Can I Make My Own Underwater Slates?

[americanoregon]

Has anyone successfully made their own write-on/wipe-off underwater slates? What Materials did you use? What sort of pencil/pen? When I need white boards for teaching classes, I don't have to spend bazillions buying them at Office Depot, I can just go to Home Depot and buy 4 x 8 sheets of Masonite-type material and it works perfectly. Is there a similar substitute for slates, rather than paying about $40 per square foot to buy them from Scuba.com?

 

[DBailey]

Do a search in the DIY (do it yourself) section...

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=88953&highlight=slate

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=117126&highlight=slate

 

[dandrian]

Ah um.....unless you are wanting some sort of underwater 4' x 8' writing board a normal personal set of dive slates should run you about $10.00. I actually have a 3 different slates I use depending on whether or not I am in the water as a DM. One is 4x6 in., the other is 8x11 in., and I have a set of wrist slates. Don't think I paid more than $12.00 for any of them. For $10 I wouldnt consider trying to find a cheaper way of making them.......

 

[Dave Zimmerly]

Get an old Chlorox bottle, cut off the tappered end and bottom, cut remaining tube into thirds or quarters, drill holes for tubing, slide onto arm, use a pencil (also on tubing).

Dave (aka "Squirt")

 

[Guba]

I suppose you've seen the magnetic slates offered in dive catalogues and at dive shops. They're great, but the cost is a bit prohibitive. However, I found exactly the same thing at the local Walmart for almost exactly one fifth the cost...in the CHILDREN'S toy section. That's right, the little "magnedoodle" toys do exactly the same thing the "real" scuba magnetic slates do for a fraction of the cost. Mine even has pretty little fishes on it. Not bad as long as you don't mind your dive equipment having a Fisher Price name on it. I went so far as to glue one of my small dive slates to the back. That way, I can write more lasting info on the slate and have a means of writing more conversational messages using the magnetic part. Cheap? Sure, but it works great!
Guba

 

[DA Aquamaster]

I make wrist slates (with slots to hold a bottom timer out of 4" thin wall PVC pipe.

It's easy to cut/grind and makes a good writing surface for a normal pencil and it's easy to make a multipage slate. The strap for the bottom timer holds the wrist end of the slate and a 1/8" bungee keeps the elbow end of the slate secure on your fore arm.

I have also used Magnadoodles from the toy section as a slate. I have also uses the screens from them as replacements for broken screens in the much more expensive scuba versions.

 

[Quarrior]

I made mine from a for-sale sign and plexi-glass, bungee, #2 pencil and one of those pen type white erasers.

 

[Iruka]

Ok, cheapest one yet. Required materials. 1) Handicapped parking sign 2) typhoon to destroy handicapped parking sign, rending it useless for its intended purpose 3) super glue.

After one of our numerous typhoons, I found a broken handicapped parking sign. Not a metal one, but just a thin plastic sheet. I found it slightly thinner than I preferred, so I cut out 2 identical sections, superglued the "written" sides together, and then had a "free" 2-sided plastic slate.

 

[chewie]

as Guba & DA mentioned, the cheap magnetic slate works fine. a friend of mine gave me one which he bought in a flea market. cheap yet effective. if it gets damaged or broken, i can easily replace it. the frame has broke in one part already but can be super-glued back in place. if you can improvise stuff then why not? m planning to recycle my tattered gloves by dipping the palm parts in rubber paint so that i can use them again

 

[Shepman]

On my last trip to Coz, we met a neat dive couple. Mike from San Jose did the "magnadoodle" wrist slate from the toy dept trick. I was very impressed. The slate looked real good and worked perfectly.

A funny incident happened. I looked at the his slate during a dive before I had formally "met" him. The slate said "35' nurse Shark"

When we got on the boat, I asked him where he'd seen a 35 ' nurse shark. He laughed. the 35' notation came from a previous scrawl and the nurse shark notation came when he spotted one.

We had a good laugh at the screw-up.

Even with a slate, stuff gets garbeled underwater.