uneducated idea/guess for cheapo bulletproof armor

Maysam

Maysam

stapling tapeworms on his penis
Joined
May 13, 2020
Messages
2,825
Reaction score
8,052
For obvious reasons I can't test this idea myself, so I'm posting it here instead for any gun nut to try out or discuss why it sucks @Chimplord1997

Last night the thought crossed my mind that you could make cheap bulletproof armor by combining steel and motorcycle protectors. I'm guessing it would be best to make like rectangular scales of 50x100 mm and few millimeter thick steel and, with a bit of overlap, glue them onto a motorcycle protector inlay like this:
1674060023535.png

The point of the protector is that it's viscoelastic material capable of converting kinetic energy into heat. So in my theory not only would the force of the bullet impact be distributed upon a larger area, preventing penetration, it would also lose some of its deadly force.
Depending on the work you put into smoothing the steel scales, you could even insert it into any jacket if you sew a suitable pocket inside. Anyway, the first step would be making that thing in a few hours and shooting at it for a bit, may just as well be the slug goes between the steel parts anyway.
 
Chimplord1997

Chimplord1997

Mentally Retarded Diogenes
Joined
Mar 15, 2021
Messages
1,267
Reaction score
5,437
Maysam said:
For obvious reasons I can't test this idea myself, so I'm posting it here instead for any gun nut to try out or discuss why it sucks @Chimplord1997

Last night the thought crossed my mind that you could make cheap bulletproof armor by combining steel and motorcycle protectors. I'm guessing it would be best to make like rectangular scales of 50x100 mm and few millimeter thick steel and, with a bit of overlap, glue them onto a motorcycle protector inlay like this:
View attachment 66540
The point of the protector is that it's viscoelastic material capable of converting kinetic energy into heat. So in my theory not only would the force of the bullet impact be distributed upon a larger area, preventing penetration, it would also lose some of its deadly force.
Depending on the work you put into smoothing the steel scales, you could even insert it into any jacket if you sew a suitable pocket inside. Anyway, the first step would be making that thing in a few hours and shooting at it for a bit, may just as well be the slug goes between the steel parts anyway.
Click to expand...
Steel may be a bad idea,but the motorcycle armor seems like it might be promising. You could use an ablative metal like tungsten carbide instead of steel and that might pair well

You should ask demolition ranch to test it w the steel, he takes ideas for armor testing all the time
 
Maysam

Maysam

stapling tapeworms on his penis
Joined
May 13, 2020
Messages
2,825
Reaction score
8,052
Chimplord1997 said:
Steel may be a bad idea,but the motorcycle armor seems like it might be promising. You could use an ablative metal like tungsten carbide instead of steel and that might pair well
Click to expand...
www.quora.com

How thick does steel have to be to stop a bullet?

Answer (1 of 14): Thick enough. That’s really the only possible answer to this question because there are too many variables, such as the type of bullet, the type of gun from which it is fired, the type of steel, the angle at which the bullet strikes the steel, and maybe even which way the wind ...
www.quora.com www.quora.com
I guess it's heavy but it should work or at least work well enough to test the concept and most importantly it's cheap. As the scales are disconnected from each other compared with just a large steel plate, I'm hoping they don't have to be as thick and heavy. Since they should be able to move, deforming the motorcycle protector instead of bending a dent into a larger area.
 
Call Me Tim

Call Me Tim

Boomer
Joined
Jun 19, 2020
Messages
9,930
Reaction score
9,274
1. Modern rifle rounds have incredible energy and therefore great penetration.
2. Speed kills armor.
3. Round types and anti armor are every effective. A WW2 era 30-06 black tip (armor piercing round) reloaded in a modern 308 cartridge will penetrate 3/4" of mild steel. A 308 cartridge has less volume than a 3006 and therefore has less powder and velocity.

So these several factors must be taken into consideration when making such armor.
1, What is the minimum you feel comfortable in breaching your armor.
2. What is the acceptable weight you want to carry. I imagine you'll be wearing this for hours on end if need be so it has to be able to be worn "comfortably" for that time. (Think 8hrs or more at a time. Maybe even have to sleep in it.)
3. Movement within the armor. The heavier and more rigid you make it, the better it will stop projectiles, but at a cost of mobility and flexibility. I can tell you wearing the standard issue IBA while in the service, just getting in and out of a HUMVEE was less than easy. Now take the same space and flexibility restrictions and try to get in or out of a mid-size sedan or a commuter car.
4. Choice of main material is key in effectiveness. There are YT vids where people make a laminate armor of Kevlar cloth and fiberglass/epoxy resin They seem to be effective.
5. Back face deformation. The armor may stop the round but in doing so will be so deformed, which the deformation will push into your body and kill you or damage your body to the point you are out of the fight, and in reality dead. if the backface deformation crushes your sternum and bruises your heart or lungs/broncules you're not going to be moving too quick and it's going to be a leisurely walk up follow up shot.
6. I've seen a YT vid where someone made pauldrons out of carbon fiber and fiberglass/epoxy resin.. And they withstood pistol rounds.

tl;dr
yeah you can make armor out of anything to stop a 50 cal BMG but the question is how mobile are you in it and will it allow you to turn and face the threat and neutralize it.

If you want to forgo all the fabrication then get some AR500 or better AR550 steel and make plates out of that. Amazon sells them as target gongs and you can use them. I wouldn't use anything less than 3/8 inch thickness.

Good luck and keep us posted.
 
Last edited:
Likeicare

Likeicare

Always right
Joined
May 13, 2020
Messages
17,997
Reaction score
34,043
im just saying, generally the people interested in body armour are also interested in other strange things, such as mapping out their closest schools and churches
 
Call Me Tim

Call Me Tim

Boomer
Joined
Jun 19, 2020
Messages
9,930
Reaction score
9,274
Maysam said:
Bundespolizei? I don't think so, since this has zero offensive capabilities.
Click to expand...
LIC does make a point gubbermints and authorities often see body armor as a precursor to someone's shooting or violent attack on society, which statistically is totally misguided. Terrorists don't use body armor. Doesn't seem to be in their budget and it would also imply they might lose, or lastly, it might prevent them from getting those hawt 77 virgins. (No one told them they would all be former Star Trek Convention attendees.)

But also agree with you. Can't recall any mass murderers that wore armor in their murder sprees. Doesn't fit their MO.
 
Call Me Tim

Call Me Tim

Boomer
Joined
Jun 19, 2020
Messages
9,930
Reaction score
9,274
Likeicare said:
Buffalo, Uvalde and Allen Mall shooters were wearing body armour
Click to expand...
Ok. Three out of how many. But thanks for the update.

Yes but actual chest plates may be a restricted item for reasons you mentioned.
I'm talking about actual target gongs to be repurposed for plate armor.



Likeicare said:
Lol ar550 lvl3+ chest plates are under 100
Click to expand...
Yes.

If the end result is to kill a bunch of infidels and get the forever-sexy-time with 77 Trekkies you're not going to waste money on body armor. That money can be better spent on another pressure cooker.
 
BiteySnek

BiteySnek

Dramacrat
Joined
Apr 27, 2021
Messages
6,172
Reaction score
-2,365
Is your species stupid or something? Just make a shit ton of tiny little drones and have them swarm around you in a circle. Equip them with strobes and rig them up to feed off cell towers so they can stay airborne forever and it'll be impossible for anyone to easily snipe you.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom