Dive slate materials

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sandiegoaes

Contributor
Messages
129
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127
Location
Chicago
# of dives
2500 - 4999
Looking to make customized dives slates for an advanced and rescue class I am teaching. I have seen a bunch of DIY suggestions for materials (floopy disks, vinyl house siding, etc...) but would like to find some slate stock at an art store or similar place to customize them.

Anyone know a material source for a dive slate? Looking for about a 8x10 sheet that I can customize.

Thanks!
 
Looking to make customized dives slates for an advanced and rescue class I am teaching. I have seen a bunch of DIY suggestions for materials (floopy disks, vinyl house siding, etc...) but would like to find some slate stock at an art store or similar place to customize them.

Anyone know a material source for a dive slate? Looking for about a 8x10 sheet that I can customize.

Thanks!
Might try this;
https://www.amazon.com/USAMADEs-12x...071218011&rnid=3071213011&s=industrial&sr=1-3
Regardless, please report back with what you end up using and how well it works.
Respectfully,
James
 
Starboard. Try Amazon. Buy the thinnest sheet you can find. Multiple marine applications.
 
Looking to make customized dives slates..."

DIY dive slates are light years ahead of the junk they sell in the dive shops.
I've been making my own slates for years.

I'm always subconsciously on the lookout for raw materials.
The opaque white plastic from laundry detergent bottles, and food packaging works for small slates.
Also sections cut from large diameter white plastic pipe for curved wrist slates.
Almost anything has potential, but most materials need to be roughed up with coarse sand paper to take the pencil.

Dangling slates are bad, so most of my designs curve around the wrist or incorporate into a piece of gear.
I use the flat carpenters' pencils because they can be slipped under the slate comfortably.

My brain is not big enough to hold all my ideas sometimes.

.
 
I am looking to give the students two slate material packets for an Advanced course.

The packet will contain two small slates, a pencil, surgical tubing and a clip.

For the first one, they will draw the coordinates for a navigation exercise on the top of it in waterproof marker and they will glue a compass, similar to this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Orienteering...&rnid=2941120011&s=outdoor-recreation&sr=1-11

on the slate itself to create sort of a DIY TAC board:

RJE International - DIVER NAVIGATION BOARD

They will use this for the navigation part of the course. They have the entire course mapped out ahead of time, can practice and visualize it, then execute it underwater using lines for kick cycles, floats, etc...

The second slate will be used to map out a shipwreck. They draw the basic shape of the wreck based on known data and use the preexisting drawing to map out the wreck, take measurements, depth soundings, etc.. while exploring the wreckage.

On the back of that slate is a grid where they can keep track of marine life for marine life ID dives.

I am going to bind them together with some surgical tubing and give them a clip to attach it to their BC.

I think it will work better than a store bought slate and create some flexibility.

I will post some photos when complete.
 
I am looking to give the students two slate material packets for an Advanced course.

The packet will contain two small slates, a pencil, surgical tubing and a clip.

For the first one, they will draw the coordinates for a navigation exercise on the top of it in waterproof marker and they will glue a compass, similar to this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Orienteering...&rnid=2941120011&s=outdoor-recreation&sr=1-11

on the slate itself to create sort of a DIY TAC board:

RJE International - DIVER NAVIGATION BOARD

They will use this for the navigation part of the course. They have the entire course mapped out ahead of time, can practice and visualize it, then execute it underwater using lines for kick cycles, floats, etc...

The second slate will be used to map out a shipwreck. They draw the basic shape of the wreck based on known data and use the preexisting drawing to map out the wreck, take measurements, depth soundings, etc.. while exploring the wreckage.

On the back of that slate is a grid where they can keep track of marine life for marine life ID dives.

I am going to bind them together with some surgical tubing and give them a clip to attach it to their BC.

I think it will work better than a store bought slate and create some flexibility.

I will post some photos when complete.
Nice project!
I've used high-impact polystyrene sheeting from an art supply house. It is sheets that are (for example) 7x12 inches, and thicknesses like 0.08, 0.10. and 0.125 inches.
A quick search on Amazon found something similar: https://smile.amazon.com/White-Poly...ene+sheets+0.125+thick&qid=1596061851&sr=8-14
Good luck!
 
Nice project. Don’t the advanced students get slates included. I know I did ..?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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