Where to get lens to make printed binoculars?
My 4 yrs old son loves his toy binoculars made of toilet paper rolls. So I decided to draw up and print a real working binoculars for him. After I've done all the drafting, I suddenly realized it's really hard to actually find lenses for the binoculars! I have explored dollar stores and hardware stores for cheap parts that I can extract a lens from. But so far I can't find any lens small enough to fit in a binoculars for a 4 years old.
Does anyone have any suggestions on where to get small lenses (~2-5 cm dia) that I could make a toy binoculars with?
RE: Where to get lens to make printed binoculars?
You could search for "toy binoculars" on Amazon or eBay to find a cheap plastic pair that you could borrow the lenses from. Amazon has singles in the $5 range or sets of 6 for around $12.
I know, it doesn't make a lot of sense to take apart a somewhat functional pair of binoculars to make into another pair of binoculars. Your son will love them and that is the most important part.
Steve
RE: Where to get lens to make printed binoculars?
Lens and prisms are generally expensive unless you can find an eBay source... and unless you are an optical designer, the process of making the lenses do what you intend will be mind boggling. The advice above is good: find some toy sets and use the optics from them.