DIY Kydex backplate

[victorzamora]

Are you going to cut the holes before you bend this time?

 

[acteg]

Victor, I posted about this on a forum where a lot of guys make kydex holsters for knives and guns and what not. The only input I got was don't cut holes before forming or you could get some deformation. I'll do some more research before I make the next one. I'm going to take my time this time around, and make sure it's as close to perfect as possible.

 

[mddolson]

Nice job.
I'm considering a similar project. But instead of kydex, I'm planning to use carbon composite.
I need a light weight wing for air travel.
I'll use my current aluminum plate as the pattern.
Any one tried it?

Mike D

 

[TSandM]

This is interesting. Tobin reinforces his Kydex plates with a stainless steel strip through the bend where the bolt holes are. I wonder if Kydex will tolerate the shear stress of bolts over the long run? Maybe with a single tank, but I wonder about doubles . . .

 

[SangP]

This is interesting. Tobin reinforces his Kydex plates with a stainless steel strip through the bend where the bolt holes are. I wonder if Kydex will tolerate the shear stress of bolts over the long run? Maybe with a single tank, but I wonder about doubles . . .

For heavier usage like with doubles I would certainly add a as big ss washers as you can find on high stress areas.

---------- Post added December 4th, 2012 at 10:55 AM ----------

Nice job.
I'm considering a similar project. But instead of kydex, I'm planning to use carbon composite.
I need a light weight wing for air travel.
I'll use my current aluminum plate as the pattern.
Any one tried it?

Mike D

Before you go all out on your endeavor I would question the purpose.

A fiberglass plate or carbon won't be tt much lighter then a alu plate at most you'll be able to save 100g or so but you'll have to worry about delamination.

If you really want to go lose weight on your bcd go sm. However, if you want to still diy a carbon or fiberglass plate check out this thread for some ideas.

Selfmade fiberglass fins - DeeperBlue.com Forums

Cheers

 

[lucca brassi]

A fiberglass plate or carbon won't be tt much lighter then a alu plate at most you'll be able to save 100g or so but you'll have to worry about delamination. If you really want to go lose weight on your bcd go sm.

+1

I also really don't see any benefit from carbon or kydex plates ( but see a lot of troubles ), If I wanted to stand out would afford titanium

 

[fjpatrum]

What is gained by Kydex over AL? I don't see a truly significant weight savings. I made a PVC plate before I got my SS but I still travel with my SS because then I don't need extra weight on my belt. It's only a couple pounds difference, even to the SS. Add to that the fact that kydex/pvc/carbon/whatever are all more likely to be damaged than a metal plate and I just don't see the convenience factor.

That said, I like all these projects. They're fun to watch and get ideas from and I always appreciate the DIY attitude.

 

[mddolson]

After looking around for ideas, I've decided not to persue the DIY light wt. backplate.
Both Oxycheck, & Zeagle, have llight wt (non metal) plates that are less than a pound.
No sense re-inventing the wheel.

Mike D

 

[victorzamora]

I understand why he's doing it, guys.....to be able to do it. I like it! Regardless of how much better it is, it's his.

About the carbon: I'll tell you now that you'll be hard-pressed to get a good performing backplate made purely out of carbon fiber. Same goes with any composite. It'll be REALLY expensive to get anything decent, especially if you're not already set up for composites. Something as thick as a backplate would require vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. Well, not require....but it'd be easier with. You'd NEED a vacuum pump to ensure ANY sort of longevity. There aren't any good ways of reinforcing carbon enough to deal with things like doubles. You'll get delamination WAY quicker than you'd think. The second it starts to delam, it'll turn in to a mushy pile of expensive garbage in no time.

I don't mean it insultingly, but how much experience with composites do you have? You may know more than me. However, in my experience, Carbon won't make a good material for that.

 

[fjpatrum]

I understand why he's doing it, guys.....to be able to do it. I like it! Regardless of how much better it is, it's his.

About the carbon: I'll tell you now that you'll be hard-pressed to get a good performing backplate made purely out of carbon fiber. Same goes with any composite. It'll be REALLY expensive to get anything decent, especially if you're not already set up for composites. Something as thick as a backplate would require vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding. Well, not require....but it'd be easier with. You'd NEED a vacuum pump to ensure ANY sort of longevity. There aren't any good ways of reinforcing carbon enough to deal with things like doubles. You'll get delamination WAY quicker than you'd think. The second it starts to delam, it'll turn in to a mushy pile of expensive garbage in no time.

I don't mean it insultingly, but how much experience with composites do you have? You may know more than me. However, in my experience, Carbon won't make a good material for that.

Going to have to disagree with you on several points.

First, a lay-up of carbon and a 3-4mm plywood would be more than sufficient for doubles (strength-wise) but would be vulnerable to banging at the edges of the plate. I'd do biased reinforcement on the edges, personally, but there are several options that would work. Either way, I'd never make it out of just carbon. In the end, the weight savings would be minimal if you had a composite layup like that.

Second, I agree you will get the best results if you use one but a vacuum system it's far from a necessity. I have several items (though not Backplates, kayak paddles, kayaks, etc) I've made without one that have stood up to hard use for 10 years now. It will reduce weight of the resin and get better bonding but it's not a requirement at all. That said, it's not that hard to put one together with a home vacuum to at least get some level of improvement over a hand lay-up.

Third, other than the cost of carbon and resin, it wouldn't really be that expensive when considering how much you'd actually need. That said, I wouldn't go out and buy it just for this project, personally. I would certainly give it a try if I had it on hand and was inclined to build a project like this. In fact I seriously considered doing just that last year but decided I didn't really see the point of a light-weight plate once I got used to my SS.