How to Make Body Armor
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ส.ค. 2024
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Make body armor for most handgun rounds:
• Homemade Body Armor
How to make body armor for rifles:
• DIY Body Armor
My tests of this armor design:
• DIY Body Armor
Why I chose the materials used.
Ceramic Tile: I used 2 layers of ceramic tiles as the initial material to be impacted by the projectile. I have tested many different types of homemade body armor designs and the most effective models use ceramic tiles (PEI4 and PEI5) to break up and disrupt the round. Ceramic tiles are rated for their abrasion resistance on a scale of PEI1-PEI5 PEI4 and PEI5 tiles are meant for heavy use walking surfaces and have the hardest glaze coatings and are more durable than tiles that are PEI1-PEI3. These PEI4 PEI5 tiles can be purchased from any Lowes or Home Depot.
Aluminum: The aluminum plate absorbs the energy and catches the disrupted projectile. I used aluminum, because it has the greatest strength to weight ratio. It is 6061 Aluminum and was purchased off of Amazon. It can also be found at any metal fabrication shop anywhere in the world. It was 1/4 inch thick. 7075 Aluminum is stronger but it is less common and costs more.
Denim: The denim is a 10oz weight denim that was purchased from Walmart or any fabric store. It is cheap, strong, light, and is easy to work with. You can also use fiberglass, which is stronger and lighter, but it is not as easy to work with and is less available. Denim works very well when used in conjunction with the construction adhesive.
Construction Adhesive: I used
Website for more information: professionalprepper.org/diy-r...
My testing vs 5.56: th-cam.com/video/NEDMQ7jalU4/w-d-xo.html
@jonaz15 What rifle length are you using?
@@fearrogue 16"
This is the best "Homemade" design, with common materials.
Truly a common material build... great to see..
I layered three 1/16 inch steel sheets and two 1/4 inch acrylic sheets with a rubber mat as backing. Not sure how effective it is yet but seemed like a good design.
Test it out and make a video!
I used a quarter inch aluminum plate in my first submission. The AK went right through it. Although I didn't have any tiles because I was running into weight constraints. It will be interesting to see how far this plate goes. Good luck!
The ceramic tile makes the difference, and works against 5.56, but 7.62x39 is a whole different beast. Its penetration capability relies on momentum instead of speed. 5.56 relies on speed. Ceramic works well against high speed but is less effective against high momentum.
@@ProfessionalPepper A lot of AK ammo (all of it maybe?) uses steel jackets too. Bit tougher than copper.
@@Fudmottin i was going to add a steel plate to mine but felt thats kind of cheating 😆
@@pmhcustomcreations That would probably also take you right over the 9lbs weight limit too. Using metal of any kind seems to bring the weight up faster than the strength.
Why not use like a rubber spray on the outside, like a rhino liner for trucks
I have a similar set up, aluminum somewhere just under 1/2 inch, made it from a few of those cylinder cookie jar things, then pull up pants folded and lots of duct tape, hopefully it can stop a .22, which were the only things I had at my house didn’t want to buy anything
Learned much, TY
You're welcome
Its not just the hardness of porcelain tiles as the high speed fracture absorbs energy whilst the hardness helps spread. Again though there isn't a single material that is best as a composite of engineering materials with differing engineering properties likely will be best.
Porcelain floor tiles seem to get better results from other vids, so use 2x layers of overlapping tiles spaced with a half tile thickness of rubberised resin with a fibreglass back pad.
Likely the top surface of tiles doesn't adhere well and going the full hog a diamond cup wheel on an angle grinder can prep the surface (does this lose hardness ?). Also to encase and wrap with final layers that cover over the front and overlap on the back to create a complete wrapper is important if you do wish to stop lamination and also adds a further layer.
A couple of final layers of Kevlar might only add $20-30 to the build but also add another excellent engineering property.
So thats it floor tiles, welding blanket with a bit of kevlar just to finnish it off...
PS vac forming due to the degassing is a better method than clamping.
Instead of denim, next time go to harbor freight and get a fiberglass welding blanket.
Im curious to see what kind of difference that would make.
Nice job man!
Fiberglass is superior for sure.
I wouldn't want to be breathing in the vicinity of the spalling fiberglass.
@@ProfessionalPepperusually splinters out the back end though. Ouch.
@@daye8132 Without the fiberglass you won't be breathing.
