How To Make AMAZING Body Armor For $30?! (Mind Blown)

How To Make AMAZING Body Armor For $30?! Today we are testing a homemade body armor tutorial that I found on KZbin & the results are very impressive!
Original video from ZNA Productions: • How to Make AMAZING Bu...
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[@ZNA_Productions]

My dad sent me this lol. My heart sunk a little at first thinking you were ripping my video and title off, but the clear shout out was much appreciated! Thanks a lot man. Much more thorough test than I could do with my baby's first Cabela's gift card arsenal 😂

[@noonenothing422]

Props to you for putting this out man, this is insane!

[@jwebb2466]

This is how its done... You both are great

[@MrBIG-nq9yl]

I figured u were a random but then I checked your channel you have over a million subscribers good job and good job on the product

[@lumpyzx2645]

I remember back when you had 79 subscribers and the channel name was ZedNaughtAlpha, always been a big fan of the channel Edit: I also just realized that KZbin unscubscribed me from your channel AGAIN. Had it not done that twice now you could see I was your 79th subscriber.

[@TheCitizenRemy]

Great job.

[@judd_s5643]

I’ve done a lot of hand laid up fiberglass work. If I were to make this 1 I would put the fiber orientation on a 45 degree bias between layers (alternate). 2. Add Kevlar cloth alternatively from the glass. 3. Use an epoxy resin not a polyester resin. 4. I would use a vacuum bag technique to get the proper fiberglass to resin ratio and remove any air.

[@sgt.marcuspstacker2287]

I think you're onto something good

[@Djustus19]

We'll be waiting for the video!

[@corvuscanis]

Was hoping someone would mention changing the fiber lines by 45 degrees and theres a metal roller I used at the factory to get the bubbles out between layers.

[@MosesTaylor0402]

Also shows how good it works with little effort

[@knrz2562]

Try 67% COTTON 33% POLYESTERUSC Duraglas Fiberglass Filler 24030

[@MRaadesign]

That was impressive. There is an easy way to make it stronger. When you lay up the resin and cloth, put it inside a vacuum bag and attach a vacuum pump. This removes all of the air trapped in the resin and cloth. It makes the resin set up harder on a molecular level. This is an old resin casting trip. It does indeed make resin castings much harder and will work for this too.

[@horatiohuffnagel7978]

Good luck getting glue out of a vacuumed sealed bag though. Be a royal pain but good idea

[@TOPsycret33]

​@@horatiohuffnagel7978 It is actually not a problem at all....

[@TOPsycret33]

To step it up one more level you can also "cook" it while vacuumed

[@brucewilliams2106]

@@horatiohuffnagel7978 leave the bag on.

[@mrjinglesdice2368]

@@horatiohuffnagel7978 the resin wont adhere to that type of plastic

[@wellington2420]

So... I'm a fiberglass guy. That being said. If you sand the dry layers in between layups it won't split apart like that. At least 80 or 36 grit sandpaper. Also I use a roller to get the air out when it's still wet. Been rolling glass for forty years.

[@blindey]

Always cool to see to be able to see random related professions chime in on stuff. Awesome.

[@Interdiction]

Nah . You do not need to sand between layers at all . If you do it correctly you get a full CHEMICAL bond which is superior to a PHYSICAL bond

[@chrisevans8694]

Would sukk to get fiberglass remnants in the body,but the alternative is worse,probably 😅😅

[@eliasdincer640]

@@Interdiction bruh. how can u chemically bind fiberglass tho?? or do u mean just the resin between the fibers?

[@TeranRealtor]

@@chrisevans8694 True. I think in California there's some warning labels about lead in the body. ...... I never thought, as a 2A guy, I would accept any kind of info from California. 🤣😂🤣

[@scar3xcr0]

The cool part of this technique is you could put it on any surface. Safe room door, car door etc. Seems like a great bulletproof surface treatment.

[@raimondspadaro8211]

Was thinking the same. Makes a secure panic room.

[@Mthomas71188]

Same thought for a panic room type thing. Probably do some Kevlar layers too.

[@derekhamilton8782]

I want to make my bus bullet proof would you recommend using it as insulation to make it bullet proof

[@4by4squared88]

I used 4x8’ bulletproof panels for my safe room.

[@scar3xcr0]

@@4by4squared88 What is the cost per panel for the legitimate manufactured bullet resistant panels?

[@jamesbuckley907]

I've been a subscriber of ZNA for a couple years now and his body armor video was one of the reasons why. He's been putting videos on KZbin or a long time, since he was about 12 years old I think and he's just a all around decent guy with a sense of humor that really is unique and it kinda grows on you. He really has come a long way with his projects and now forges/builds some pretty nice knives as well as a wide variety of other things like a bullwhip from Paracord, crossbows, and more.

[@mikeemmons1079]

Ya. I must have my minions fetch him to my fortress after the fall.

[@Gaurd1anange1]

@@mikeemmons1079 love ZNA been a LONG time subscriber, his content has slowed down over the years, but its to be understandable with all the things going on in his life. im glad to see some of his older videos be revisited and get some extra publicity.

[@lisaosborne-rayment2203]

Haven’t thought of the bloke for a while. Living crusader legend. Although he did inspire me to start making shivs unsupervised with an angle grinder at the age of 11. How over a decade later I still have all my fingers and my mother doesn’t is mind blowing. Well, sepsis but close enough.

[@Headshothoncho]

ZNA is currently making a picnic table sized ballista 😂

[@knaveknight5737]

Don't forget about the suit of armor!

[@Adam-nv9zo]

Dude, you've got to revisit this with a 1 inch version. I bet it would be really impressive. Awesome video, as always, brother.

[@ALLaboutGAMINGxCHAOSxHOLLOWx]

100% I really want to see this also

[@jakespitzley1621]

I’d also rly like to see how it acts with like .75” or 1” of fiberglass and some 1”x1” ceramic tile glued to the front. I think that could potentially be level 3-4 stuff

[@Adam-nv9zo]

@@jakespitzley1621 I'd like to see that too. There's a lot of potential and a lot still left on the table.

[@EVLfreak666]

Once they outlaw body armor this will be how we get around that.

[@kevincrawford7439]

That’s what she said

[@troysanders7775]

I've been making something similar for years. I Vacuum form the layers so I'm able to double the amount of layers for about the same thickness as you had here. Mine stops 44 magnum rounds.

[@amygdalagames5950]

how many lays o ach such properties? and which of the fiber glass type and weight?

[@morphtek]

what do you use it for ?

[@darkwraithknyack126]

Ok, so post it and make money by informing us ... Feed us we are hungry.

[@alexanderorr2528]

Could you get it thick enough for rifle rounds?

[@bandit5875]

@@alexanderorr2528I’d argue for tensile strength over density and those aramid fibers fuck hard. It wouldn’t take much to pop an actual ceramic plate behind this thing, doubling the effectiveness with a negligible weight increase. I imagine a level 3a would suffice.

[@jakescarlett8311]

Tips to potentially improve it. 1. Have the first couple layers be larger so after you add the final layer the first few(larger) layers can wrap around the side and help prevent delamination. 2. Make a mold and pre cut the layers to the right size so you don’t have to cut out the shape. These would not increase the cost but could make the process easier and the product better.

[@perseusrex614]

great suggestions

[@aceinthehole4888]

You could also coat the entire thing in rubber to help hold it together.

