What dive marker do you use?

[VTWarrenG]

Yup... there's no incentive to making your own weights. Spyder did it and actually ended up paying a buck more.

It's kinda like clothing... clothes are so well-made and so cheap that there's no incentive to making your own anymore, either.

And Spyder, if I'm ever so bored around the house that sewing becomes fun, I just take a trip down to Monterey and dive.

- Warren

 

[Swamp Rat]

I dive the cooper river here in SC. Do you know how much lead is on the bottom of that thing. Well I pick it up and make the weights. I made a mold out of a crack tank boot poured in the melted lead about 4lbs. Guess what a neutral bouyant 80al tank when inserted in the boot prior to booting on the tank.
Just have to drill some drain holes in it to make sure you can rinse any salt out.
OH and for the material for the soft weights get fiberglass screen. You know the black and grey stuff for screen doors and window.

 

[VTWarrenG]

hmmm...

AL80's are 3 lbs negative full, 3 lbs positive empty.... a 4 lb weight added means it's 7 lbs negative full, 1 lb negative empty...

- Warren

 

[SpyderTek]

Ummm I'm a little confused as to how you figure I wound up paying a buck MORE?

It costs 24$ + tax to BUY two pouches of 3 pounds each.

It cost me 25$ AFTER tax to MAKE those same two pouches above PLUSE 2 more pouches at 5 pounds each, PLUSE 2 more pouches at 2 pounds each PLUSE 5 more poucehs at 1 pound each.

If I had purchased the same amount of weight at the store instead of making it myself it would have cost $100 before tax -Not exactly what I would call cheap. (extrapolating $4 per pound from the cost of a 3lbs =$12).

So I saved $75 dollars making them myself and labor was only 2 days work.

Sorry if I was confusing before. Hope this clears it up. It is totally worth it to make your own weights.

Frugally,

SpyderTek

PS. I think we have gotten far off the original topic of this thread. Murdock, why not start a new threat on Do-it-Yourself stuff?

 

[VTWarrenG]

Oh, right -- I see what you're saying.

I didn't read the amount of lead you bought properly -- I thought you said you bought 7.5 lbs of shot... not 25 lbs of #7.5 shot. Oops.

- Warren

 

[Swamp Rat]

VT- Ok I get to take a pound off my belt if I had your tank.
Boy you guys are fast.

 

[MNScuba]

Thread started!

 

[aquanut]

I have seen some dive flags that have seemed to be way over priced. If you feel you need a dive flag, here is a good cheap way to do it.
Get yourself one of those square plastic milk crates and strap it into the center of an old inner-tube. tie the cheapest dive flag you can get to the crate.
To anchor this to the bottom, get yourself a large dogscrew from the hardware store (or maybe the petshop).
There ya go!!

 

[Ber Rabbit]

I LOVE my flag, it's easy to tow, I can hardly tell it's there. That "well" where you can put a light is really handy. When I put a light in it I secure it to the flag pole just in case. Make sure you read the instructions about how to put it together, there's something about putting the flag poles in with the donut only partially inflated (I think, it's been a while).

The donut glows for a LONG way too. I allowed a pair of our AOW students to use it on a dive and if they'd had a regular flag we would never have been able to monitor their dive. They swam so far from the entry point we wouldn't have been able to see the "glow sticks" that were on the regular flags but we could see that donut glowing in the distance! Sent a rowboat out to check on them just to make sure they were ok.

I think you'll really like that flag.
Ber

 

[herman]

Real cheap weights. I mine the local gun club pistol range for used 9mm and 38 cal slugs, it only takes a few minutes to pick up 10 lbs or so. Wash them and put them in home made pouches. So I have maybe 50 cents in almost any weight pouch size you want.