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Thread: How to not break nose pad guide wire when raising pads to lower frame.

  1. #1
    OptiBoard Apprentice OptiBoard Silver Supporter
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    How to not break nose pad guide wire when raising pads to lower frame.

    Sorry for what is likely a repeat question. (The forum is hundreds of pages long and I've been trying to hone in to no avail. )
    So often a customer puts on a wire frame that could work for a progressive but it needs to be lowered either/or/and to accommodate the progressive corridor or to look right on the customer's face, -- such as not having the top of the frame up in their eye brows while the bottom is riding high. So, to me fitting correctly before measuring is fundamental. If we aren't doing that, we aren't serving the most minimum standard of care. But it also means sometimes the nose pads break when raising them on the frame. Consider the frame on the board may have been adjusted before. Or maybe like anything manufactured there are some items made better than others. Personally I think "it happens", part of the cost of doing business. If a customer comes in and wants an adjustment months later and it looks like they ran over their glasses with a wheelbarrow I tell them I'll try but I can’t be responsible if it breaks, and I try to provide some likelihood of that happening depending upon how bad... I've gotten pretty good at this over all.

    .... seems, the new manager doesn't like broken , well broken anything, especially frames; in this case specifically the nose wire... well geez.

    Does anyone have sure fire suggestions for this not happening? The sweeping "you should never break frames" like we should be clairvoyant and infallible seems a bit demeaningly out of bounds.
    I could respond, "so do you want me to not adjust frames and just make a seg/ oc redo?"
    Sure, and in my opinion, professionally, unacceptable. Give someone a shorter progressive while the frame is up in their eyebrows is ridiculous for serious quality but I have co-workers that do just that to prevent friction over broken stuff. (yup, a larger retailer) I'm not ready to go there. Any help is welcome! and many thanks!

    PS also doesn't it seem like better frame board management would reduce this issue?
    Last edited by iokuok2; 10-12-2022 at 11:49 PM.

  2. #2
    OptiWizard
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    If the wire is breaking off the frame at the joint that is your fault. If the wire is breaking any where else then you are doing business with the wrong vendors they should replace with no question. To prevent breaking at the joint you need two pliers one will be placed where you want the bend to happen the other is used to bend the wire. Never stress the solder or weld joint as that is weakest part of the frame.

  3. #3
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    Before opening my wholesale lab I was in retail and was the frame buyer.

    From my experience I realized not all frames are manufactured with the same quality standard as others. Check for eyewire thickness, solder points and overall frame rigidity. Obviously, the cost will be higher but a worthwhile investment.

    Next try on the frames as the rep shows them. Have other staff members try on and check to see if frames are what will avoid your above concern.

    Seek out other frame lines with specialized designs to fit various sectors of your demographic.

  4. #4
    OptiBoard Apprentice OptiBoard Silver Supporter
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    Thank you! That makes beautiful sense. It does happen at the joint more than in the middle but it can happen there too. It doesn't bod well for nose pad pliers however. They seem to put a lot of the tork onto that joint. I was told in a weld the weekest part is right between where the metal was hot and where it was still cold durig the weld.

  5. #5
    OptiBoard Apprentice OptiBoard Silver Supporter
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    Thank you for pointing out the quality issues. I don't have any control over ordering but I will keep this in mind. Some people come in with brands that shrink when you look at them. I avoid those like lepracy. There are other makes that have been good in the past but rather suddenly become problematic; -- layers separate or other parts break. Never had layers separate before so I have to figure that not only are not all created equal but not all days in a manufacturing environment produce the same quality.

  6. #6
    OptiWizard
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    Nose pad pliers are intended to be used in conjunction with another plier. It is your responsibility to protect the joint. Whoever showed you how to do this was sending you down a road of many problems. Get an old book on dispensing and adjusting they will have pictures on how to do this.

  7. #7
    Master OptiBoarder
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    Also, make any bends in the pad arm with a round-post plier - if you use an ordinary snipe-nose with square-edged jaws, you'll get a sharply kinked bend, which will weaken the metal

  8. #8
    OptiWizard KrystleClear's Avatar
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    Sometimes the quality is just off and a frame breaks even if you are doing everything right. I haven't broken a guard arm/nosepad wire in a long time, but the other day I went to make a slight adjustment and the whole piece just broke off at the solder point, with very little pressure applied. Manufacturer replaced.
    Krystle

  9. #9
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    The trick is to push into the weld instead of away from the weld.
    Practice on frames that are already broken. we always hang onto broken frames for parts and practice when training new opticians.

  10. #10
    Master OptiBoarder pseudonym's Avatar
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    If you break a guard arm, take a look at the joint itself. If you see two different colors, the joint was only half touched off when it was soldered.

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