[@SouthJerseyBaitReviews]

@@aceinthehole4888 some plasti dip performix rubber coating would be great for that.

[@Ranstone]

Also, changing the grain. First later should face up and down, second should be rotated 45 degrees, 3rd layer, 90 degrees, and so fourth. It makes a massive difference.

[@pedroamerico9992]

Add a ceramic tile on the front and your talking level 4 protection

[@shawnjohnson9096]

Don't know if anyone mentioned it but the velocity from that carbine is a LOT faster than an actual revolver. It's a "handgun" test, and that's not really apples to apples. Thanks for the fun watch!

[@kacperd2331]

From my search results, It should protect you from 5,56 but not 7,62 bullets. If not it can be easy to improve, but its still great results for diy armor plate

[@josedorsaith5261]

​@@kacperd2331 I know, right? For something costing a fraction of some ceramic/polymer plates, this plate performed WAY above expectations

[@ferlez2370]

Besides you need to take into consideration the damage from the previous rounds

[@ozgott1415]

I'm thinking the plate would have stopped that .44 if it was shot out of a revolver instead of a 19 inch barreled carbine.

[@joecampbell6486]

Absolutely I've built guns from scratch and that barrel length can literally double the velocity of an average 4 to 6" barrel

[@RuskiVodkaaaa]

I think the fact that it stopped so many rounds in the same location speaks to just how extremely effective this body armour is for the price. This is a perfect thing for preppers on a budget to make. Also, unlike a set of real body armor which can run you hundreds to thousands of dollars, you can have large amounts of spare plates.

[@brandon_montero]

W so many plates im gonna be stacking them like cod

[@talongrigsby8338]

What do u think of adding sum hiribb for stucko in a couple layer s would be perfect

[@AHDBification]

​@@talongrigsby8338 It'd be a lot better to put some ceramic or a thin sheet of stupidly hard steel. Just something to shatter the bullet before the fiberglass catches it.

[@godbyone]

No glove sat first after the lecture

[@stevemiller4494]

Amen

[@troythompson1621]

The best fabric plates, bought by the US Army and issued to the SF 101, Airborne, are made of a fabric called Dynema. It's clothe made from the same material as dental flauss. They are rated 7.62x39 API BZ multi-hit, and are 150 layers vacumed into .5 inch thin plates. At the same place we also did limo grade bullet proofing on various trucks at different levels of protection. One of the reasons this works as well as it does is that the fiberglass welding blanket is thicker and denser than your average fiberglass cloth. Tha vacume and heat comments are absolutely correct. We had an autoclave, but there are plenty of cheaper options for doing the same thing. My suggestion would be to use a rhinolining type material mixed with graphene to completely coat the whole plate after it's trimmed and sanded. It will be chemically impervious and help break up on entry, and catch on exit.

[@Salador1777]

Dynema is just a nylon I'm pretty sure. Nylon being a broad range of polymers falling within some formula and molecular weight.

[@evanacey1414]

One thing you could do that MIGHT improve the plates’ performance is give each side a few coats Rhino Liner (spray on truck bed lining) to act as an anti-frag/anti-spall coating.

[@vanderumd11]

That would work too well

[@xavierwilmerng6317]

Oh yeah, Rhino Liner combined with a bit more layers and would probably make this resistant to 44Mag and 12ga easy.

[@MrOkrick]

That's a great idea

[@wagnerp1213]

I love KZbin. Intelligence is everywhere

[@beludo06]

Anyone try radial tire as first layer for the fragmentation?

[@mywellnessjourney-kk3sx]

I made a version of this a while back based on the ZNA video. I addes a thin layer of tiles to front, and denim at the back. It took three or four .223 rifle rounds at about 15 metres, before one just going through as the shot was placed directly on top of another one. I was impressed.

[@raulfernandez57]

Wtf with denim, I'd love to see that in video. Matter of fact, I'd love to see some of these suggestions with wire mesh or bathroom ceramic or simply switching the direction of the fibers. Though another comment mentioned it'd be nasty to get some of those little fiberglass uh, fibers inside you. So perhaps some cushion would be useful too.

[@maxxcarver5502]

I watch the original video 6 years ago and people are making the change. The fiber direction comment back then also.

[@tiberius8390]

@@raulfernandez57 yeah, fiberglass fibers or carbon fibers are nasty things, but if they stop a bullet penetrating some of your organs it's an easy decision really.

[@cheyennew811]

Love ZNA. Been watching him since he was a young lad.

[@colingallagher4848]

What kind of material did you use in your tiles?

[@AINews4]

I made blast shield for the F-16XL for NASA with Kevlar and B2 layers 3/8 inch thick bonded to 3/8 inch of hard rubber. It had to protect the pilot in case the turbine for a laminar flow experiment failed, the pilot wouldn't get blade shrapnel in the back. The turbine spun at 50,000 RPM. We tested it by firing a 45 at it which went through the Kevlar/B2 and lodged between it and the rubber.

[@electronicsNmore]

I like that fact that you tell viewers it wasn't your idea, most channels steal ideas and pass them off as their own. I've had my ideas ripped off many times over the years. Great video, I was shocked at how well it did. Definitely making a couple, but I'll use some of my kevlar fabric along with the welding blanket.

[@a_pullin]

Adding a small amount of carbon fiber to the outside of a stackup can significantly increase strength, without having to make the whole thing CF. This works because the outermost layers are the furthest away from the bending axis, thus they contribute the most to the overall stiffness. So, try adding a single 3K or 6K layer to the front and/or back. Remember to alternate layers by 45 degrees in the stackup, or you'll end up with anisotropic stiffness. I seem to recall that Mythbusters made effective body armor out of bathrooms tiles + Rhino Liner / Liner X? Looking around YT, there are some people who have similar projects. So using some of the remaining 1/2" space budget for 2x 0.125" outer layers of LinerX would be cheap and worth a try, and also could help with some of the delamination issues. And: believe skii builders drill & add rivets after layup to further forestall delamination. A few around the edges would probably be a good addition. If the matrix (resin) is failing, as we saw here, one can get resin that has a much higher failure strain, or rather is "more flexible" - anything that undergoes large deflections has to have the right resin used. AFAIK, bondo is a polyester resin? Broad offerings of epoxy and vinyl-ester resins that could be tried, and I would look at spec sheets to find something that has a high failure train and lower stiffness. I am unfamiliar with kevlar cloth - if using it in a standard wet layup negates its benefits or not. But you could consider using a few layers of kevlar in the middle of the stack up, as the material on the neural axis does not contribute to the bending stiffness. So, if I had a workshop and was going to try this: - Make a negative mold, as others suggest - Layup with 3k carbon on the outsides - fill the rest with welding blanket or high-bulk fiberglass weave, 45deg alternating - 1-2 layers of kevlar on the center axis - use a "tough" epoxy resin - Add rivets at corners & midpoints of the outer edges - Coat the front and/or back faces in 1/8" of LineX Of course, that's probably $100-150 in total, and there'll be quantization costs - how many can be made from 1 qt of resin, etc. The mold would be an investment, esp by the time you buy the gel coat, etc. Still all within reach of a hobby craftsperson, though! Vacuum bagging it would be great, since you can get really good resin penetration, which WILL increase the overall performace. But that would be another few hundred $$ to tool up for. Looking forward to V2.0 !