Replacing denim with kevlar/carbon fibre/glassfibre would be better but costlier. Glass is a winner for strength and weight and for protecting the ceramic also
Although there are vids out there where they used fibre glass and it shatters the back so splinters come out and that’d hurt. (If you actually wanted to protect yourself with a diy one obviously)…
@@blank.9301 A combination would make the most semse surely. Fibreglass fabric and polyester resin with flexible additive will shatter far less, but if the last layers near the body were something else, even plastic, you could limit debris on the body side.
Need to put Kevlar rubber in the middle
Im pretty pumped to see the test, yours is a fairly different build than Im used to. I see lotsa fibre glass, HDPE, ceramic and steel. But rarely see aluminum or denim
Id like to see yours tested vs 7.62x39 and 51
Showing how you cut ceramic was useful to me
He did another video a while back where he shoots a similar plate and it stops m855 with no problem
I am excited to see it against 7.62x39. Ive already shown it works against 5.56, so if 7.62 is stopped, that means darn near 99% of the treats you would encounter you would be protected.
I hate how he jumps to 300prc instead of going to 308. Oh well 🤞
@@ProfessionalPepper the test vid is out then?
@@evansaw293 CRS Firearms should post a test video of it sometime this month. I believe it can withstand 308, but think it may not survive 300PRC.
That's incredible how you put it all together.great idea.ill definitely consider putting my to work on making mine.you did an amazing job. The name is ralphie..
use fiberglass sheet layered glued with epoxy resin and if you want rifle rated armor put some glas/stone/ceramic tiles, best is mosaik useable in pools, put it between like, 6-8 layers of fiberglass, 1 layer mosaik tiles, 3-5 layers fiberglass, 1 layer mosaik tiles and 18-38 layers of fiberglass(more thickness, more thoughness) (than important is pot it between form, like steel or some form that pushes glue out and make it thinner but harder), than cut excess with anglegrinder -dust mask is important, or else you die due to internal lungs damage (no fun), brush sides and all put in duct tape on carpets (grey, big, thick tape) -this setup holds even against .308 win
ive watched maybe 10 videos today on making body armor and they all have forgotten to sand down metal, ceramic, or plastic; before adding an adhesive lol. love all these videos though.
I’ve noticed that too
Hi,
I had an idea, unfortunately I have no way of testing it where i live, but it might be of interest to you.
Its basically to paint several coats of liquid rubber sealant on the front of the tiles (until it's maybe at least 1/8" thick). It cures to a very tar-like substance.
My theory is that it will gunk up the projectile, adding friction, and making it harder to pass through the rest of the panel.
Edit: The idea is to eliminate the need for the second layer of tiles.
Also, a layer of fiberglass cloth can be added somewhere in front or between the coats of liquid rubber to help prevent spalling or explosion of the tiles. I think the PL might be too brittle for that.
Edit: even after the liquid rubber dries it will still be sticky so probably should be wrapped in fabric or denim as per usual.
Anything in front of the ceramic works as spall protection. Slowing the bullet down would happen best after it hits the ceramic.
The ceramic works well because it tears and strips the jacket off the bullet making it easier for the backing material to absorb the rest of the impact.
Evan Saw i know the purpose of the ceramic. Its hardness causes the projectile to pancake upon impact, increasing surface area and making passthrough more difficult. But thanks for your take.
Evan Saw also, not anything stops spalling. Some things work better than others. A gooey or rubbery substance will increase multi hit capability by holding more of the ceramic in, as opposed to brittle materials which allow more ceramic fragments to blow out the front, weakening it quicker
Evan Saw also, the liquid rubber is to add to the friction so that the rest of the panel can slow it better. I dont think you really understood my idea at all
I don't believe the rubber would be a good weight to strength trade off. It is always best to have the hardest material in front to disrupt the bullet before you try and catch it. It is a futile effort to attempt to slow a bullet down with friction. You have to smash it, then catch it.
Ukrainian 👍:
6,5 мм з алюмінію 6061 2 шари керамічної плитки PEI рівня 4 або 5. Для склеювання використовуйте поліуретановий будівельний клей. Використовуйте важку джинсову тканину або скловолокно, щоб обернути плитку броні та алюміній.
6,5 mm z alyuminiyu 6061 2 shary keramichnoyi plytky PEI rivnya 4 abo 5. Dlya skleyuvannya vykorystovuyte poliuretanovyy budivelʹnyy kley. Vykorystovuyte vazhku dzhynsovu tkanynu abo sklovolokno, shchob obernuty plytku broni ta alyuminiy.
