Closing side gap on AP armor

[Bigturc]

Here we go again! This has been discussed a lot, but not so much that I had all the details I wanted.

 

I know of all the ways to do it, so no need to develop it here in this thread. What I'm interested in, is the pros & cons of ABS vs Elastic. So your experience is definitely a big plus here.

 

Also, before starting this thing. I've seen enough pictures/screen grabs with rivets to decide I would go this way. Now, what's the real deal with those rivets, what are they for? Is it purely a visual thing? Becaue if you choose to close with ABS/hard plastic, won't it be glued to prevent the sides from opening? Same goes if you use elastic, won't you glue it inside the armor to prevent it from stretching away or to prevent the rivets to tear through?

 

I have about 1-2" of gap on each side, I'm affraid if I use plastic, it will be way too rigid and not practical for storage. While if I choose a 3" wide elastic, the armor will still keep it's flexibility at the side and be white (to achieve Elite status ).

 

All your inputs are welcome!

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

If i am not mistaken the options are:

White plastic ( of your liking that is as close to the color or your armor

White material ( leather,vynil(Sp??) or elastic

 

But as long as it looks "Sharp" like Scott likes to say.

 

I used The abs extra stuff that can with the armor, i glued it to the abd plate and left it free on the back, the belt keeps it in place and since it is not conected in the back it hides inside the kidney plate and moves around if i bend or move side ways... the key if to give it move space then you need so it is inside the kidney plate and wount pop out .... Learn that the hard way

sorry no pics..... actually no camera.

 

But i could draw it if it made no sence.

[Bigturc]

That's an awesome suggestion .. I don't know why I assumed both sides were glued ... :| Really cool! How much hidden extra len did you have to leave to make sure it wouldn't pop out? Also, did you use rivets with the ABS too?

 

Keep em coming boys! I'd like to hear people using elastic or any soft material too.

[troopermaster]

Closing the gap doesn't mean that you have to rivet the ab and kidney together. The real suits were hinged at the side, probably with black elastic. The other side simply overlapped (or not if you were larger) so if you were to glue the plastic to either your ab plate or kidney, you would still use elastic to connect them together, that's what the rivets are for, holding the elastic.

 

You could simply rivet the extra plastic to either you ab or kidney and just have the other section overlap and have done with it. Job done and looks good

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Mine TE2 is butt-fit (I'm skinny enough) and I just use use velcro to hold the sides together. I've not had any movement issues at all. I initially tried to permanently fix two of the sides together and found it disastrous. Storage being one problem, the other being the amount of stress on that joint started to rip out the strip of plastic I'd glued to the insides. I like the ABS shim the best as it matches the closest. I think using elastic or velcro to affix it allows it enough flex.

 

Paul has some great suggestions above.

You could simply rivet the extra plastic to either you ab or kidney and just have the other section overlap and have done with it. Job done and looks good

That's pretty much what I'm going to do on my FX, except I'll try to butt fit it in - using rivets on one side and velcro on the other.

[Scott M.[TK]]

I actually used a vinyl trash can from Wal Mart. I cut two strips, and riveted it to the kidney plate. Then I used Industrial Velcro on the inside of my ab plate, and get it to hold that way. Once the belt is on, it holds everything in place, and does not give. I bought a different Kidney plate and Butt plate, so I will be very interested to see all the options here, as I want to use it with my FX ab plate and close the gap again. The vinyl is flexible, and the velcro keeps it from opening up. I have not had any issues with bending over and such, so it has worked for me.

[triktoys]

LOL...Scott that's a first, wal mart trash can, I love it! Hey everyone, be sure to look for Scott on TV tonight, in armor at the World Series Game 3!

 

 

I actually used a vinyl trash can from Wal Mart. I cut two strips, and riveted it to the kidney plate. Then I used Industrial Velcro on the inside of my ab plate, and get it to hold that way. Once the belt is on, it holds everything in place, and does not give. I bought a different Kidney plate and Butt plate, so I will be very interested to see all the options here, as I want to use it with my FX ab plate and close the gap again. The vinyl is flexible, and the velcro keeps it from opening up. I have not had any issues with bending over and such, so it has worked for me.

