Building your own wet suit

[Ronald L]

Where or how can you learn the skills and get the equipment and material to build wet suits?

 

[pipedope]

The best way would be to get a job at a company that makes wetsuits.

 

[Creed]

Where or how can you learn the skills and get the equipment and material to build wet suits?

Airspeed press has a book on wetsuit repair:
http://www.airspeedpress.com/

However, instead of building a wetsuit from scratch, I would recommend buying a cheap suit from ebay, and altering it to fit your needs. I thought about doing that with one I picked for almost nothing, but I opted to alter the contents of the wetsuit instead(thank you Dr Atkins).

 

[Ronald L]

Thanks for the heads up on the repair book. I think that might be a good way to get started with this project, as I have a couple of good suits that just need altered. --------Ron

 

[MarkH]

Where or how can you learn the skills and get the equipment and material to build wet suits?

You can get a used suit for way less than the materials would cost to make your own.

 

[deepseafalcon]

I would argue even a new one, for instance from ScubaL
They even make custom fits
d-s-f

 

[Creed]

I would argue even a new one, for instance from ScubaL
They even make custom fits
d-s-f

Well, this is the do it yourself forum. Some of us like to alter/make things for the sheer joy of doing something yourself.

 

[deepseafalcon]

Well, this is the do it yourself forum. Some of us like to alter/make things for the sheer joy of doing something yourself.

well, different people have different motivations to do things themselfes.
some, I have heard, to save money/get something they can't find in a store

since "making a wetsuit" is a rather complex undertaking, I feel it could be helpful to be pointed to a place where one can get fairly cheap yet professionally made custom suits

btw, I went there and have done that ("making" a wetsuit):
many years ago, when I started out diving, I couldn't afford one, or I thought so.
So I bought a fairly cheap (and fairly old) used suit, tons of Aquaseal, and spent approx. one weekend altering/repairing it. And this job didn't even involve stitching, as the suit was of the kind w/o the today common two layers of cloth laminated to the Neoprene...

the end result was usable, but didn't last long and wasn't comfortable either.
I realized that I had better spent the time doing some job, saved the money for materials, and get one that would have lasted years...

d-s-f

 

[TheRedHead]

Where or how can you learn the skills and get the equipment and material to build wet suits?

You mean sewing? It used to be a common skill at least among women. I would suggest starting small with a Speedo or two before tackling zippers.

 

[Creed]

well, different people have different motivations to do things themselfes.
some, I have heard, to save money/get something they can't find in a store

since "making a wetsuit" is a rather complex undertaking, I feel it could be helpful to be pointed to a place where one can get fairly cheap yet professionally made custom suits

btw, I went there and have done that ("making" a wetsuit):
many years ago, when I started out diving, I couldn't afford one, or I thought so.
So I bought a fairly cheap (and fairly old) used suit, tons of Aquaseal, and spent approx. one weekend altering/repairing it. And this job didn't even involve stitching, as the suit was of the kind w/o the today common two layers of cloth laminated to the Neoprene...

the end result was usable, but didn't last long and wasn't comfortable either.
I realized that I had better spent the time doing some job, saved the money for materials, and get one that would have lasted years...

d-s-f

True. Money was certainly an issue when I started diving. But the tinkerer in me took over. I had to rebuild my own regs, not because I couldn't pay for it, but because I couldn't stand NOT doing it. I mentioned in another thread that I made an old jacket style bc into a wing. That project started with a "hmmmm, what if....." Even my new* double hose regulator is partly an exercise in tinkering.


*new to me, the reg is older than I am