[@oliverperkinso3755]

You do realize that this only accelerates the r and d of high explosive armour piercing anti personal rounds right?

[@eijiookami6789]

@@oliverperkinso3755 Chicken/egg...

[@Kyrazlan]

Wouldn't S-Glas be better than CF as it has higher stiffness? Also I would think you would want higher toughness and abrasion resistance vs absolute stiffness. Kevlar is great for this but outside the scope of budget armor.

[@a_pullin]

​@@Kyrazlan Oh, yes ... I have forgotten details like that. From some searching, it seems like S-Glass does outperform CF, but at a higher weight? This would not necessarily be a weight-sensitive application, so the maximum tensile strength would be the best choice. There are some reasons why one would not want the stiffest material, though. As far as I remember, there is a standard analysis to do that measures stress-to-failure and also strain-to-failure, since brittle materials will fail from strain before stress. Kevlar fabric is $50/yard, and I'd estimate that one yard would be enough for middle players for 2 or more vests. Does not seem to out-of-reach. (still not entirely sure if it is "worth it", both as part of a wet layup or in comparison to just more glass layers)

[@DaveTex2375]

Thanks for the workshop.

[@Doober987]

It’s been years since I’ve done this, I remember when ZNA posted that video which inspired me to try that route too. What I did was got a bunch of ceramic 1inch hexagonal tiles then added it to the top layer with some left over polyurethane in between where the grout would go then layer about 5-6 more layers of the fiberglass resin,and fiber glass on top. Actually helped with shrapnel for the most part and was able to stop 5.56 and 7.62x39, I didn’t have anything else stronger to test it out with. Came out to just under an inch thick.

[@FumblsTheSniper]

That’s pretty damn good.

[@brianmorris364]

Great adaptation idea. I'd love to make this with some leftover kevlar as well.

[@sovereignstate6760]

You should make a tutorial video of your method

[@lucarossi8442]

Your method resemble the one used to produce "dragonskin" military grade body armour.

[@Overstand_Thinking]

@Doober987 Did u make a video 4 yours or do you have a more Detailed step by step guide that you can email or send me.... I would definitely appreciate it I been trying to make 1 more durable like yours..... And did you put your plate inside a vest or how did you configure it for wearing purposes

[@robertlansdown7606]

Seeing the fact that you fired the most common rounds plus a couple not so commonly carried calibers, I would say it was quite successful. Definitely double it with the possibility of adding thick eva foam to the back to help protect against the back deformation and kinetic shock.

[@ricomendez8249]

What thickness eva foam would you recommend?

[@robertlansdown7606]

@ricomendez8249 3/4 inch maybe as little as half inch

[@ricomendez8249]

@@robertlansdown7606 thanks going to attempt to make the armor with double thickness like you said and try the half inch foam to start and do a test run

[@robertlansdown7606]

@@ricomendez8249 let me know how it works out.

[@fakename7255]

That method seems like a good way to armor a standard vehicle for cheap since it's cheap and light. Pop open the door panels and do a liner of that. Obviously the windows wouldn't be bulletproof but in this increasingly crazy world, might be just what we need. I'd love to see you test that. It would be a lot harder than molding just a body armor panel but if it works out, you could make a whole business off car kits.

[@yoopergamer1871]

That's actually fucking genius.

[@thunder_head]

Fresh outta engadine eh

[@nagaviper1169]

👍👍

[@nagaviper1169]

👍👍

[@ChaosWolfNinja]

Frick yes!

[@TroyShahanMusic]

Great video. I think you would want to use epoxy to coat the sides of the plate after you cut it. That would seal in everything, and not allow moisture to compromise the laminated welding blankets. I’ve seen carbon fiber components fail because the edges were unsealed, and moisture entered the laminated parts. For your tests, it worked perfectly. But for a real world application, where the plate may sit for a couple years- you would want to seal the edges

[@sambob8019]

Also what if you used Kevlar as the material for the fiber and if you want to go extra fancy maybe put a thin steel plate in the center as well

[@BigFunkyy]

​@@sambob8019steel doesn't belong anywhere near ballistic body armor.

[@Raymo2u]

You could also rivet the edges for added strength

[@Thomas-lh4hf]

@@BigFunkyy I'd say you're not wrong, but with a ' splash ' guard installed in front of the steel, it would be interesting to see them working in unison. Also, there are a number of alloys whose characteristics would partially negate the trouble with steel in the first place. The benefit being, if theres no worry of bullet fragments, you could potentially take a bigger round without penetration.

[@marcusvoss1138]

@@sambob8019actually I would use the original recipe but alternate layers between fiberglass blanket and Kevlar you know

[@hchump1968]

The flak vests we had in Nam were over 1” thick, heavy & the insides were fiberglass cloth without the resin to make it stiff like this plate. So i can see why this plate stops just about every thing you shot at it. The helicopter pilots used to put a vest in the seat to sit on in order to stop any rounds coming from underneath since the helos were all aluminum without much armor back then. There were side protection on those seats to help with upper body protection but not much under. A couple layers of kevlar maybe front & back would be a big help too.

[@bufordhighwater9872]

And those flak vests were never intended to protect from small arms fire, just shrapnel...and it took us like 30+ years to replace it with actual body armor. Lol

[@jimbomorrison7133]

I’m a welder so I have access to a lot of metal. I have bought 3 armor plate vests and measured,cut,and sanded all sides smooth to slip in my T-3 steel plates. That’s all you need my friends. A sheet of T-3 steel,1/4”or 5/16”,if you wanna be safe. I shot a 30-06 at the 1/4” T-3 and it barely made a dent. Also,the vests with 1/4” are 12lbs.,with the side plates added.

[@XITroll13]

Don't forget that if the plate doesn't have a thick coating on it, the splash of an impacting projectile can easily cause a lot of damage.

[@jimbomorrison7133]

@@XITroll13 Thanks,roger that.

[@bradandonian626]

Source for plate? What coating would you suggest?

[@FilthyGoyim]

Add a lot of fiberglass on top of the steel. Should be good. Throw a thinner layer of steel on top to make the bullet deviate

[@Tacticald556]

T3 aluminum????? Or steel??

[@TheUrbanOutdoorsmen]

I made some of these a couple years ago. 30 layers of welders blanket and fiberglass resin. It absolutely works. The Hornaday 124 grn +p critical duty didn’t cause any deformation. I made another one with 2 layers of 1/8” octagonal ceramic tiles and it stopped 2 rounds of m193 but failed to stop m855. It was a really fun project but extremely messy and time consuming.

[@Overstand_Thinking]

Were did you get the 1/8" ceramic octagonal tile from n your fiberglass resin from?

[@joeybagodonuts6683]

​@@Overstand_ThinkingAny home improvement store... lowes, home depo, etc.

[@jeffbecker3949]

What did it weight?

[@clintonm2357]

It’s crazy that last Wednesday (2 days ago) I was testing that same design. I added a ceramic strike face. It was able to stop 30-06 vermin rounds because of the rapid expansion. It failed after taking multiple hits in the same 1” squared area though. Still, I was impressed!

[@JustAverageJeff]

Did you just use the mesh tiles for backsplash’s?