[Ciscotiger]

I got the idea from Scott M. about the trash can. I got my trash can at Target, very affordable and easy to cut out. I had no discomfort or flexibility problem; only used velcro for easy on/off. I think it looks best in comparison to vinyl.

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

Aboout the amount of space i left......

 

At first i used one extra abs thingy cut it in half ( down the width) so i had 2 (3x9) or so. I did loose alot of gut while working on the armor.... ( stoped having my afteroon coffee with sweet stuff) so that was a´nuff.

 

then i started eating sweets and coffee again and guess what didnt fit any more...

 

Lost wieght again and fits

 

So i would try to add at least 1 full inch insdie, total of 2 inches, thats alot

If u can squeeze more do it, u could always reshape the end part to be curved.

 

Granted if u go that way..

 

Post pics good luck.

[Bigturc]

Ok, so here's more info and questions

 

I always thought my abs piece was pretty twisted .. I always assumed it was normal and never really bothered with it. I decided to make sure this was normal by taking a few pics of the abs piece and they fitting of the kidney piece with the abs piece. As you can see on the pics below, if I line up my left side to the kidney, the right side will have over 1" of lateral gap, I'm not taking about the side gap here .. see picture anyway, I'm sure it's clear enough.

 

So that gap was what originally made me wonder how I could close the side gap ..

 

Now, may this be normal or not, I assume I could always take away some kidney upper lip width so that the piece would be easier to squeeze closer? How thick is that lip on your AP armor? I guess it does make sense to take some ABS off that lip to make it more flexible?

 

I'd like your input and pics if you have of those 2 pieces closed from top view ..

 

Details to look at in this picture:

Middle left : Upper lip shape being more angled on the left side

Bottom left: Flat part where the buttons are is more bubbled on the left side

Upper right: See gap on right side when left side is aligned

Lower right: Kidney lip width reference shot .. is it too large so that it removed flexibility

--------------

[TK-2126_MD[TK]]

Hey ya its warped.... well i have a FX so i dont know if all AP are like that... But the pics on your otther thread it looks fine...

 

Let see what other have to say.

[Burge]

I went to the big orange home store and bought a vertical blind with 4-inch slats for around $10. The slats are gloss white vinyl 7 foot by 4 inch, I think there were about 20 slats anyway. The vinyl is very flexible, has a slight curve, but still sturdy, and blends very well with the armor. I used this stuff for any shim or snap. It was also easy to cut with just scissors, which made trimming simple. I used rivets instead of Velcro to keep the pieces closer together. This is my RT, but would work for AP also.

 

Inside of ab armor with riveted shim piece.

 

Outside view.

 

Opposite side with a Velcro side for access.

[Bigturc]

Thanks for the input Burge .. although, I had problem fitting a piece of ABS in my side since there is a huge lip on top of both pieces (front / back) and I wasn't sure how well it would fit .. I began to wonder if people didn't actually trimmed that lip down.

 

I still haven't had a confirmation from another AP owner concerning the fact that my abs / kidney plates are warped or if it's normal .. always thought it was normal!

[Trooper Q2[TK]]

I am glad this was shared about side gaps... and the pics helped as well... I just so happen to have these blinds out in the garage.. I will look to see what it will look like with ABS.....Peace, Allan

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

My AP Ab plate is warped like that as well!

 

looks like it could be from the original,

you can see the crease on the right hand diagonal form

right above the belt.

[D-MAC]

I use canvas "from Firebladejedi" and velcro'd it in place.

[Daetrin[Admin]]

Just an FYI that while flexible material like vinyl is acceptable for EIB now, it's really discourage in favor of a solid shim of ABS. At some point down the line the EIB standards may be updated to reflect this change.

[TK bondservnt[501st]]

I'm looking at my ABS left over from trimming out this AP kit.

 

These should heat up in the oven quite well.

 

now to find a form to use.

 

I'm thinking that I should add the shims to the kidney plate from the rear.

 

elastic on the sides with "false rivets" in the rear, allowing it to expand on both sides.

 

any thoughts?

[james007bond[TK]]

My AP shim setup is the other way round, I have ABS shims added to the front of the AB plate and I have thick white elastic connecting the kidney plate to the AB plate... Oh plenty of room for free movement, especially if one eats a big lunch during an event...