I've assembled lots of harnesses for friends and myself.
Easy once you get the hang of it.
It's not rocket surgery.
What follows is just some of my personal choices and techniques.
There are a lot of ways of doing a harness, and I've learned to keep an open mind to the opinions of others.
(I've been blasted before in this forum. So beware, because in most cases they're right ! ).
My choices are based on cold saltwater diving, and warm water travel diving.
I don't always make the same choices for both types of diving.
I build for myself as much of the harness and crotch strap as I can.
I use a local shoe repair shop to box-stitch the webbing if needed.
Lighter sewing I do myself with a needle and thread or nautical auger.
I buy webbing at Strapworks.
https://www.strapworks.com/default.asp
Not sure if the prices are competitive, but the products and service are good.
On request they will send you six inch samples of their various webbing types.
For each harness I usually buy twelve feet of their 2" black flat nylon scuba webbing. It's on the stiff side.
Keep in mind that stiff webbing holds it's shape, so it curves outward from the plate, making it easier to stick your arms through when it's behind you. That's the biggest advantage I've found for stiff webbing, but it also tends not to twist and bunch as it pass through the plate's slots.
I have, for special circumstances, occasionally opted for a softer webbing.
I'm currently building an airline compliant carry-on scuba system, and I'm using the backplate externally as a backpack frame. For this I went with a less-stiff flexible webbing. It folds easier against the plate, and so stores more compactly in the overhead (I hope).
Still experimenting.
You'll need to burn a hole through the webbing to facilitate an STA bolt, or a sex bolt if you're not using an STA.
Use something like this to burn the hole
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000302YM/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Before burning the hole thread your webbing into the plate and see where the bolt hole actually lines up. On some plates the hole will not be completely center to the width of the webbing, so best to check first.
Burn the hole at the half-way point in your 12 foot piece of webbing, and you'll have a comfortable amount of excess at each end once the installation is complete. I don't completely trim the webbing until I've made a dive or two, in case adjustments are needed.
In the past I would add a grommet to the bolt hole, but I've stopped going to the trouble. The strap lays flatter against the plate without the grommet, and the melted area around the burn usually doesn't fray much anyway.
In addition, I add about a five inch piece of tubular webbing over each section of the harness webbing where it passes through the upper slots of the backplate, to prevent fraying.
I've done a lot of experimenting with inserting quick releases and other accessories.
In the end, I've reverted back to the simplest one-piece continuous webbing configuration.
I have friends who want a quick release on their shoulder strap because they enjoy the ease of just stepping out of their system that way.
But that's the beauty of DIY. You can experiment, and do it the way you like it.
My methods and choices seem to evolve with each harness I make... or DIY post I read.
EireDiver606 suggested using pre-bent D-Rings. Good advise, but I only partially agree IMHO.
Just a minor point, but if I'm putting two D-rings on each of my shoulder straps, I like the top ones to be of the pre-bent variety, and then a standard non-bent for the lower ones. That's so the lower ring doesn't interfere with anything clipped onto the the top ring.
I buy most of my hardware at
Dive Gear Express® | Official Site
Or
Northeast Scuba Supply
and sometimes Strapworks.
Stainless steel primary choice, plastic sometimes for lightweight travel, brass only as last option.
For a waist buckle I go for a standard stainless steel,
but I use this one for my lightweight travel rigs.
XS Scuba Clear-Path Buckle
Hands-down the best and easiest to install and remove buckle I've ever used.
Sorry for the long post.
Dull day at work today.
K
