How to assemble DSS backplate and bolt-on weights?

[Brandon]

If you can't figure out how to put a bolt through a piece of metal, perhaps assembling your own gear is not for you...

 

[Pullmyfinger]

True.....it's not like the holes aren't already drilled.

Scuba board mandatory disclaimer: "I'm kidding."

 

[Dhboner]

Stuart sure has a knack for stirring things up around here ;-)

 

[Pullmyfinger]

The backplate and the weight plates will provide the answers you seek.

If you inspect the holes and discover counter-sunk holes.......then you would select a fastener that had a head that matched the counter sink.
Or....if the pre-drilled holes are not counter-sunk, you would choose a fastener that possessed a universal or "button head".
Use whatever you want......socket head cap screws, or if you're an air cooled VW guy, they call them "cheese head screws." Although they are not "screws."

You will just know it when you see it.

Time spent by America's youth browsing the aisles of hardware stores will pay off later in adult life.
I think the guys on the other side of the pond already know this ****!
We have lost this basic knowledge.

Sorry Bro.....I could send my kids into a hardware store and they would emerge with the correct fasteners to put two pieces of metal together.

I'm crying inside for you right now.......
Parenting fail.

Fasteners........know your fasteners.
They hold the "world" together.

You can find them in the "Men's Department"
Just go browsing the aisles, you'll figure it out.

Don't take the above **** too seriously.
I'm kinda ****ing with you.

Cheers,
Mitch

 

[stuartv]

Stuart,

How many times have you called me now for advice? 2-3?

Did I not spent at least 40 minutes on the phone detailing what I recommend in a BP&W for you?

Then you choose to ignore my advise, buy a used set up with different wing than I recommend for warm water diving.

When you called about fasteners I did answer your question fully.

I specifically told you that you need 1/4 x 20 "button heads" in stainless steel, and a pair of washers.

That changes exactly what? Did I not spend considerable time educating you about how various diving applications impact the choices in Backplate and wing selection?

Lack of finances doesn't justify using people.

This is total nonsense.

You are free to remember things as you see fit.

The why of it being relevant that I already had purchased my rig before I called you is because, as above, you were not listening to me and you were telling me what to buy, instead of understanding that I wasn't asking for a recommendation. I was TRYING to ask about gear I already had.

You are, of course, free to establish whatever business policies you like. But, my personal values/ethics are such that I feel like if I buy a used piece of gear and then call the OEM to ask some questions about it, I am not USING them. And the OEM is free to answer my questions or to tell me that I need to pay for support, if that's what their policy is.

Finally, you have stated that you spent "at least 40 minutes on the phone with me." I checked my phone records. I called on December 11, at 11:09am (Eastern Time). That call lasted 1 minute. I believe the woman that answered the phone told me you were busy, so I said I'd call back later. I called again at 2:36pm. That call lasted 5 minutes. I believe that was, again, me speaking to the woman who answered the phone and asking some questions. Then, you called me back at 2:48pm. That call lasted 6 minutes. You cut me off mid-sentence numerous times to answer a question that you THOUGHT I was trying to ask, instead of the actual question I was trying to ask. Then you got huffy because I was taking up your time to ask you questions about gear I didn't buy from you (your words, by the way, not something I inferred incorrectly) and, further, that I even HAD the prototype plates.

And that is why the call only lasted 6 minutes (or less - you know how cell phone companies round up to the next whole minute). I put your recollection of 40 minutes in the same basket with your memory of the rest of the details.

My records only show one other call between me and DSS since then. On Jan 19th, the day after I got back from my last trip, where I called to inquire about getting my leaking wing fixed. Which, by the way, never had any suggestion that I was expecting or even hoping that it would be done for free. I just wanted to know how to get it done and what it would cost. Obviously, there was not going to be a warranty repair on a 10 year old wing that I bought used and had a pinch flat.

---------- Post added April 2nd, 2015 at 12:34 PM ----------

I'm crying inside for you right now.......
Parenting fail.

Fasteners........know your fasteners.
They hold the "world" together.

You can find them in the "Men's Department"
Just go browsing the aisles, you'll figure it out.

Don't take the above **** too seriously.
I'm kinda ****ing with you.

Cheers,
Mitch

Ha ha ha!! No offense taken. I am not lacking self-esteem in the mechanical ability department.

I am also not one of those manly men who won't ask for directions. I don't have a big supply of metric and SAE fasteners just laying around. So, sure, I could have taken the weights down to the hardware store and done a little experimentation to figure out what I needed. I'm not good enough to just eyeball a hole like that and know exactly what size and thread pitch it is.

But, why do all that when an option is to simply consult a reliable source? Especially given my recognition of my inexperience in scuba, which meant, to me, that the "obvious" answer, to me, might not be the correct answer because of some scuba principle that I didn't/don't know yet. Recognizing that there is a lot I don't know about scuba, plus the efficiency of asking, instead of "figuring it out" is why I called - and didn't just ask for info, but tried to PURCHASE the necessary hardware.

If I just took your approach (figure it out!), I could, for example, end up putting an o-ring somewhere that totally fits. And end up learning the hard way that it was the wrong o-ring material, which I didn't know because I was ignorant and didn't ask.

 

[buddhasummer]

The plot thickens...

 

[scubatoys]

Wow! Anybody else need a set of these weight plates? I have a pair left over from when I was a dealer years ago. I let them go for $35.00 plus shipping. I just weighed them and with the bolts they are 7.5lbs.

 

[Pullmyfinger]

I will take them if you can ship them USPS Flat rate Priority Mail.
It costs $12 for that shipping method.

 

[decompression]

But how do you attach them?[emoji38]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[scubatoys]

I will take them if you can ship them USPS Flat rate Priority Mail.
It costs $12 for that shipping method.

Pullmyfinger,

I checked and there is no USPS package larger enough to hold the plates for $12.00. The two smallest flat rate packages that it fits in is either the padded mailer for $23.65 or Medium Flat Rate box for $46.95. I can do either one for you. However with these being 7.5lbs it may not make it all the way there in the padded mailer. Just let me know.