[@ntvtexan5015]

What type of ceramic ? My mom had a ceramics Shop back in the early 70's, and we kids had to "WORK" there as the free labor. Learned a lot about the different ceramics, and that there ARE hardness differences between Earthenware, Stoneware (standard Clay Ceramic) , and Porcelain. Porcelain is the hardest, but more expensice. I've been wanting to try some of these out, and mom still has her kilns, even the large one that could easily handle firing the larger "SHAPED" type Body Armor ! Flat plates would be no problem.

[@SpaceRanger187]

Better then nothing

[@clintonm2357]

@@JustAverageJeff I used bathroom tiles. They are pretty cheap and make good targets. I wonder what would happen if I used better stuff, like ntvexan talks about below.

[@Mr.Robert1]

30 06 is a very powerful round. You say you hit it multiple times in the same general area. I would definitely think that it would break down for sure. Surprise that stopped one !

[@AngrySmasher]

The thing that really stands out about this is the durability. It seems to be able to take a lot of hits before it finally fails

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

Absolutely. I'd be curious if a standard soft kevlar vest worn under this plate could catch rifle rounds that were deformed and slowed down by the plate before hitting the soft armor.

[@markmiddione6423]

As composite armor delaminates, it’s catching ability actually improves; when we try to get a V50 on composite armor, the performance goes up when it delaminates - very good video and a simple but effective test demonstration, thanks to

[@marc21256]

​@@eternalshitbreak9649 Ballistic gel is heavy. Keep it light, put a layer of 1mm neoprene between layers. Then strap the whole thing in a plate carrier that helps hold it together, then mount it on a mannequin of ballistic gel to hold it stable and solid. 8 layers of fiberglass. Others have suggested kevlar in stead of fiberglass. And rotate the direction of the grain 45 degrees between layers for better strength, and use industrial machines to make it, which perform a good press between layers for better bonding. Using real machinery makes for better uniformity for putting something between the layers. But at that point, it's pretty much manufactured body armor, not homemade, which is what the initial point was.

[@dah960]

I was wondering if that was true

[@kajetandziebaj6405]

ZNA has a lot of really great stuff. glad hes getting recognition

[@paulmakinson1965]

I have worked a lot with composite materials (glassing surfboards, repairing sailplanes). Polyester resin is about a third cheaper than epoxy but not as strong. If your epoxy is cured in an autoclave (heat), it can be 10x stronger. If in between the layers of fiberglass, you can put some layers of kevlar cloth, that would be better. I have used carbon-kevlar to build stiff light speed sailboards, it is more expensive and difficult to get the resin to penetrate the fibers. Using a vacuum bag does the trick, but it can get quite technical. As soon as the layers delaminate, the whole area is structurally compromised. As soon as a bullet hits your fiberglass body armor, the area around it is considerably weakened.

[@danodonnell7218]

Knew

[@tally3018]

good data here

[@oscarbear1043]

Aircraft maintenance guy here played around with epoxy seems much stronger.

[@Wolvespbc]

Would love to see a fresh plate shot with a .44 mag, and also a fresh double thick plate like you mentioned against 5.56/.223. That really is the milestone to beat in my humble opinion for homemade body armors. Wouldn't expect even a double thick to stop much of a rifle, but always wanted to see this plate project from ZNA tested more fairly (fresh plate for the rifle and .44). Either way, this video was quite interesting to see.

[@jasonbourne1596]

The milestone is 30/06

[@Bako751]

Double it, reinforce it with a metal plate, and wrap one more layer of fiberglass (or kevlar if you wanna spend some money) over top and you got a pretty viable piece of body armor

[@MaxC_1]

@@Bako751 doubling it and using a specific type of epoxy resin meant to be mechanically stronger and using thinner sheets of woven Fibreglass will already allow it to stop 5.56 (the type of resin and the thickness per sheet of FRP as well as weaving pattern can double strength of a piece of FRP- cheaper polyester resin+thicker chopped sheets of Fiberglass is around 40%-50% weaker than Epoxy resin+woven sheets) Adding Kevlar on top will give it much more strength

[@bruceconstuble4603]

​@@jasonbourne1596my uncle was a sniper in Korea. Military mostly used the 30.06 then. I remember him telling me that they would start at 400 yards. Even though he could see the guy take a chest hit and the pink spray coming from behind the guy, those Koreans kept coming. I think he said it was the opium they were using. Tying off their joints and just keep coming. I'm not knocking the 30.06 in the least, damn good round IMO.

[@jasonbourne1596]

@@bruceconstuble4603 I have a 30/06, but the reason I said the milestone is 30/06 is because it actually is. Level 4 plate is rated to 30/06 . Your uncle was probably shooting ball ammo by the way, and everyone is a Navy Seal or sniper these days

[@tat2uuedbass294]

I worked 15 yrs for a glass shop... and LEXAN (polycarbonate), is like plexiglass but won't brake and you have to cut it with a saw. My thought with watching this video is to add a piece of Lexan in the middle between the welding cover.. You would have to heat up the Lexan first with maybe a heat gun or something of the nature to get to curvature then apply your cover & resin. It is light weight and very durable and ranging in different thicknesses... 1/8", 1/4", 3/8", 1/2". The thicker the harder to bend. Thank you for the Idea that I'm going to put forth. Be safe...

[@smokingcat3267]

Is it expensive?

[@tat2uuedbass294]

@@smokingcat3267 Yes it could be... the 3/8" to 1/2" can be. You would have to check with a Glass shop who does residential & commercial work. 1/4" isn't too bad. Just depending on the size. You and order it to whatever size you want. But shops maybe different. the shop I worked at we could. I have failed to make any for I have become sick since the post. Good luck with the experiment if you give it a shot. They use 3/8" or 1/2" with 1/4" laminated glass (windshield) layered up to make bullet proof glass. 1/4"lam - 3/8" Lexan - 1/4"Lam - 3/8" Lexan - 1/4" Lam Be safe...

[@josephmckenna1821]

I've broken 3 sets of lexan nunchucks in the past 3 months. I thought bulletproof plastic would be the strongest I could make, the stuff still cracks and breaks with hard impacts

[@Xlr8torZ28]

Some friends and I tried this a while back. Our first tests were about the same as yours. Then someone suggested applying 2 layers of butyl sound deadener to the front facing side. The results the second time around were far better, and there was less transfer of energy to the backside of the plate.

[@Justinlearns]

That's pretty high grade stoppage for something likely under $100

[@mjolnirswrath23]

The reason is that most of the kinetic energy probably rifle round is actually Air Watts pressure wave propagation fields " Soundwave energy" It's not the Projectile doing the damage it's all the Pulled in Air Slapping the Infinite Baffle " Flat edge" of the surface it's impacting and Absorbing the kinetic energy. Mitigate the Distortion of the Field and it'll absorb the Fields... Essentially how Noise cancelation technology works...

[@yoeyyoey8937]

What’s butyl sound deadener and why the front side instead of back?

[@trentvlak]

@@mjolnirswrath23 thanks for the laugh.

[@Xlr8torZ28]

@@yoeyyoey8937 Its like the sound deadener used for cars with loud stereo systems. It has a really soft gooey rubber compound on it. We hoped it would absorb some of the initial impact and eliminate the shock transferred on the rigid plate. We were thinking about trying it again, but with one layer on the front and one layer in the middle. We've had a bunch of ideas since, but just havent gotten together to try again.

