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Cutting lenses by hand (a guide)

What have you found the most challenging frame style lenses to cut?
X Metals in general are a pain in the ass. I'm not a fan of cutting Romeo lenses. I've been told Penny is the worst but I haven't yet cut any. The absolute worst for me was a Hatchet. The bevel was just a bitch and I never could get it right on the one I did. I just gave up on it and Trump said it looked like a dog chewed it up lol and it damn sure did.

About the X Metals, XS is by far the easiest. When that batch of XM XSs hit the street a while back I got real good at cutting and installing XS lenses. Mars is also not really difficult. I may be biased on that one though. 😁
 
Nerve racking as all bloody hell.. good job bro. I’ve only cut 1 set of those and I was sweating it the entire time
Nope, I don't care for those lenses other than to look at them so to me they're aftermarket and I get way more nervous doing like a 24K Prizm that will scratch easy.
 
X Metals in general are a pain in the ass. I'm not a fan of cutting Romeo lenses. I've been told Penny is the worst but I haven't yet cut any. The absolute worst for me was a Hatchet. The bevel was just a bitch and I never could get it right on the one I did. I just gave up on it and Trump said it looked like a dog chewed it up lol and it damn sure did.

About the X Metals, XS is by far the easiest. When that batch of XM XSs hit the street a while back I got real good at cutting and installing XS lenses. Mars is also not really difficult. I may be biased on that one though. 😁
Holding sand paper crumpled in my hands made the whole bevelling experience terrible, tried using a sanding block with little improvement. Buddy that builds scale models put me onto a bunch of alternatives that make doing bevels a near painless experience - they probably could've smoothed out those dog bite edges you made for Trump 😅
TAMIYA ultra-fine sanding blocks​
Norton soft touch sanding sponges​
MAHA sanding sticks (dense foam nail file of sorts)​
Diamond impregnated foam polishing blocks (diamond grid pattern - they come in various patterns)​
- Dremel offers rubber polishing bits but haven't personally tried them yet.​


What have you found the most challenging frame style lenses to cut?
OG Valve I messed those up on the initial cut trying to get the correct proportions to accommodate the nightmarish double contour bevel edge it has....
 
Now we test fit the lens. It should fit in most of the frame so look at it and see where it doesn't. Take off a little material and fit again.


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Now we see it fits better but still not all the way. See where you need to take off some material and do it.

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Notice where its hitting the frame still. Shave off just a little **** hair and it should fit.

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Close, just a little bit more now. Remember to bevel the edge after you shave off anything.

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Perfect fit.

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Check your inside, make sure you don't have any parts not in flush. If you have gaps here it's too late. DO NOT REMOVE THE TAPE YET.

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Now is the time for wet sanding the edges to get that nice smooth bevel. You can see here its still pretty rough. I've just started it and only one spot is smooth. I use 2000 grit wet sandpaper and I let my thumb be the guide for the lens. I use a moderate amount of pressure and let the lens cradle in the sandpaper and my thumb to get the entire edge and the line where the edge meets the back and front side of the lens. Imagine a sponge flexing to allow more surface area contact with a plate as you wash it. Same thing. Leaving the tape on prevents scuffing the Iridium coating.

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Go all the way around the lens and get the whole bevel nice and smooth.

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Now pull the tape and clean the lenses. Pop them in the frame and you're done.

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appreciate this bro, i ma try to cut one on an r1
 
Happy to help man. I suggest starting with O Matter then maybe a juliet or XS then step up to a Romeo. Those really are a pain in the ass.
Yeh ima do this hahahahahah, i am tired of buying lenses. Ima head to home depot to buy the equipments 🥳. I will post once i get to do one.
 
Well i have to effed up 2 sets before i can get them right!! SL chromes perfect fit
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