I Built a Wooden Nose

Making a Custom Nose Bridge

Seems like I’ll be wearing a mask in public for at least another six months, and maybe for years. Might as well spend some time making them more comfortable and functional. Since I have prescription glasses I need a good nose bridge to keep them from fogging up. The usual bendy piece of metal doesn’t do a very good job; I want something stiff.

I’ve got a few sheets of ABS plastic in the garage, and it’s easy to bend if you hit it with a heat-gun. A couple attempts trying to use my fingers or my nose as a form proved fruitless, so I set out to make a form.

First off I made a template of my nose with a metal nose bridge. Then I traced that onto a chunk of 2x3 pine and cut away the corners.

Then I shaped it using a couple of rasps.

Cut a strip of ABS about 8cm by 6mm. I use a box cutter because it’s less messy than sawing. Sand or file down the edges.

Put the ABS over the form, hold it down with a bent paperclip, and soften it up with the heat-gun. Wearing a pair of leather gloves, use your fingers to bend the plastic over the form.

And now you have a nose piece that fits your face.

If your mask has a built-in channel for the bridge then you’re done. If not, you can drill a tiny hole in each end and sew it into the mask.

Further Ideas

I’m going to see how the first two I made work out. I may want to make them wider, or of varying width. Since the wood block is much wider than the bridges I need I may shape the other side of it to fit my wife’s nose.

Also see: A Handy Way to Tie Your Mask