[@tullo5564]

Very impressive to be honest, since this is half an inch thick, I'd say a 3/4 inch thick armour would definitely stop a .44 mag. Also, you shot it with a .44 mag out of a longer barrel, would have been more fair if the .44 mag was shot out of a 5-6 inch barrel

[@Shaboomquisa]

also maybe stick a piece of soft armor in the middle or back or add some steel in the middle to prevent spalding

[@YoutubeLovesCowards]

You beat me to it. I just commented on that. I think it may actually stop the 44 magnum out of the pistol.

[@Miata822]

Very interesting. Two half-thickness layers separated by about 1/4" of foam may help in disrupting hollow points by allowing some degree of expansion before hitting the second hard layer, reducing the point concentration of energy and transmission of the shock wave. I was very impressed with how little the panel degraded after multiple shots, even with a sloppy layup.

[@flashgordon6670]

How do these fibreglass armour plates stand up against a chainsaw?

[@blackdevildog6416]

@@flashgordon6670 You can buy fiberglass-lined chainsaw pants, just like you can find Kevlar chaps. I reckon these plates would do well so long as you removed the chainsaw before it ate through. It'll gaum up your saw either way, so be sure to pop the cover and give it a good cleaning.

[@tomserbaducci8559]

A local gun show had old out of date soft vests (level 3 or 3a-I do t remember) a whole bin of them for $20 each. Thought about buying a couple and making a small at home ballistic shield…..kinda re-motivated now

[@johnmikel5934]

So true, simple and effective.

[@chrisvids1820]

​@@flashgordon6670 why do you want to know? Just curious

[@thearchaangel]

Been loving all the body armor videos lately. Interesting to see different types of homemade armor and what happens when you use it

[@danodonnell7218]

Not as rock as Billy Idol! More new wave! But you might like sticks and stones? More rock and great song writing! Bless you for being honest!

[@TheZotman5]

If you end up doing this again, think about attaching the plate to your rubber dummy target to simulate the effect of someone actually wearing the plate. The added resistance might make a difference.

[@steveninaz9576]

The fact that it held with the rounds in the same area is impressive. A backing plate to soften the impact would pair nicely. Also, did you alternate the fiberglass strand direction on each layer? Impressive. Thank you, Sir.

[@1968CudaGuy]

In the process of building an insert for my Ful backpack that is 13" by 17.5" and curved slightly. The top corners are tapered to ease opening and closing. I am using fiberglass and epoxy resin from Raka Marine in Florida. I built a wooden form and am using a vacuum bag technic with peel ply and absorption layer to pull off any excess resin from the final product. Testing shows an improvement over traditional wet-out and layering methods and precise cut fiberglass stock reduces the amount of trimming and detailing post cure. After detailing edges I take 2" wide reinforced duct tape (Gorilla Brand) and run a perimeter around the plate. Usually 3-4 passes and that keeps the plate from damaging the bag itself. For this final build I bought a gallon of brush/roll on black bed liner to give it a more finished look and protect the plate from moisture.. From my original hand lay up tests it took 3/4" to stop 44 mag out of a S&W 629 6" and my 12 by 12 plate delaminated and failed after stopping 7 full house Hornaday 240gr SJHP rounds. New plate is 1/2" thick and stopped 8 rounds of the same 44 Mag before failing with a pass thru. Never delaminated.. Didn't stop 223/556 or 7.62x39 from a rifle from a straightforward hit but at 30-45 degrees it did stop both but only 2 rounds of 223 and 1 round of 7.62x39 before a pass thru..

[@outbackjedi]

Layering in kevlar in between several fibreglass sheets would probably improve bullet resistance. The other thing that would help is compression, every sheet of material needs to be clamped down and compressed. Weighted compression will prevent delamination from occuring.

[@chaecoco2]

I think the problem with compression between each add is the limited working time with the Bondo resin. The can states 8-12 minutes at 75 degrees F. Once the resin sets, you would be dealing with a mechanical bond rather than chemical (polymer) bond. That is the limitation of this technique and probably why he got delamination failure toward the end. However, considering the thesis was effective body armor on the cheap, the results were still rather impressive. I was looking at epoxy resins that have extended working times, 30, 60, 120 minutes. That would allow you to compress each layer before adding the next and perhaps prevent delamination. But they are also quite expensive. Adding carbon fiber, and or kevlar would probably make it more effective, but you would be significantly upping the cost. None of those are cheap

[@outbackjedi]

@@chaecoco2 if you wanted to keep it on the super cheap and not use Kevlar. Multuple layers of stainless steel, woven wire mesh sandwiched between fibreglass sheets would add a fair amount of protection. Whilst fibreglass is dense, high grade stainless steel is far more dense and would add an element of deflection resistance to the body armour especially compressed and laminated into it. It would also act as a retaining system keeping the fibreglass contained and held together.

[@matthewrossilini5808]

This did pretty damn good. I think if you doubled the size it would stop 44 mag. You could also add ceramic or thin hard layer to aid in breaking up the projectile, as others have suggested. That might even stop some rifle rounds.

[@hatefunwrx]

That was extremely surprising, I didn't expect it to preform so well

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

I guess it just goes to show how strong fiberglass and resin construction really is.

[@rcnelson]

I worked in a fiberglass boat factory and was impressed by how sturdy fiberglass hulls are, but had no idea that glass and glass welding material could be this tough.

[@off6848]

I helped build a 39ft skiff out of glass once I ran it into the wharf at 3-4 knots quite a few times it would just bounce back Glass is so strong

[@scarx4181]

@@off6848 When it goes it really goes though, hit a deer in my corvette and the fender completely shattered. But nice thing is it's pretty much dent proof for little shit.

[@off6848]

@@scarx4181 in that case though it probably failed at the point of contact with the steel bolts It’s hard to rip off a boat hull moulded thru / unibody construction

[@solarsynapse]

Hmm, so a chunk of boat hull for armor.

[@off6848]

@@solarsynapse an old Italian guy told me to shoot a guys boat out who was harassing me. I didn’t even think about it but I don’t think a handgun would have penned. So yeah boat hull fw 😆

[@nicholasreynolds6609]

The armor should be clamped. Not clamping means that the movement of the armor is taking some of the energy and turning it into movement. Also, you would want to make sure it is perpendicular to the direction of travel too, since you would also be using an inclined plane to slow it down too. Not big issues, since they won't change the results that much.

[@off6848]

Isn’t that a good thing to decrease spalling like we saw with that .44? Little glass daggers in the gut wouldn’t be pretty In general fg probably isn’t used in commercial armor because any failure and perforation is catastrophic

[@quademasters249]

Maybe clamp it to a 200 lb sand bag to simulate a body. Humans will get knocked back too from the impact. Solidly mounting it would be a good "worst case".

[@riflemanm16a2]

Yeah, all these KZbin armor tests that don’t fix the armor in place produce meaningless results unfortunately, unless someone is planning on draping these over windows or something.

[@russelsellick316]

What I did, and this is a formal method approved by the NIJ is use a big block of plasticine kept warm and pretested for deformation. The object to be tested is held in front of the plasticine by elastic strapping and simulates a human body..after the test one measures back face deformation, anything over 44mm is bad for you...also by the NIJ standards the shots should be placed in a pattern and in our case we used a mounted Thompson Contender.

[@stevebreedlove9760]

​@@riflemanm16a2 i actually watched this video because I want to harden my exterior walls that face the street.

[@dwaynemadsen964]

This was fun! I am impressed that those first four rounds were all stopped, given how close together they were. Thank you for sharing. Stay safe.

