Hoo, hoo. My first scuba DIY project. (If you dont count whittling down a carpenters pencil to fit the slot in my slate) As was previously suggested in this forum, I made some weights for my integrated BC from sheet lead.
I made a pattern from cardboard to check the fit on both my and my wifes BCs. I settled on 3 by 7 ¼ inches. I found some sheet lead at a roofing supplier in town. The specs on the material is that it is 3 pounds per square foot, and it came in a 36 square piece.
Using a utility knife and a straight edge I cut 5 strips 7 1/8 wide and subdivided each strip into pieces 3 long. I used some tin snips to take a nibble from each corner so they would load easily. I stacked all the pieces neatly, put em between to boards and used 2 C clamps to press em nice and flat. I also used a piece of smooth steel rod (a big drill bit) to burnish the edges of each piece to knock down any burrs created by the cutting process..
The good news: They fit like a glove into my BC's integrated weight pockets. It takes five pieces to make 3 pounds. Twenty pieces fit in my weight pocket easily, yielding 12 pounds per side. The sheets are flexible enough to conform to the curved shape of the pocket and my hips. Nine square feet at 3 lbs. per, calculates to 27 pounds. The raw material came to just over $30 including tax. Just over half the price per pound for weights from my LDS.
The bad news: Thickness tolerance for the lead sheeting was not up to NASA standards. Some of the pieces from one end of the sheet are a little thinner (lighter) than the rest. Not a biggie, and the variation should average out, since it takes a number of pieces to make enough weight for my well padded carcass.
The new weights will be tested out on Sunday!
KYDan
I made a pattern from cardboard to check the fit on both my and my wifes BCs. I settled on 3 by 7 ¼ inches. I found some sheet lead at a roofing supplier in town. The specs on the material is that it is 3 pounds per square foot, and it came in a 36 square piece.
Using a utility knife and a straight edge I cut 5 strips 7 1/8 wide and subdivided each strip into pieces 3 long. I used some tin snips to take a nibble from each corner so they would load easily. I stacked all the pieces neatly, put em between to boards and used 2 C clamps to press em nice and flat. I also used a piece of smooth steel rod (a big drill bit) to burnish the edges of each piece to knock down any burrs created by the cutting process..
The good news: They fit like a glove into my BC's integrated weight pockets. It takes five pieces to make 3 pounds. Twenty pieces fit in my weight pocket easily, yielding 12 pounds per side. The sheets are flexible enough to conform to the curved shape of the pocket and my hips. Nine square feet at 3 lbs. per, calculates to 27 pounds. The raw material came to just over $30 including tax. Just over half the price per pound for weights from my LDS.
The bad news: Thickness tolerance for the lead sheeting was not up to NASA standards. Some of the pieces from one end of the sheet are a little thinner (lighter) than the rest. Not a biggie, and the variation should average out, since it takes a number of pieces to make enough weight for my well padded carcass.
The new weights will be tested out on Sunday!
KYDan
