Quick make-it-yourself face shields

 

I do have a larger, more solidly-made face shield, but this one is easy to make and carry and is cheap enough to discard when it gets damaged or smudgy. I keep a few in the car, and a few at home to grab before I go out.

The design first appeared on the Spoon and Tamago website (here) in April, but I couldn’t find suitable transparent material immediately.

At first I used a transparent cover from a page protector, which worked well but I had only one. The material has to be really transparent or it obscures your vision.

But then, an aha! moment: overhead transparency slides! They are thinner than Yoshioka recommends, but on the other hand they are cheap and I had a box of them. If you can find thicker material at the stationery store that would be better, but this works well enough for me.

The only other required ingredient is eyeglasses. Or rather, an eyeglass frame. You can knock the lenses out of an old, beat-up pair of sunglasses or reading glasses if you are not an eyeglass wearer yourself.

Yoshioka’s template is here.  I have erased his text to make my own template, which is here.

To use: copy onto as many OHP slides as you wish to make, then cut them out. Make the two slits for inserting the eyeglass frame.

It may seem tricky to put together the first time. Turn the eyeglass frame upside down. Push the earpieces through the slits all the way. Then to wear, turn the eyeglass frame right side up. The earpieces will be on the outside, the lenses on the inside. After the first time it is easy.

Yes, the material is thinner, but the price is right, and you can make them yourself easily. Make some for the family. Keep one or more in the car.