[@vincentheijns1953]

Great video! I honestly believe the fact that the shots were in a group it degraded quicker! I’d be really interested in seeing a fresh plate against the 44 mag first shot! Keep up the good work.

[@scottmurray3275]

I agree fresh plate then the 44 mag . You know it had a lot of damage due to a tight group . How about new plate and 556

[@Bens359pete]

I agree

[@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017]

I suspect the 44 mag would still penetrate.

[@JACKOBIE-1]

it would be cool to see this method used to create a light weight ballistic shield, something you could sand/paint attach a handle to and keep by the night stand.

[@BlazRa]

Hell yeah and add a little port for the barrel

[@DelEnd_Virtua]

my first thought was a shield as well

[@BlazRa]

@@DelEnd_Virtua now I want to make a spear to go with it I have these dagger blades I bought to make some fancy daggers but now I'm thinking Spears would be better

[@Thegoofyairgunner]

That’s damn impressive for sure!!! I really wasn’t expecting much but that’s a perfect addition to the stash or bugout bag. I think I’m going to make one for my backpack just make it thicker

[@cesarmacedo3774]

I made my own but I used a press Added way more of that welding blanket sheets and I used a 45. 44. 357 9mm and none went trough My 223 did go trough tho Grate video 👍🏼👍🏼

[@brandonboulton2776]

The fact that it stopped nearly all of them after being progressively compromised is the most impressive thing about this experiment.

[@paulgavian90]

Especially within a small base

[@17Liberty76]

I'd be really curious to see a version made from canvas drop cloths. Very tough material, cheap and none of the hazards of fiberglass

[@davidmeloche3563]

Honestly, the first thought that comes to mind when seeing this, is making it the lining of a backpack. But due to material cost, you could honestly make these "plates" custom to fit a lot of different dimensions. Backpack, messenger bag/laptop style bag, car door, actual plate carrier...I wonder how it deals with working as a stab plate?

[@Lonegunmanonthegrassyknoll]

You know that'll stop s blade..whether stabbing or slashing

[@TeranRealtor]

My thought too. Heck - you could make it into immitation sheetrock for the area just under the windows of your bedroom..... though, my very first thought was, as you said - backpack protection. I have two kids in college - I wonder what it weighs?

[@davidmeloche3563]

@@Lonegunmanonthegrassyknoll it looks like it would work really freaking well for slashing. Stabbing, I assumed it would work, I just don't know how well repeated stabs would hold up, or if that could cause separation of layers easier, as a kind of wedding & prying.

[@bernardfurst9133]

This is the best observation/suggestion yet. That's amazing to think you can custom fit for almost any location. Fitting one inside a backpack so you only need to quickly flip it around and wear it in front is a very reasonable idea. Line the inside of car door and would be like 90% lighter than steel.

[@The_Cakeminator]

You can stab this thing for an hour without getting through, but the surface is a bit slick so a blade could slide off a curved surface and find flesh. An easy fix for that is to glue on a sheet of leather. Slashing at it will just dull the blade.

[@kennwynne5954]

Sufficient for self preservation. Good job

[@AWARHERO]

I've been following ZNA's channel seen it's inception. This young man is smart and incredibly gifted.

[@justinmurray4652]

Ceramic,real kevlar,a thin sheet metal backing curved around the edges.All would help tremendously.the sheet metal could do double duty as your mold as well.Slow the bullet and then catch it should be the goal.Already impressive results.

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

that would be some iron man armor!!

[@jim4556]

Real body armor Kevlar is very exspensive. It's very different than the sheets of the stuff you can normally find. I think if you found even fiberglass with a smaller/tighter woven pattern the results would be better. Pallets tend to push the fibers out of their way rather than get caught in it like a net. Alternateing the fabric direction at off angles would also help. A bullet deforming layor should also help. The faster you turn the point into a rounded or flat blob before it hits the fiberglass, the better. Maybe a thin Guage sheet of steel as a top layor or just a few layers In might do the trick. The outer layers in front of the steel sheet might help to catch fragments of the jacket flying back out.

[@justinmurray4652]

@@jim4556 Your exactly right.Sheet metal outer would be ideal to get that bullet deformed and the diameter maxed out asap.Wish i had a bunch of materials and pliable epoxy to mess with.

[@CrazyCowboyBuilds]

@@justinmurray4652 I’m wondering if I did sheets of Kevlar and carbon with either epoxy or vinyl resin if it would work. Maybe use a few layers of fiberglass cloth or butyl in the middle with a sheet of aluminum or chromoly in the center too. This video has me thinking. Time to ask ChatGPT for some of it’s data!

[@jantschierschky3461]

There are some good videos out there, showing home-made armour. Using ceramic floor tiles as strike face makes a huge difference

[@NirHason]

Thanks for sharing! That’s is really cool. I wish you tested it against 5.56

[@frankvazquez4050]

Very impressive. I agree with others that it could be tweaked with additional materials such as screen mesh or cables laid into it such a tire. An additional layer or two of steel or other materials and directional changes of added materials with a grain or specific pattern might add strength or resistance. You proved this to be a good base and structure from which to build on.

[@pctrashtalk2069]

Nice thing about fiberglass is that you can make it almost any shape. I was thinking that you could mold a larger plate over a mannequin for a full torso plate. You would have to use straps or something to hold in on.

[@guachingman]

forget the mannequinn...¨"lie down, you be a model today, custom to your own chest shape "

[@xntumrfo9ivrnwf]

There was a video from Tech Ingredients a couple of weeks ago where they make graphene (using a relatively simple method) and show that adding just a few % by weight to a rod created from resin increased its ability to withstand a bending force many times over. Would absolutely love to see how it affects this plate!

[@devantomyk4466]

Are you able to find and link that?

[@scumbaggo]

@@devantomyk4466 Search "Tech Ingredients" here on YT. Should be their newest video, or close to it.

[@ryanpiar3490]

A link would be great

[@robwoodring9437]

Tech Ingredients on KZbin. They don't post frequently. It should be one of the most recent videos.

[@MatrixRage]

Techingredients is an all around great channel. Definitely recommend

[@kevinarea]

Two things I do different in the testing. First, somehow measure the blunt force that your chest would take ... I know it would save your life but would the force knock someone out? Secondly, armor is typically tight against the body, this test allowed the armor to bounce off the brick behind it. The bullet might go further into the armor if it was secured to the brick. I didn't watch until the end before commenting, so if he made these adjustments or mentioned them then forgive me.

[@Parker-y1y]

Dude I'm not trying to be difficult, but of course there's gonna be blunt force it's a bullet but it's gonna hurt a hell of a lot less than the bullet would... Although I do get what you mean about being KOed from it, because that doesn't really do you much good either. I mean all in all the best option is clearly to not be there but that isn't possible always. If I had to disarm a gun, I would WAY rather have the armor than not.

[@snipevortex6976]

does the fiber glass get in your body if it goes thru with it on?@@Parker-y1y

[@chaecoco2]

Great video man, and the comments are fantastic. I was considering soft body armor, but looking at some of the demonstrations, the blunt trauma damage would incapaciting and maybe even fatal. This is the best of both worlds, cheap and effective.

[@philipkriens803]

ZNA’s video on this was why I subscribed to him in the first place. Amazing first video and great follow up by you. I would be interested to see another incorporating some of the improvements recommended in the comments on his video. Also one of the questions I never had answered was what was the weight comparisons?

