed them for an event the following day, and I still had a bunch of other stuff to do.

One of these days I'll get around to making a proper set of goggles...

[IGetPwnedOften]

Some of you may have seen a post of mine on the Book of Faces the other day when my daughter, Katie the Rocket-Powered Fairy Pirate, came to visit me in the workshop while I was tidying up. She was clattering about like she usually does, looking at bits and pieces when she suddenly says "This needs lights in it, Daddy."

I turned around and this is the sight that greeted me:



She'd found a monogoggle I'd been messing about with and figured out what it was and how to wear it. Anyway, she's the boss, so I took an hour or so to finish it off. Of course, not to be outdone, my boy upon seeing it decided it would make a perfect accessory for his blunderbuss:



The onesie might be pushing the boundaries of Steampunk somewhat, but what can you do?

[josecou]

There seems to be a despicable me toy out that is a pair of goggles like the minions wear. It looks like it might be an easy mod.

http://www.toysrus.com/buy/pretend-play-dress-up/role-play/despicable-me-2-soft-minion-goggles-20132-18854396

The picture there isnt very good, but if you could get the eye stuff out and paint them up, they wouldnt look half bad.

[IGetPwnedOften]

The missus had a look at those goggles today in Toys R Us and reports they are, shall we say, of insufficient quality to consider purchasing.

Actually she said they were cheap tat, but I'm trying to be polite 

[frances]

But then your missus is used to the sort of things that you can produce!

[Monkeyfingers]

@ IGetPwnedOften
How do you fit the LED's, wires and power supply on your goggles as this is what i am trying to do for my Ironman build and
Sorry to go off topic a little bit but i just have to say that i now have massive shed envy. 

[IGetPwnedOften]

The LEDs are sold in strips, rated at 12v. I get mine from ebay - you can pick up 5m rolls for under £10 from the Chinese if you don't mind waiting a couple of weeks; here's an example, but have a good search as some are cheaper than others. One thing to note is make sure they have 600 LEDs per meter, not 300. You can cut them to length, although you need a steady hand resoldering the connections as the contacts are about the size of a pin head. I take an awl and poke a hole through the contact, feed the bared end of the wire through and then solder it.

As for the batteries, I run these from a 9v cell in a switched holder (also from China - 10 of them for just over £5). I run the wire from the LED strip along the inside of the head strap and connect the battery case to the back of the strap with press studs.

if you want more details, let me know and I'll post a full work up in the Tactile section.

[IGetPwnedOften]

My son's new clockwork goggles:



I've posted more details, pics, videos etc over in the Tactile forum.

[Professor Elliott]

Wow! They're great! Loving the eyeball 

[Herbert West]

Well I'm quite envious. Well done sir!

[josecou]

Just came across this and thought I would share. The result looks surprisingly good for the price.

http://www.darrenwashere.com/diy/do-it-yourself-steampunk-goggles-cheap-easy/

[Herbert West]

I seem to have run into a problem with my goggles. I added a couple of small brass screws to the sides, and now the extra weight makes my hat slide down in front til it touches my eyebrows. Ugh, I need to find ways to lighten them.

[Prof Samuel.H.F.Foreman]

or you could add some weight at the back to even the tilt out; perhaps a boiler attached to the strap with small pipes going to the goggles, or something like that.


Prof. Foreman

[Herbert West]

Ah I see. A bit like aircraft design then.

[IGetPwnedOften]

It's a tried and tested method. I use a small battery enclosure on the back of the strap to both hide the cell and provide a measure of counterbalance.

I first came across such a thing in the army, where our PNGs (passive night vision goggles) had a small pouch of lead shot attached to the back of the harness to counterbalance the weight of the goggles.

Hmmm... steampunk PNGs... now there's an idea...

[Herbert West]

Here's the latest update to my goggles. I've added more nailhead rivets, red plastic disks behind the eyepieces, a pair of knerled screws decorated with small stick on disks from the scrapbooking shop, and fabricated a small metal bracket to hold the end of the chain and the right side thumbscrew. Its really nice to finally have access to some basic metalworking tools.

[IGetPwnedOften]

That's a cracking set of goggles - lovely job 

[Herbert West]

Thank you sir. And I have a few more mods in mind.

I really need to get myself a second pair of goggles to work on. I find I'm quite enjoying this.

[Herbert West]

As if the things weren't heavy enough, I decided to throw caution to the wind and added some more details. In this case, a pair of shower curtain brackets, six screws, and some short lengths of brass tubing. I hope it looks all right and not silly.

[Octavius von Gilgamesh]

Most impressive, however I have to ask, do the parts move, or are they entirely static?

[Maets]

I like both the original and the updated versions. 

[Herbert West]

Most impressive, however I have to ask, do the parts move, or are they entirely static?

Thanks gentlemen.

The magnifier can be moved both vertically and horizontally. I just have to be careful since the nuts tend to work loose easily. I really need to find a better way to allow them to swivel.

[frances]

 "I hope it looks all right and not silly."

And what is wrong with looking silly may I ask?  I thought that was part of the fun!!

[Herbert West]

Just a small change to my goggles. I added a new strap and a proper buckle. I've finally gotten the hang of cutting leather and applying rivets.







Though I suppose at some point when I get my hands on some black leather I should redo them.