Better 3D Glasses

polarized and anaglyph 3D glasses

My daughter is becoming quite the little Maker herself.  So recently I purchased her the Make: Schools Out! Summer Fun Guide.  It's full of cool projects for kids.  Best part...It's in 3D!  It comes with a pair of cardboard anaglyph 3D glasses that you punch out and assemble.  Unfortunately they don't stay on your head well and they are very uncomfortable; the thin cardboard cuts into your ears and nose.  So I decided to make a better pair.

ear pieces removed

I had a pair of polarized 3D glasses that we got from a 3D movie we went to.  Luckily, the lenses were sandwiched in between to halves of the glasses.  A little careful prying with a small screwdriver separated the halves and allowed me to remove the lenses.  The red and cyan gels from the cardboard glasses peeled off easily.

separating the halves

lenses removed
(note: the left and right polarized lenses are different, don't mix them up)

Next I cut the polarized lenses to use them as a frame to hold the colored gels.  I used a set of cork borers to make nice clean cuts in the corners of the polarized lenses.  I removed the rest of the material with hobby knife.

cutting the lenses

Then I glued the gels to the remains of the polarized lenses with some cyanoacrylate being careful to match the right color with the right lens.  The left and right polarized lenses had tabs in different places so they can only go back in one way.  Cyan for the right eye, red for the left.

gels glued to the lenses

Finally I trimmed the gels to fit the lenses, placed the lenses back in the frames, and glued the frames shut.  Snap the ear pieces back on, and you're done.  The new glasses are way more comfortable and have a larger viewing window than the old ones.  Reading the 3D magazine is much more enjoyable now.

finished 3D glasses