[@mjp152]

It is probably way outside the practical for your channel, but I would LOVE to see how this would perform if graphene was mixed into the resin. The channel "Tech Ingredients" made some seriously impressive experiments with homemade graphene mixed in epoxy a few months back. Something like 7x improvement in tensile strength by mixing in 0.6% graphene.

[@turnbilltales2433]

How much does some graphene cost?

[@mjp152]

@@turnbilltales2433 I think it's around $500 per gram as of this writing.

[@shannonp4037]

@@turnbilltales2433Amazon says 80-90/100 grams so +-85 cents/gram.

[@babuvangu7220]

Iron tablets are cheaper for sure😂

[@mjp152]

@@babuvangu7220 but not as awesome 😄

[@Ps119]

Try two plates each half the thickness of the one you shot up and between the plates put a sheet of 3mm (1/8") soft rubber. When the bullet hits the first plate the plate will compress the rubber to shed some kinetic energy to (a) reduce risk of penetration to a small extent and (b) significantly reduce the impact of the plate on the wearer's body, in particular organs that can be damaged by shock forces. This is the same concept armorers used to defend against arrows except they used felt because they did not have rubber.

[@TheGentlemanRougeScholar]

That’s actually amazing, I’d love to see a video testing different thicknesses, find out what you need for 30-06. I know it’s a lot of work, and probably costs a bit too. You could probably make a jig out of plywood or a plastic cutting board to speed the process up. And it doesn’t have to be armored plate shaped for testing, it can be square and smaller, also consider wrapping the last few layers to prevent delimitation.

[@tortue225]

The shockwave is pushing the different layers one after another and that's probably why it works, although if you put a mannequin or a body behind the plate, my guess is that it would not work as well. Maybe a thick layer of plaster in-between the fiber glasses layers would help, but it would indeed increase the costs. Well, if you lack video ideas... :) Thanks for this one, it was really instructive !

[@speedokoterefinishnetwork4937]

Something to keep in mind. All of these shots were 10 yards. That 44 mag given some distance and the bullet slowed down a little, might not get through. So in a longer distance gun fight this body armor might actually work fine 😂 as a body guy who works with fiberglass, I must say I never thought of this, pure amazing 😂

[@InstaltechCarAudio]

Really enjoyed this, let’s see some upgrades to this and see how far the fans can push this home made armour

[@RobotronSage]

5 weeks later: actual power suit

[@Gen_Kael]

After watching several different videos, I'm going to try and make one from what i hoped i learned. 1. Ceramic tile towards the front to reduce energy of the round 2. UHMWPE layered with fiberglass and resin 3. Wrap in fiberglass and resin, not only to keep it all together but with strengthen the UHMWPE

[@frickezthias8638]

Have you tested this yet? I'm very interested to see how it turned out

[@justinw1765]

Nothing bonds to UHMWPE because it has such low surface energy.

[@KingSMW]

Hey here is a little trick I learned from some Old Timers when I was in the Union. When working with fiberglass, use baby powder. Apply baby powder to any exposed skin and the fiberglass won't be so bad. I uses to cover myself with it do to the work I was doing. Have a good one.

[@loyalargus5618]

Yup. Outdoors, I use a thick coating of sunscreen on the neck, wrists, around the face where the respirator seals. Does the same thing, the fibers get caught in the liquid & just wipe off.

[@zer0nix]

@@loyalargus5618 barrier cream!

[@paulmcmaster9710]

Yup. Hvac tin knocker for a summer and we did it with any insulation work

[@paulg.6120]

Great test, I'm interested in knowing if 3x that thickness if it would stop rifle rounds. Definitely have to revisit this. Even 3x as thick it shouldn't be too expensive to make.

[@billalumni7760]

Also curious if the same thickness was kept but a thin layer of actual kevlar (not that expensive) was inserted in the middle or near the back and how that would hold up. Maybe create a competition, best plate for under $80.

[@Sapoman2211]

You can get thin titanium hand saws for pretty cheap, I'd wager putting those on the front would add a lot of protection as they'll stop .38 on their own. If they reliably cause bullets to crack, then the fiberglass would have little problem stopping pieces of even rifle rounds.

[@AndyDrake-FOOKYT]

​@@billalumni7760 the Kevlar might also be good to protect wearer from fiberglass.

[@chrisfarr6955]

The original ZNA video stopped 5.56 🤷

[@zer0nix]

@@Sapoman2211 pretty sure that's just a titanium coating

[@johnslugger]

*Use Basalt fiber layers (5x5 tight basket weave Basalt cloth) glued together with contact cement. The basalt is 20X tougher and the flexible rubber cement forms a bullet catching pocket making it 50X tougher. You will get bruised or broken ribs but 1/2" of Rubberized Basalt can stop a .308 while 1/4" thick can stop any hand gun ammo up to .454*

[@vividlyobscure6179]

Even though you went from 10mm to 44, I still wished you had given the .357 a chance to shine. The 10mm definitely has stopping power, although the .357 has a higher velocity. Great work!

[@BooDamnHoo]

A layer of 8mm thick porcelain tile (2 inch hex is best!) would bump the level of protection up to level 3 or even 3+ depending on how thick the fiberglass plate is. This is very doable with UHMWPE DIY armor.

[@meese-ul9nn]

nuts, mind explaining how this works?

[@BooDamnHoo]

@@meese-ul9nn If the plate is flat then it's simply cutting a good tile to cover the face, attached with a strong adhesive (epoxy or construction adhesive). Thick, small tiles are best, like subway tile or even smaller (3 inch). 8 to 10 mm thick high traffic floor tiles are better than typical backsplash or bathroom tile. Capri Classic tiles are among the best for high hardness and thickness. If the plate is curved then hexagonal 2 inch tile is best. Small tiles are better than bigger because it limits shatter from impact to that small area whereas a large floor tile will crack across the whole tile (shattering at point of impact). I've used hex Capri Classic 8mm tiles, construction adhesive to attach, and then covered with ripstop nylon attached with marine high impact epoxy. The nylon or other cover (denim would work) helps contain spatter from the tiles. I've seen "good" armor plate made only from floor tiles stacked on top of each other 2 or 3 layers. They are clumsy and heavy but do a decent job. All wrapped up and do held together by duct tape.

[@Florkl]

@@meese-ul9nnShattering ceramic requires a fair amount of energy, which it saps from the bullet’s velocity, making the now slower bullet less-likely to punch through the fiberglass behind it. It may also shatter a frangible round into smaller pieces that will have an even harder time getting through the fiberglass. A physicist could probably pick apart that explain, but I think it’s a good enough basic explanation of why hybrid body armors with ceramic are popular even in the non-DIY body armor industry

[@who_cares848]

Id be worried about it fragmenting. Porcelian is razor sharp when you break it.

[@BooDamnHoo]

@@who_cares848 It does shatter but it's not a problem. I've covered a plate like that with kevlar cloth, ripstop nylon (glued on with construction adhesive), or even wrapped in a couple layers of duct tape. All three contain the frags when shot, no problem. It's not like a bullet hitting a steel plate with high velocity bullet fragments spraying out along the face of the plate.

