I tried this out with some small 6x6 side plates and a multicurve front and it worked great, so I’m doing a multicurve rear plate tomorrow:
If you want to add some rigid plates that are lightweight to your carrier vest, cardboard boxes, duct tape and wood glue are the way to go.
First, mark the shape of your desired plates - be it Osprey or SAPI style - onto 4 pieces of cardboard (eg 4 sides of a cardboard box), but oversize them by 1 inch! You will cut them down later. Look for the “pattern” of the cardboard - you want 2 pieces with horizontal lines, and 2 pieces with vertical lines. Cardboard tends to bend at the lines, so by combining the different angles, you’re less likely to end up with a hard angle during the shaping stage.
Second, cut out the shapes and check theyre aligned, then spray each piece on both sides with water (I used an old empty antibacterial spray bottle) so they’re all reasonably damp, but not soaked. Leave for 10 minutes, then repeat. Do this process until the cardboard is damp through, but you don’t want it so wet it’s falling apart.
Third, lay the pieces on top of each other, and start to bend into shape. The water will have made them much more flexible. Be creative - for example you can you can use clothes on the floor and then push the cardboard on top around them to get a good smooth curve. After a few minutes of adjusting and holding the shape, you will want to weigh down the edges and leave them for 2 days, or until they’ve dried. Check on them periodically to make sure they’re keeping their shape, and adjust if necessary. As they dry, they will retain their new shape when removed from the “mould”.
You will notice that the cardboard pieces on the inside of the curve will outstretchthe pieces on the outside - this is why we left room at the start, you can now hold the pieces together and cut the pieces to a uniform edge. Then use duct tape all the way round both horizontal and vertical to keep them from moving.
Lastly, this is where the wood glue comes in - it’s clear drying, sets hard and can be sanded. It will also waterproof the plates. Apply generously to one side and allow to dry. Repeat for the other side, and then the edges. You will eventually want 3 or 4 layers at this stage. It’s a matter of just spreading the glue over then leaving it for a few hours to set.
After a clear, hard outer layer of your plates is in place, it’s time to sand down ad smooth over - there’ll inevitably be bits where the glue has dripped down the sides, so once it’s completely set hard you can get rid of those and round off those corners. After that, you can either put them in as is, or spray paint them black if you like. Just apply another layer of the glue after the paint has set to stop it rubbing off on the inside of your carrier, or use a clear weatherproof overlay spray.
It can be time consuming with a lot of waiting for things to dry, so make the process more efficient by doing the 2 (or 4 if you have side pockets) panels at the same time.
And voila, lightweight rock solid custom multicurved plates. Sans the £200 price tag that comes with a dummy training set.
If you want to add some rigid plates that are lightweight to your carrier vest, cardboard boxes, duct tape and wood glue are the way to go.
First, mark the shape of your desired plates - be it Osprey or SAPI style - onto 4 pieces of cardboard (eg 4 sides of a cardboard box), but oversize them by 1 inch! You will cut them down later. Look for the “pattern” of the cardboard - you want 2 pieces with horizontal lines, and 2 pieces with vertical lines. Cardboard tends to bend at the lines, so by combining the different angles, you’re less likely to end up with a hard angle during the shaping stage.
Second, cut out the shapes and check theyre aligned, then spray each piece on both sides with water (I used an old empty antibacterial spray bottle) so they’re all reasonably damp, but not soaked. Leave for 10 minutes, then repeat. Do this process until the cardboard is damp through, but you don’t want it so wet it’s falling apart.
Third, lay the pieces on top of each other, and start to bend into shape. The water will have made them much more flexible. Be creative - for example you can you can use clothes on the floor and then push the cardboard on top around them to get a good smooth curve. After a few minutes of adjusting and holding the shape, you will want to weigh down the edges and leave them for 2 days, or until they’ve dried. Check on them periodically to make sure they’re keeping their shape, and adjust if necessary. As they dry, they will retain their new shape when removed from the “mould”.
You will notice that the cardboard pieces on the inside of the curve will outstretchthe pieces on the outside - this is why we left room at the start, you can now hold the pieces together and cut the pieces to a uniform edge. Then use duct tape all the way round both horizontal and vertical to keep them from moving.
Lastly, this is where the wood glue comes in - it’s clear drying, sets hard and can be sanded. It will also waterproof the plates. Apply generously to one side and allow to dry. Repeat for the other side, and then the edges. You will eventually want 3 or 4 layers at this stage. It’s a matter of just spreading the glue over then leaving it for a few hours to set.
After a clear, hard outer layer of your plates is in place, it’s time to sand down ad smooth over - there’ll inevitably be bits where the glue has dripped down the sides, so once it’s completely set hard you can get rid of those and round off those corners. After that, you can either put them in as is, or spray paint them black if you like. Just apply another layer of the glue after the paint has set to stop it rubbing off on the inside of your carrier, or use a clear weatherproof overlay spray.
It can be time consuming with a lot of waiting for things to dry, so make the process more efficient by doing the 2 (or 4 if you have side pockets) panels at the same time.
And voila, lightweight rock solid custom multicurved plates. Sans the £200 price tag that comes with a dummy training set.
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