That's useful, hopefully, it gets seen. Did you hear how you placed in the CRS Firearms competition?
@@despectra best performance from a plate that wasn't made with kevlar.
@@ProfessionalPepper That's seriously impressive. Well done!
@@ProfessionalPepper Thanks - that's good to hear. I've sent you a email - can you have a quick check to see if it has come through?
@@despectra sorry buddy, I haven't seen it yet
Try using tempered steel, 3mm will stop 9mm, tilling disks are a good way to get some
That is difficult to find.
Good video- I just made or attempted to make my first body armour a week ago. I basically used fiberglass mat/resin and 3 layers of the very small ceramic tiles. It was a mess to do and ended up weighing over 12 lbs. Is the denin superior to fiberglass mat and construction adhesive better than resin? How much did it end up weighing? Very clean build BTW. I may consider this design if better than what I just did..
Fiberglass is superior to denim, but denim is much easier to work with.
The construction adhesive and resin are probably similar in strength, but resin or epoxies are a pain to work with.
The plate ended up weighing 8.8lbs. So it is almost the same weight as AR500 which weighs 8-9lbs depending on the coating.
@@ProfessionalPepper That's a good weight.. I can vouch for resin being a pain to work with and having to cut edges after it dries. Thanks for reply and Hope your armour does well in the video.
Audio Gear i made a full set of laminated kevlar panels and went through 2 saw blades trying to cut ONE SIDE of one piece lol. Gonna try a diamond grinder bit next...
@@jeboteya5489That must have been a tough cut. Is it OK to laminate Kevlar? I thought it had to stay soft. Do you know a good place to find kevlar?
@@audiogear474 you can laminate kevlar. It increases its stopping abilities. Look at modern military helmets.
Nice wierd quincedence though I actually Finnish when you posted.
Well sir I’m going to take your idea and toss my own mix into it I found some 1inch pei group 5 squared tiles and I was going to use your suggestion on the construction adhesive to bind it to a sheet of 1/8 thick aluminum (both sides) covered with 5 sheets of 1680 ballistic nylon just to hold it in place but I’ll use fiberglass resin that’s impregnated with graphene powder to strengthen the resin. Then on the backside of the aluminum plate/sheet ( which is thin for a reason ) layers of high grade ballistic Kevlar with the afore mentioned impregnated graphene resin with a 1/8 inch thick titanium plate in the back with the entire panel covered by the 1680 ballistic nylon once again with the afore mentioned resin. Is it expensive? Well yeah. However my rough calculations show that it should be under 8 pounds (depending on the layers of Kevlar and nylon) I’ve been gathering the materials needed for the past 3 months, (I’m just a poor country boy so I needed time) and should have the final piece next month which is the graphene powder. From my extensive research ( which at time annoyed the living hell outta my wife lol ) the graphene powder is the key to the whole thing I hope I’m right wish me luck. I will be posting my first video of the construction and testing.
Dang! Sounds like quite the project. Good luck on the build. Graphene powder is a pretty cool substance.
I'm looking forward to seeing your video.
As a tip from personal experience (see my collection of diy armor videos), when working with the 1"x1" tiles, remove the webbing from the tiles and adhere them directly to the under layer leaving no gaps between the tiles. The gaps, even when filled with resin/epoxy, are a weak point. You really have to focus on breaking up that bullet so the under layers can catch it. Cheers.
Wear. A mask with graphene powder. Graphene was used in COVID vaccine 😊
No follow up?
Do you have a video of testing that plate ?
The link is in the video description and pinned to the top of the comments section.
Do you think i could use 2 plates of 3,2mm (around 1/8") instead of one 1/4" (around 6.4mm)? Or maybe use 4mm mild steel instead? I have this materials on stock, so making plates would be basically "free" for me. Maybe add something between 2 alu plates like fibreglass laminate?
I am pretty confident all those ideas would work, but you should test them if you have the opportunity to do so.
So what happens when a round strikes a seam between ceramic plates?
I'd like to try.. Kevlar, ceramic, and fiberglass. Layered!!! All coated with flex seal..to stop scrap metal flying...
I was going to go with tile but talked to some local shops and the ceramics that they use to make tile aren't the same as in vests. Gave me an ex. Of tiles on a space craft (high heat but fragile) compared to the tiles on a tank.