[@testpilotmafia862]

Id like to see someone do it with S-2 fiberglass. That would work even better than welding or E-glass. Also epoxy is always the matrix of choice over Polyesters. It would be interesting to see a 0 / 90 and 45+ / - 45 orientation in the XY plane, and 1.5 inch tow stitch in the Z axis, just by hand there doesnt need to be a alot even a single strand, just to better resist the deep de lamination we usually see in these videos.

[@TacticalBunnyCA]

You can also get kevlar fabric (used to protect the bottom of canoes operating around rocky shores) I use it to repair surfboard ding but I bet that it would add tons of strength if it was sandwiched with the fiberglass.

[@xochj]

You've got to try this against a 150 pound dummy to see if the higher resistance to movement makes a difference. (like how it's easy to punch through cardboard if it's against a person vs how it can absorb damage if it can move freely.

[@scootermcgee8064]

Nicely done. I think I would paint it in roll-on bed liner to act as an anti-spall coating. Then, ideally, shrink wrap it.

[@jaydoe3707]

I really like that idea!

[@ukaszjozwiak9468]

Really impressive ! But for me the most interesting thing is how this armor will tackle with: 9 × 39 mm, 5.56 x 45 mm and possibly 7.62 x 39 mm. And what can be improved to stop these.

[@dwwolf4636]

Typically a hard impact face layer.

[@MarkBarrett]

Ceramics are surprisingly good at stopping bullets and missiles. I've seen and done it firsthand. A floor tile will stop a bullet. They can only be used once, the energy goes into shattering the ceramic.

[@robertchavez5647]

Awesome REAL video and I’m gonna make some of these plates! Thank you so much, much respect!! 👍🇺🇸

[@Mr.Deko86]

The approach was scientific. The results were honest and the theory was confirmed. This was a success. Brother, you did one hell of a job here and I'm sold. Also, that Mossberg had some serious bass behind it. Thank you for taking the time to share this information. I don't expect nor wish to ever need it, but for immediate protection during an emergency at home or in the car, it's a must.

[@WTF-vv8ic]

Before the shut down, I made one of these body armors. And yeah he is correct about fiberglass being all over the place. I use large plates for a guide. They don’t tell you which size of plate they use to make it in the videos. When I took it out to the desert. My 9mm poked right through it. It did change the direct of the project I’ll but still it went thru it. I’ll let everybody think on that one. Anybody who wants to make one of these. Always make one and do a test run on it first!!!!!! if somebody use one of these and something went thru. You’ll have the slug and the fiber grass fragments inside of you.

[@SubieNinja]

if you were in a real situation where youd need a makeshift piece of armor like this(SHTF) you wouldnt really need to worry about fiberglass bits if something went through it youd be f*cked just from the bullet alone.

[@danodonnell7218]

The 77's Sticks and Stones also Matthew Ward red yellow black and white lp pretty good rock LP!

[@xordoom8467]

Outstanding, this was one of the most informative videos I've seen in a long time, thank you for your time and efforts, its time I go and make a full suit of this stuff for protection...

[@LightLadd]

This is amazing! You have to do more of these videos, could u put together a couple of vests using Jute burlap sacks, sheets of white nylon, actual kevlar sheets or even silk, all held together with that resin? I know that the principal of this video was about making cheap and effective armor but, for those of us that may have a little more money and live in restrictive/ oppressive countries (canada) I think it would be very usefull to know the results..... And it would make for a great video series.

[@actionjksn]

This is great and I think you could even make improvements to increase the rating. I'm thinking maybe add a couple of layers of Kevlar fabric with it, maybe two or three layers on the outside and two or three on the inside. Also if you could fashion some sort of die and take a press and smash everything so it's really dense. That might allow you to add more layers without adding to the thickness. I have a hydraulic pipe bender that could work. Also you can probably put a thin layer of crushed-up hard granules, like hard ceramic. That would probably help to damage and mushroom the bullet.

[@cccxxxxxx]

Use A finer denser weave of glass and more of them, also alternate the direction of the weave. Then bag the mold and pull a vacuum on it. You will get a denser heavier part. The bag will force out any excess resin from the part which will make it stronger, and help mitigate porosity which will always cause strength issues. all in all very interesting! I may try this myself, if I get to it Ill share the results.

[@gordonrain7152]

Very informative video pard', TY. Additionally, if you look @ timestamp 11:03 what is revealed is that other than the .44 mag round NONE of the other calibers penetrated the armour with even, as you say, "more than half" of the armour removed at the delamination point. I must agree with your header...(mind blown).

[@MikeAnnunziato]

That absolutely did way better than I was expecting. 👏

[@matthewwain9958]

I suspect to help with layer separation, you want to curl the edges round, and fold them around on themselves. Basically perform a proper mold so it doesn't have a side separation point where you cut/trim afterwards.

[@NoLimitsCommemorativ]

This is so cool. A nice way you could make custom panels to add to your vehicles doors and trunk space for add protection. This is going to be a fun new project! Now, if only we could make affordable new glass windows that could withstand a few shots.

[@RoughNek72]

Not gonna lie, that's a really good idea!

[@ScottEllisDigitalMacGyver]

I agree great for a home make. Ways to make better, each layer being 45 degrees on biad to create layers. Another option is also to have a metal layer in the middle. What is interesting is this is a great option to also create addition armor for backpacks or bugout carry.

[@jonathancaldwell-km5ig]

That’s how you make blue Jean micarta for knife handles or gun grips. it’d be interesting to see how good blue jeans work.

[@tasaki12]

now that was very impressive. you have to make a thicker version, like the max thickness that would fit in a plate carrier

[@jmarques5033]

I’d be interested to see how the plate performs when it isn’t allowed to move when shot. I’m sure that a lot of the energy is being lost when the plate moves

[@davej9716]

Exactly

[@Anthony-nv7gd]

Great point.

[@Anthony-nv7gd]

Although the cinder block is acting as a back stop and then pushing the plate forward so by the time the plate moves the rounds were already absorbed.

[@edbloom4897]

hmm, vacuum bagging and using an epoxy resin might improve that plat as well.

[@Great_Wall_of_Text]

I'd like to see the 44 again from an actual hand gun that somebody might carry on the regular. The barrel length makes a substantial difference, and that 44 was loooong : )

[@Mr.Robert1]

I JUST POSTED THE SAME. BIG DIFFERENCE BECAUSE OF BARREL LENGTH. WE WERE NOT BORN YESTERDAY. HE ALSO SHOULD HAVE MADE MORE THAN ONE PLATE. GETS WEAKER AFTER EVERY HIT.

[@TheGrendelbane]

No cylinder gap either.

[@Mr.Robert1]

@@TheGrendelbane Yup

[@jarredsegal6842]

Ya I watched zednots video on it when he made it and had thought It’s a shame it’s never been put up against real testing like yours I’d love to see a 1” version or a composite version like 1”hdpe front face to stop shrapnel and the fibreglass to catch a bunted impact I’m betting it’d hold up quite well with the two materials working together And as a bonus it’d probably float in water

[@cls2863]

Man, that was just so 😮😮😮😮. Great inform and running test.

[@Wastelandman7000]

Pretty impressive! I wonder if you put a steel plate behind it (even mild steel) would bring it up to stopping 5.56 (non penetrator) rounds. Pretty sure unless you put plate on both sides you won't stop AK rounds. I'm also wondering if you put in a layer of melted milk jug between that plate and a steel plate how taht would do. I saw a video where just melted milk jugs were able to stop light hand gun rounds.