DIY wet/Dry suit??

[Don Burke]

umm

i just got off the phone with the rubber company

the roll of neoprene will cost around $350 and well i guess it's not worth it.

Jalal

If you can make a couple of suits for $350, it may be well worth it.

Factor in the education and gloves and hoods, and it might be a bargain. Neoprene gloves could become something your company could use slack time for.

Rubatex has some fans for wetsuits. You may want to take a peek at this:

http://www.wetwear.com/

 

[Bob3]

oh man I just pressed back and took away the whole message

How can drysuit zippers be waterproof?

Tomorrow morning I'll call the rubber company and see if they have any scrap rubber neoprene. If they don't then I'll get my rubber from Syria in the summer. It won't be so expensive.

A question for Bob3:
From what I see on your signature, you are a drysuit dealer. Why are drysuits and all other dive equipment expensive? Is this industry very profitable for the manufacturers and dealers? or is the cost price relatively high?
l

The drysuit zippers are a direct spinoff from the space program; the first zippered drysuits (Poseidon Unisuits) used the same zippers as used on space suits & accounted for about half the cost of the suit.
The teeth hook/lock together, forcing the rubber they're mounted on to seal up tightly.

Retail pricing of dive gear is a whole can of worms that I'm going to beg off from commenting on (much) because what goes for normal operating procedure here in the US may be considered unlawful price fixing in other countries.
Some manufacturers require their dealers to sell at almost 2x the dealer's cost.

 

[Rick Inman]

I recall an old issue of SKINDIVER had directions for making your own vest, it was pretty straight forward & used a T-shirt as a pattern.
As far as a drysuit goes you'll ne having some challenges sealing the seams. Thinned down AquaSeal will work & you may want to invest in a roll of seam tape.
I'd be willing to bet that you'll be shelling out more for a DIYer than for a used suit (maybe new one).
If you want to go zipperless, using a "tunnel entry" & clamping it off with a hose clamp will work. (water/gas tight zippers are going to run you $150 - $250)
Your friendly Viking/Poseidon Drysuit dealer

He outta' know, but, conflict of interest??
It takes enough time keeping my current dry suits sealed, I can't imagine trying to seal an entire suit.

IMHO - In My Honest Opinion

BTW, I thought IMHO meant, In My HUMBLE Opinion.

 

[JeffG]

I thought IMHO meant, In My HUMBLE Opinion.

Oops..You would be right....I'm going to go with the story that my opinion is never humble

 

[topflowerrubberforever]

I have a dream! Where any man is free to have a suit with his appropriate size and where he can pay for it with the pennies in his pocket!

ok i have 2 choices.
1) destroy the market by selling chinese spacesuits in the North American and European markets leading to an economic collapse
or
2) since i have been into DIY lately.. maybe i'll try to think up of a way to make it. then just buy the zipper? or even better layers and layers and layers of BOUNTY!

what if the top of the drysuit was so stretchy that i can fit my whole body through the neck area ? hey it's an idea!

 

[critterc]

Can you use MEK to thin Aqua Seal as you would with PB-300 ?

 

[Tom Winters]

Hey 371 - if you're going to make your drysuit all stretchy and trick like that, why not go one step further and really do it right? Remember The Flash? He had that ring that had his red crimefighting suit in it and all he had to do was pop the top, the suit would squirt out, and he would jump into it.
This sounds a lot like your suit, and yours doesn't have to be able to withstand the atmospheric friction of running around the earth at Mach 24,567. It would be handy to go diving and not have to lug a drysuit separately. Plus women watching me gear up might think that I was also a superhero or maybe even an X-Man, and who knows where that could lead?
The p-valve might be a problem though...

 

[topflowerrubberforever]

Hey Tom

Could you possibly send me a link to a picture of the flash in his suit and how he used to put it on?

I was thinking of just getting a mannequin and putting melting rubber all over it and thinning it out on the top. Then I would make another piece with a jacket that went down to my waist. What do you think about that?

I might do this in January or in the summer in Syria, where I think I can try to get a better price at this.

 

[jbd]

Can you use MEK to thin Aqua Seal as you would with PB-300 ?

Check the label on the Aqua Seal; I think it has tuolene in it instead of MEK.

 

[miketsp]

..snip..
The p-valve might be a problem though...

Just don't forget to disconnect before deactivating the suit....ROFL