From my testing, tiles, or some other hard material is needed as a front impact surface to strip the hard copper jacket from the round and,or deform the core so it can be caught by the backer material.
THIS is exactly my thought process planning mine.
I'm not even past design. I'm considering doing angled, corrugated metal sections sandwiched between 2 other pieces of material. No metal back, metal on the middle, but angled in ridges so I can try to increase over all thickness a bit.
These have been fun to watch get shot. I'm gonna hurry mine up 🤣
@@imadequate3376 you have 5" to work with, which makes a difference. It gets outside the practicality of it but its within the rules.
@@ProfessionalPepper I watched a few videos on Kevlar and I'm kinda at this weird "should I just replicate the Kevlar bullet trap" or "do some sort of thick padded materials and a plate" and I've come to this cross roads of sloped armor in an attempt to do both.
Should be fun to get together
@@imadequate3376 do kevlar layers epoxied together with a ceramic tile in front.
I hope I don't sound like a total noob oh, and I don't want to be that guy, I have an idea bear with me; I have some PE eye level four and to individual level five ceramic tiles. If you did three or four layers of ceramic tiles, with a lot of layers of heavy-duty duct tape how much would be enough to stop rifle rounds?
I do not know, but that us a good question. Try it and post results.
I foresee this working against pistol calibers, but will have trouble with rifles since there's no backing material to catch things that make it through :D
The Aluminum plate absorbs the energy of the round afeter it gets busted up.
Here is me testing a smaller prototype with the same design against m855 and m193.
th-cam.com/video/NEDMQ7jalU4/w-d-xo.html
Here is my simplest handgun armor design. th-cam.com/video/TsycTtzWw2s/w-d-xo.html
@@ProfessionalPepper Do you have the velocity figures from that test?
I don't, but I was shooting from a 16" barrel, 25yds from the target. I estimate around 3100fps for the m193 and 3000fps for the m855.
@@ProfessionalPepper Got it. Do you happen to recall the brand of M193 and M855?
Will you test how it works in future videos?
He shot a similar panel in another video. It works
Multi hits from M855 and M193 from a 16" barrel.
th-cam.com/video/NEDMQ7jalU4/w-d-xo.html
@@ProfessionalPepper thanks
Wonder if you could use glass fabric and kevlar fabric alternating them then infuse it with resin under vacuum to varying thicknesses to test out? Don’t know the validity of sourcing kevlar fabric haha. Im sure people have tried. A previous job of mine involved composite work and I was able to take fiberglass samples 1.5” thick home and shot them with 5.56 and it didn’t penetrate but that shit would start getting heavy fast scaled up to armor plate size.
It's a good idea. However, I feel like kevlar is outside of the DIY spirit. Fiberglass is more readily available, affordable, and easier to work with. MindToMachine has some videos showing the effectiveness of the combination.
I'm still learning a bit of a newbie but quick question; some of the professional plates I see use uhwpe behind their tiles. Not doubting you but is there an advantage using aluminum? My guess is that a solid plate of aluminum has to be way better at Distributing Force then the sheets of plastic
UHWPE would possibly work better. It has a much better tensile strength to weight ratio. The only thing it lacks is hardness, so if the projectile isn't broken up or blunted enough, it will penetrate. You'd have to test it to see if it would be better.
@@ProfessionalPepper well said, that's why I love the aluminum idea: seems to have more physical stability.
I found various tiles already at my house, is there a way to tell if their PEI 5 without the box? ( one of them I'm 98% sure is a small piece of porcelain/ marble and the other one came from a mainstream TGI Fridays restaurant so I assume it has a decent strength level
The box almost always has it written on the outside. Almost all floor tiles you can buy from big box stores are PEI 4 or 5. If they are labeled decorative, they are most likely 2 or 3.
@@ProfessionalPepper awesome! Your the man! The armour-coach!
Ssd you did not test it. How do we know if it really works?
Same plate design tested here: th-cam.com/video/NEDMQ7jalU4/w-d-xo.html
Instead of denim why not a welders blanket?
You could and it would be stronger, but it's more expensive, harder to work with, and less available than denim.
Would silk work instead of demni
I guess, but the cost benefit ratio wouldn't make it worth it IMO
How many Weight have It ?
Just less than 9 pounds.
Follow up?
