Dirt Cheap BP/W Mk2

[James79]

My reactions throughout this thread (and the others)

Oh, that's funny, a BP/W from a cutting board

Um, holy crap, he took it in the water

Hmm, that's an option for light travel gear.

Works like a champ.... And each iteration improves it!

 

[halocline]

One nice thing about it is you could chop some onions for lunch at your safety stop.

 

[James79]

One nice thing about it is you could chop some onions for lunch at your safety stop.

I've been accused of being a snob for refusing to dive plastic regs if chrome is available... So maybe slicing hard cheeses for the surface interval is more appropriate!

 

[James79]

Works like a champ.... And each iteration improves it!

If you're interested, I'll weigh the whole setup tonight and let you know what it comes out to. I'm also looking into having a friend with a cnc router cut the next backplate (my free hand dremel work is really the only janky looking part of it)

 

[MattAO]

Big thanks to James for the idea and hard work helping me build it. Two dives down a few tweaks and this thing works great.

 

[herman]

Another inexpensive material to consider for the BP is PVC piping. You can often get short cut off pieces of large diameter pipe at construction sites for free. An 8 inch pipe gives you around 25 inches wide piece and 1/4 inch thick when slit and flattened. Flattening is easy, either boil it or heat it to 200 deg F in an oven and when soft place it on a metal or stone sheet, lay another one on top with a couple of bricks for weight, heat for 15-20 minutes at 200 then let it cool slowly. The sheet will remain flat. Later you can make a form of some sort, apply weights and reheat to make shapes. Fun stuff to play with.

 

[VE7DAC]

Another inexpensive material to consider for the BP is PVC piping. You can often get short cut off pieces of large diameter pipe at construction sites for free. An 8 inch pipe gives you around 25 inches wide piece and 1/4 inch thick when slit and flattened. Flattening is easy, either boil it or heat it to 200 deg F in an oven and when soft place it on a metal or stone sheet, lay another one on top with a couple of bricks for weight, heat for 15-20 minutes at 200 then let it cool slowly. The sheet will remain flat. Later you can make a form of some sort, apply weights and reheat to make shapes. Fun stuff to play with.

With a bit of practice I bet a reasonable facsimile of a Freedom Plate could be made that way.

 

[James79]

I might have plans to see how cheap cutting boards react to a heat gun, for some light forming...

 

[James79]

Well, haven't had a chance to mess with a heat gun... but I did way the original prototype. All up (wing, BP, 2 cam bands, harness, 2 pockets) it weighs just under 5 lbs.... not bad for a first try. It's also working out so well that I haven't gotten around to making myself a MK2 or MK3. Next up is another copy of MK2 for my youngest (sticking to the identical design as his older brother's, due it being a known successful design). MK3 will be after that, trying to improve on the center channel length to obviate the STA's.

 

[pizzajohn]

Thank you for all the info on what you have done! With your help, I have made my own and and super stoked with it! These pictures are my V2 Backplate and V1 Wing. I am in the process of making the next version of both! I am actually interested in making a bladder as well instead of using a pool toy, has anyone tried that as well?