homemade body armor...

has anyone tried to make their own body armor? i've tested half inch lexan plates and various metals of different thickness, in the attempt to build a lighter, thinner trama plate then the grossly over weight e-sapi i was issued in the service. 1/8" stainless steel will stop my 44mag 200 grain rounds, but 300 grain will rip through then stop. i think if i laminate some kevlar or spectra to the steel it would stop many high power rounds and be much lighter then one inch ceramic. anyone else tried this kinda thing or am i the only nut?

I would say laminate some Kevlar.

What are you going for? Going to strap some armor on, maybe make a rocket belt and become a real life Iron Man? Haha.

The ceramic plates are designed specifically to give the best bullet-stopping protection for the weight. You won't be able to beat it in terms of pounds-per-square-foot, unless you start using very expensive, even-more-exotic materials.

Various laminates and combinations of materials have been tried. The best combination is the one that's used - an extremely hard outter surface to break up hard bullets of cause soft ones to squash, with a tough-resiilent backing layer to absorb the impact force.

Get some platinum plates! Can't go wrong there! It maybe expensive but it will protect you from lasers, Bullets and rockets

I know someone who was created armor for protests and riots...oh those crazy anarchists. it was being made out of paper / cardboard - he explained to me how to make it but I cant remember any specifics.

My guess now days was a super dense paper mache type stuff. Wouldnt stop a bullet by any means, but it would stop clubs / bats (atleast soften)

In the late 1800's a Chicago priest developed a bullet proof vest made of silk. If I recall, the vest worked against lower velocity handguns. Perhaps in conjunction with steel or kevlar you would get some decent protection.

en.wikipedia.org...

ok, i know the history of body armor from layered silk to balistic nylon to the pizza guy who first layered kevlar in his basement to the lastest spectra shield. i was wondering if anyone dabbled with handmade trama plating, cause i know i won't ever face enough gunfire to justify $500 per ceramic sapi plate. plus front, rear, and two side sapi's weigh a ton.

[edit on 21/12/08 by AgentBlack]

has anyone ever shot a phone book? I have shot several phone books testing ballistics of round and expansion cause they are easy to retrieve out of the books. Your average thick phone book will stop all handgun rounds I have tried. Just a point of interest

Kevlar is of similar strength to spider silk, if not quite as strong. Ultra high molecular weight polyethelene like spectra or dyeema is stronger. It's much stronger than silkworm silk, and if you've got some, you don't need the silk. Because when you've got a kevlar vest, You've pretty much got commercially made body armor.

I'd be interested in any place where you can buy Kevlar weave by the yard, but prices I see are like 30 dollars a yard; you won't see significant savings over buying armor commercially.

I suggest some small, very hard ceramic tiles, like, for bathrooms or something on top of mild steel sheet (maybe 1/8th inch?). Perhaps with a layer or five of nylon glued beneath the steel as a spall liner. Should stop 9mm and .45 at a reasonably close distance.

With any luck, the nylon would stop rifle rounds from making the steel fragment and harm you worse than the bullet alone would.

It'd weigh more than SAPI plates, sure, especially for the protection, but it'd be very cheap.

Have you tried a Gold Titanium alloy? Thats what iron man uses.

On a serious note.
What ever happened to that material that was soft till something impacted it? The harder it was impacted the tougher it got.
The reason the vests are so heavy is all the padding. Take away the padding and you can still stop the bullets it will just hurt like heck.
What about a blow up suit for padding? Put the kevlar on the surface and then a second covering on the inside of the suit.

I like what mdiinican said, combining materials like common ceramics and steel etc. would probably be the best route to go for a homemade job with no access to exotic materials.

hahahhahahahahahaha~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE THIS STATEMENT~!! Got a huge laugh right off the bat..!!!

I needed that..

It is called sheer thickening fluid or STF and is still being tested with very good results. There is even a new headgear using the STF, and it will some day replace the need for any trauma plates.

I remember a project we did in science class, it involved cornstarch and some water, not a lot just enough to get a puddy like consistency. The results were this STF concept. When pressure is applied it hardened, when relaxed the mixture was pliable and able to flex.
things to do with cornstarch

STF

Fit for a superhero

liquid armor

thats funny how your interested in building a homemade vest. I myself am constructing one made of a hardened steel plates welded together to form one plate. The steel is actually from grass edging, the stuff to contain a lawn. It is surprisingly strong as I have stopped a 9mm with 1 piece the thickess of 1/16" and 3 pieces stacked together stopped a hollowpoint ak-47. That will be layred over 3/8 lexan. i just ordered the lexan a week ago, should provide some shock absorption as the steel will take most of the hit. The vest will cover the vitals front and back as well as sides and it might weigh in the neighborhood of 18 pounds.

Hmm..........
You dont want steel, you want Titanium. Lighter and Stronger than Steel.
1/8", backed with with 4 layers (laminated using a special epoxy/carbon nanotube resin, compressed together under high pressure) alternating direction twill weave kevlar-49, back that with polycarbonate, which is then backed by 4 more kevlar layers and a final rubber foam padding system. Replace the Kevlar with Spectra - IF you can get hold of it.....

I currently have a vest in development that (and is proved in testing) will stop any round of any kind from any range excluding 50 cal, Armour Piercing or DU kinetic penetrators, and will even stand up to multiple hits in the same area with no loss of protection....... and is LIGHT!
I am also experimenting with a New alloy i stumbled upon while in my foundry that may stand upto 50 cal, DU and AP if 1/2" thick, but weighs less than commercially pure (Grade 1) Titanium

Materials are not as important as composition..........

reply to post by ADVISOR

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Cornstarch is a shear thickening fluid, but it's far from a good choice for stopping bullets. It's just too weak. You may as well wear bags full of mud. The kind of STF that stops bullets is pricey, and probably very difficult to find.

reply to post by Anonymous ATS

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Titanium is only stronger than steel per weight. By thickness, it's weaker. Only use it if you can afford to use more volume of it than you could steel. Titanium is a better choice for a given weight than steel. It's also far more expensive and harder to get. Kevlar and spectra are also expensive. I don't think the OP is looking to invent the next big thing in personal protection; I think he wants to stop bullets on a shoestring budget.

A good level II or even a level IIIA vest shouldn't be that expensive compared to the amount of Kevlar or spectra needed to make them. You can even buy used police armor for cheaper (Kevlar and spectra degrade with age, but not THAT much. Make sure you don't get zylon.). You could buy two level II vests, double up the ballistic material into one, stick a steel (or titanium, if you've got the cash) plate on the front and back, and call it level IV.

If the overall weight of the armor is about 18 pounds, you're better off purchasing a plate carrier and some stand alone trauma plates. The weight differences are negligible. It'll be more expensive, but you'll know for a fact that your armor will be rated for Level III+. Honestly, when it comes to my life, I'd rather pay more and live than have it the other way around.