Beginning with a 55-gallon HDPE (“high density polyethylene”) plastic barrel I will show you how to create rugged wearable chest armor. Suitable for costumes, conventions or role-playing, these are wearable and durable. From this basic how-to do it yourself tutorial you can extrapolate other designs and concepts as will be demonstrated in images at the end of this series of articles.
A 55-Gallon Non-Deposit Chemical Barrel
What Can We Make From This Barrel?
Here below is an example of a ’space theme’ character chest armor that I made a few years ago for a friend in Hamilton, Ontario CANADA. It is spray-painted with white primer paint. The buckles on each side unsnap and the chest cage ‘opens’ several inches on a spring-like resistence, similar to the way a clamshell opens, and the wearer can comfortably and easily crawl up inside of this. The wearer re-hooks the convenient easy open/easy close snaps. It is a very effective, rugged system and surprisingly comfortable to wear. This actually seems to draw body heat away from the wearer; the plastic will feel cold and the wearer will be comfortable.
(photo image by author)
So, -are you excited yet? Ready to learn some basics how to build armor like this and more? Let’s begin!
First, Procure One or Two 55-gallon Barrels - But from Where?
Typically, these are 55-gallon chemical barrels are non-deposit. Food-grade products such as phosphoric acid (usually white barrels for food-grade) are what we’re after here. "Food grade” barrels are by law, non-refillable. Black barrels are usually for industrial-grade phosphoric acid and harsher chemicals, and blue is for ‘cleaning agent/alkaline products’ like bulk ammonia-based cleansers for commercial use. Use these highly-caustic barrels with caution as rinsing them may not make them immediately safe for prolonged intimate contact with your skin.
For health and safety mandates, "food grade use" barrels cannot be refilled as they cannot be reliably cleaned to ensure food safety regulations–but they rinse clean enough for our purposes. These are recyclable materials, HDPE, and as such are generally free for the asking or for a small ’service fee’ of a few dollars to the owner. The black barrels being non-food grade products are refillable and thus, incure a distributor’s deposit of usually at least $55.00. Removing these barrels from a facility requires that you pay the deposit. We’ll just work with white or blue barrels for now.
You can also buy any of these new & unused for around $55.00-$75.00 each, or more. A quick search the internet (Google “55-gallon plastic barrels for sale”) and you will be rewarded with dozens of sites that sell and ship barrels to you the buyer, in quantities that will suit your needs. Often, in various colors including green, orange and others. Myself, I got mine for free at a dairy-foods manufacturer. Free for the asking, you are doing them a favor by asking to take these!
Any place that manufactures food products on any large-scale operation (cookies, dairy, bakery, etc.) probably has these and produces several empties per week. You can also inquire of automotive garages, gas/service stations and private garbage collectors. Believe it not, they are often a valuable source of these barrels, or they can put you into contact with others who are.
Some ‘yard and farm’ stores may even have a short renewable supply of these for industrial farm use even if they are not prominently displayed on the sales floor. Any boat marina probably uses 55-gallon barrels for their floating docks, -where did they get them? Again, ask!
I have heard this over and over again, “I looked - I really did - but I can’t find any barrels!” and seriously, I don’t believe them. Sure, maybe the first acquisition is a little bit difficult but after that, it is just another barrel. Once you ‘find’ or ‘acquire’ one or two, it gets easier and easier. You will start to see these everywhere!
At any one time in the late ’90s and early 2000s I had over 35 of these in my back yard that I had amassed! THIRTY FIVE! That is not including the dozen+ that I had stored at my dad’s barn, and the several dozen or more that over the course of a year or so had previously given away to friends with farms, or given horse enthusiasts for their rodeo events. I even swapped two 55-gallon barrels to a family-owned pizzeria (they wanted these for garbage collection out back) for two free slices of pepperoni pizza! The barrels were FREE for me so I profited by the cost of two slices of pizza and the investment of several minutes of my time.
Every time I brought home one or two more barrels I would give away an equal number that I had previously amassed, thus maintaining my inventory for my crafts and for emergency requests.
At the behest of my landlord to ‘clean-up my backyard ‘, I sold all the barrels I had for $5.00 each to a private garbage collection company. They use these barrels for recyclables separation (glass, plastics, small white metals, etc.) for their rural-route customers and told me that they would take as many more of these as I could get. They were buying them elsewhere at auction in lots for upwards of $30.00 each, so my price of $5.00 each was a serious savings for them. Enough of procurement. Let’s now assume that you have a barrel or two. Lets begin with making a reusuable template.
Make A Template for the Fantasy Chest Armor
(Image by author)
Using one of your T-shirts, Figure A, lay it upon large WHITE poster-board cardstock. I stress ‘white’ because once I used black cardstock for a ‘black’ armor I was making and I really missed the convenience of being able to leave pencil notes and remarks directly upon the cardstock. Notes like "front" or “back”, "inside/outside," "left arm” or “right arm" and more specific details like “add 1-inch here” or “trim this,” and to do math calculations, etc. Trust me, take the easy shortcut suggestions.
Sketch the basic design you see in Figure B above, with generous ‘excess’ tails which will be trimmed away later.
