|
|
|
|
|
I got interested in prop building through Star Wars. It left me curious about how something was made.
The rim around the eye peice looked a lot like a part from the hardware store and the tiny lenses looked like
something from lab equipment. So I went on a quest.
|
|
|
After visiting the local hardware stores (big and little) I found in the plumbing department that the
cap piece is a 1 1/2 Slip Joint Reducer Nut. However they were all made from a silver metal mix, not brass. I did
find some chrome plated brass elbow joint piece which included two of the caps. Good for a goth punk!
|
Now that I knew what I was looking for I hit the internet. There are lots
of plumbing part sites and you may find something cheaper.
I finally found a site, Signature Hardware,
that had the elbow joint piece in brass Hurray!
1-1/2" x 45 Ell Double Slip Fitting with Brass Nuts.
|
|
Now I must confess, if I make my own version of these goggles (or more likely binoculars),
I am going to be lazy and just cut the pipe that came with the cap pieces.
Brute Force Leather took things one step further and cut the threads off and welded them to straight brass pipe!
Very cool. See the weld near the threads where the cap screws on:
|
The last quest was for the little magnifier loops.
Thom has modified these as well, but you can find basic ones on the internet.
For me it was Amazon. There are a number of sellers so shop around and make sure you check their shipping costs!!!
If you only want one set, and you like the mods that Brute Force Leather did, its actually best to buy from them (shipping costs).
For an example of dealers: Amazon search for clip on double loupes
|
The rest of the battle is to find some thicker, but flexible leather for the straps, a softer leather for
the eye piece covers, some filler to help pad out the rim of the eye piece leather, and brass rivets and hinges.
The lens covers were cut from 1/4 inch sheet plastic in a desired color or design to fit the eye piece.
You will need some drill bits and a drill to add some holes for attaching the leather, attaching eye loupes,
decoration etc. You will also need a jewelers saw or Dremel tool to cut the pipe to the length you want for
the eye pieces. Whew!
Now you have some idea of why the goggles
are so worth buying from the maker.
The booth was picked over by the time I bought mine in the snake skin pattern. They had a
wide range of brown leathers to chose from and they might even be able to do black for you die hard goths.
For those on a budget you can get the same parts in PCB plastic. You might want to look into the Fusion spray paints
and metallic spray paints to achieve brass effect.
(PS It was obvious some dealers had already "borrowed" these ideas).
All content copyright © 2009. All rights reserved.