I would like to present you the building of argon strap bands for backplate mounting. It is very simple to realize and doesn’t requires neither special tools nor special materials.
We need 2 pieces of webbing (could be recovered from a single tank strap band), 4 plastic straps, one piece of bungee, 2 screws and nuts and 4 washers, preferably made of stainless steel or brass (fig. 1, 2).
Fig. 1
Fig. 2
For the beginning we will cut the bands. We will encircle the argon cylinder with a strap such way that it will fit as tight as possible (fig. 3), and we will let about 5 centimeters free on the ends for backplate mounting. Where the strap closes we will drill two holes which will let us fix the strap using two of the plastic straps (fig. 4, 5).
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
On the bungee we will make some knots such way that two eyes will be formed on it (fig. 6). It will be placed on the cylinder neck to increase security, just in case that the tank will slide out of the straps (a very unlikely event if the straps were tighten right).
Fig. 6
Now we can drill the holes on the straps ends, which will be used to fix the straps on the backplate using the screws (fig. 7). With that the build ends and the argon cylinder could be mounted (fig. 8, 9).
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
For a 0.85 l Luxfer tank we need about 34-35cm of webbing and about 30cm of elastic rope. The build time is under 30 minutes.
Călin Drăgan
