How to Easily Make a Projector With a Fresnel Lens

Use an enlarged magnifying glass lens as the basis of a cheap DIY projector.

A projector can be the key centerpiece to a home theater experience, but standalone projectors can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. But a restricted budget doesn't have to keep you from having a projector of your own. The basic principle of a projector is to send the light of a motion picture through a magnifying lens. By sliding a wooden box over an existing television and sliding a slightly smaller box with a Fresnel lens on one end into the previous box, the television becomes a projector.

Things You'll Need

• Fresnel lens
• Glass adhesive
• Tape measure
• 8 wood boards
• 8 nails

Instructions

1. Cut four boards of wood large enough to fit around your television, but long enough to hang about a foot in front of the screen. Nail the boards together.

2. Measure the interior perimeter of one of the open sides of the larger wood box. Use these dimensions to construct a smaller wooden box the same as before. Slide it into the larger wooden box to make sure the fit is snug, but free to move.

3. Use glass adhesive to attach the Fresnel lens to the end of the wooden box not inserted into the larger box. Slide the larger box onto your television or computer monitor.

References

• Build a Projection TV: DIY Big Screen

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish