DIY Back Plate

[DiveGolfSki]

divegolfski,
I don't have a website but philtech has. www.philtech.net its under the KAG brand name which they also own. I think they sell it for P3,000.

Opps, I meant do they have a website. No matter, thanks for the site.

BTW, doing it better? :11:

 

[Xizang]

Opps, I meant do they have a website. No matter, thanks for the site.

BTW, doing it better? :11:

cutting it with a water jet is the only way to do it better or to be able to source a better kind of stainless steel. Only the 309 SS gets shipped here in the Philippines.
for me the backplate component of a rig is not so much of an issue as the design is just generic. Its the harness and the wings that makes a difference in a set-up. If I were to do a frankenstein rig, I'd take the DSS harness and plate and mount a Halcyon eclipse.

 

[paolov]

i agree with Auxua

mine is generic except for the Bladder which is Dive rite Trec wings .

but an IQ pack is great .....

 

[Spoon]

How did you outgrow it?

well not really outgrow, but my bouyancy has vastly improved after my dir classes that i shed 3 lbs on my weights. im overweighted with my ss bp.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

cutting it with a water jet is the only way to do it better or to be able to source a better kind of stainless steel. Only the 309 SS gets shipped here in the Philippines.
for me the backplate component of a rig is not so much of an issue as the design is just generic. Its the harness and the wings that makes a difference in a set-up. If I were to do a frankenstein rig, I'd take the DSS harness and plate and mount a Halcyon eclipse.

Back in the days pre-Halcyon, DIR (pre-Jablonski, Irvine, Hogarthian rigs, etc.), they made them out of traffic signs. Check out the following site:

http://www.dive-rite.com/TecTalk/backplates/backplate.htm

In that site, here's how Flanagan (

....I made my first back plate in early 1979 from a surplus aluminum road sign of unknown alloy. I traced the outline from the solid center section of the Scuba Pro BCP onto a paper stencil and transferred this onto the aluminum. I next cut out the aluminum and had a single parallel set of bends, about 2" apart, made in the center of the plate, running from top to bottom, forming a sort of flat bottomed "V", into which I drilled two holes (one top/one bottom), which were used to bolt the plate to extended studs on a set of bands on double 72s. I then proceeded to beat the aluminum around the curvature of the tanks with a sledge hammer, soon discovering that aluminum alloy is pretty tough material, taking several hours to conform the aluminum to the tanks. The webbing off a Navy harness was then attached through a series of slots cut in the metal and the first back plate was born.

I'm sure water cutting makes the edges really smooth but paying someone $20 to file them smooth would be just as good? As far as the the 309 SS, that shouldn't be a problem. Many manufacturers use 304 SS.

Hmmm, seems like a new business exporting backplates from RP ... until the Chinese get into it.

 

[DiveGolfSki]

Anyway, Thanks for the responses to date.

Auxua, the price of that BP/Wing is still too steep for him. I'll see if there are other options. Thanks anyway.

 

[Spoon]

Hmmm, seems like a new business exporting backplates from RP ... until the Chinese get into it.

China is already making fake halcyon bps and wings, friend of mine found out when he went to the dive show

 

[DiveGolfSki]

China is already making fake halcyon bps and wings, friend of mine found out when he went to the dive show

Uhhh .... what's the website for them ...

I think a "fake halcyon bp" would be okay. I'm not sure I'd buy a fake wing though.

 

[Narcd_dvr]

I'm sure water cutting makes the edges really smooth but paying someone $20 to file them smooth would be just as good? As far as the the 309 SS, that shouldn't be a problem. Many manufacturers use 304 SS.

DiveGolfSki,
You definitely embody the pinoy spirit Heck, it'll probably only cost $10 to have someone file and smooth it out for you, in the Philippines of course..

 

[Narcd_dvr]

On the subject of BP/Wings, I'm sure there's a slew of topics in this board about this, but what draws people to BP/Wings over the-run-of-the-mill BCs?