I already tested this design. My tests show it stops 2 rounds of M855 and 2 rounds of M193. CRS showed it could stop 7.62x39, but it degraded the ceramic components enough to make it vulnerable to the following shots.
Drop the denim and replace it with Kevlar or fiber glass cloth
It would be stronger.
@@ProfessionalPepper I may make a plate to submit, I’ll be open with the composite I’m thinking, pretty much what you did to a T except trying to maintain weight while adding Lexan and Kevlar. Like from the strike face, ceramic, aluminum, lexan then Kevlar. The idea being to mangle and deform and slow down the bullet so that it’s stopped by the lexan or Kevlar. Due to weight the lexan may not be able to be incorporated in a significant enough quantity to be useful. In which case I’d just add as much Kevlar as possible at the rear to catch the projectile.
Aluminum does do an amazing job at catching slower larger bullets though. Absorbs a ton of energy. The ceramic, aluminum Kevlar combination seems idealistic for a home made plate in my mind. Weight being the primary constraint. If I’m not mistaken the plate you’re showing CRS showed being shot the other day and from my piss poor memory I seem to recall did very well. Wasn’t it one of the finalists?
P.S. from my own testing with an M1 Garland and just FMJ .30-06 and 5.56 I think most rifle bullets will stop in 2.5” of aluminum, (from memory) my test piece was in layers though so I’m not sure how much that effected the result. If there’s somewhere I could post pictures of my aluminum test pieces I’ll gladly do so. (Maybe it was 2.5” for the 5.56 and 3” for the M1, hard to recall it was a year ago)
@@meanman6992 do it! My plate was only beat by plates that used pieces of manufactured armor within their designs. My design showed it can stop 5.56x45 and 7.62x39. I think that is the limit of what you need for 99% of the threats out there.
I want one jacket can u give me
No 👎
Had to throw a like to get it off of 666
thanks for sharing this ideas‼️
could you help to develop level 4 plates for our patriots in Ukraine?
This plate will stop 7.62x39 and 5.45x39.
@The Professional Prepper (Prep Know Do) this is good, but not enough
need protection against 7.62×54R russian rifle / machine-gun cartridge
we helping many ways and also sending info to our friends who defending Ukraine now
It is a 3+. Level 4 would be way too difficult.
@The Professional Prepper (Prep Know Do) I know
but our friends and relatives are dying
so we looking for every way to help them save lives
@@Krymoff add an extra layer of tiles. Not the ideal situation because of the weight and thickness, but I'm sure it will stop at least one 7.62x54R. I've seen plates like this stop a .308.
Umm no!
Umbrella yaassss!
OFF SET YOUR TILE SEAMS!!!!!!!!!!
I think for a production design that would be a good idea, but this was more for experimentation.
Likely a thin rubberised layer (resin additive?) between the tiles may help reduce impact transference and help spread the energy, but offsetting is a must so that a single bullet can only hit a single seam.
Where's the Testing Dude? Absolutely wasted my Time by watching this
The link to previous tests is in the description, and here th-cam.com/video/NEDMQ7jalU4/w-d-xo.html
Here is the testing video from CRS Firearms: th-cam.com/video/2wqWzPaq7kA/w-d-xo.html
THIS ISN'T Prepper! THIS is ClickBait for the ignorant!
You would be FARRRRR better off having an exit plan + carrying animal traps/fishing gear/garden seeds! Ammo and weapons comes a distant second.....and armor plates are just dumb!
Now, IF your goal is guerilla warfare or insurrection...then MAYBE the above video has value.
Chill bro, it's only for informational purposes only. Yikes.
Buy some its still available i would not bet my life on homemade armor i didnt like wearing real body armor and taking a hit
Use Kevlar I stead of denim..
Kevlar may be difficult and expensive to acquire in many scenarios. The intent with my design was to be inexpensive and made from readily available materials.
Aluminum aint good vs heat shells . Goes right threw the plate. Sucks. You need titanium 20 mm plate.
Heat shell? Who did you piss off?
@@ProfessionalPepper : oh , None at all , but it is a fact that there are ammo that can go through steel plates of 3 - 5 mm even 10 - 15 mm. So it has been ruled out that Titan plates that are 15-20 mm thick are strongest against ammunition that is caliber 50 and up.
Just want to give you some info on what might be good to mix Titan, with ceramics, processed strengthened steel on wader 15 mm which gives a stronger protection on a vest.
Wish you a nice day.