This is your basic template design. below. Cut this out with scissors and save this. You can re-use over and over again.
(Image by author)
Lay this template (above-right) onto the barrel lengthwise (repeat, “lengthwise”) as this will aid in forming the general ‘shape’ of your torso. You are going to be wearing this so anything to help with the proper fit / intended shape should be considered.
Trace the Outline Onto the Barrel, Lengthwise
Trace the design twice onto the barrel using a ‘Sharpie’ magic marker. You want to trace TWO of these templates.
Using a portable electric jigsaw, cut out the two templates. Because we sketched this template to have excess material, a cut-on-the-lines exactness is not a big concern.
(image by author)
Below: Here is what the Carapaces for your Armor Will Look Like
(in this image, the carapaces have already been partially heated and formed, which is explained in the next step)
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(Image by author)
Using a serrated steak knife like a draw-shave, peel away the pebbly edges of the carapace pieces. This will help to keep your work area cleaner as these pebbly beads will slough off on their own and they get into everything; your cloths, your rug, furniture, your hair, etc. Work cleanly and smartly else you (or your wife) will be finding these pebblies in the washing machine, in the clothes dryer, in the sinks, etc. all because they were attached to your work clothes.
Plastic Carapace in Hand: Think About How Your Shoulders and Midriff Are Shaped
(Image by author)
Examine this image, notice that your shoulders slope slightly ‘downwards’ and your midriff slopes slightly ‘narrower’ towards your hips. The next step will need to incorporate these slopes in the bends that we are about to make.
Torches, Tools and Bath Tubs
I used the bath tub filled with COLD water, but any large container of water that is large enough to fully and conveniently immerse the armor is suitable. Be aware that this is plastic and that you are using a propane torch. HDPE plastic emits noxious and potentially dangerous-to-breathe fumes when super-heated, so ventilation is required. Working outdoors is best.
Heat the Plastic at the Bend Points
The template pieces, I call them “carapaces” at this juncture, have a marbled exterior texture and a glass-smooth interior surface. Which side do you want to be the exterior of your armor? Either is okay, but I prefer the exterior surface of the barrel as the exterior of my armor, but I have done it both ways.
Heat Points, One Section at a Time and Cool it in Water
(Image by author)
Noting which side is to be the front and which is to be the back, heat the plastic at approximately the points shown by the ovals, one section at a time. Move the torch flame around often and on both side (front and back.) Avoid over-heating any one section too intensely or too rapidly. You want the plastic to be pliable, soft but not so hot that it appears ‘shiny’ and begins to bubble-up and melt. If the plastic becomes shiny or clear-opaque, almost see-through, it is over-heated. Stop! Move the torch away and do NOT touch that area. Allow the temperature to dissipate on its own; it will quickly spread to the surrounding area and the plastic will return to a useable state. Do NOT touch the plastic with your fingers or any tool to ‘test’ the softness. The plastic will be very hot, very tacky and if touched by bare skin it will adhere; you will receive an intense and nasty burn.
HDPE plastic retains heat very well so there is no hurry to perform any of this. Speed cause mistakes. Slow and precise is the key! You can heat the plastic slowly over several minutes with this method and still be within desireable workability. In fact, waiting a minute might even-out the hot-spots and make the bend-site more homogeneous. There is no rush to get to the bend, hold and water-cool step. When the corner that you are working on is hot and pliable, almost limp and very flexible, turn the propane torch off and set it safely aside.
Gently bend the plastic to form the general shape,angle and contour of your shoulder noting which is the left versus the right shoulder, and in relation to the exterior/interior surface of the carapace. You want the ‘marbled texture’ ("exterior") of the barrel facing outward.
Holding the bendable extension securely in the desired position, slowly and with deliberate care immerse the entire carapace into the cold water as shown in the image above. The plastic will harden immediately, often with an audible gurgle of steam. A ‘tap’ or ‘jerk’ will often be felt directly in your hands as well. This is okay and very desirable. It means that the ‘memory’ of the plastic has been successfully re-written. If you must apply any notable force at all to bending the hot plastic it is not hot enough. It should bend similarly to say, the cardboard of a pizza box or nasal tissue box.
If you note that there is not a ‘gurgle’ and/or ‘snap’ feel when dipped in the cold water, the plastic may over time slowly relax back to its former shape. The ‘memory’ was not fully rewritten. For some bends that will be riveted or bolted into position, this can be acceptable but for most bends you really want to re-write the plastic’s memory.
Do the four bends on each of the two carapaces, noting that they will mate to each other to form a single unit with excesses to be trimed away later. Do not be concerned that the complimentary sections of carapace #1 and #2 may not line-up exactly perfect. They only need to be close. There will be ample opportunity for making this more exact later on.
Two Fantasy Armor Carapaces Ready to Assemble
(Image by author)
So pat yourself on the back. You have learned a lot today. It has got to be Beer-thirty somewhere so let’s take a break from this tutorial. I will resume in Part 2 (and link these article together) and we will examine assembling these two halves, fitting for comfort and symmetry, and what comes next.
