By livewire008
#4902792
Taking a look around, it's clear what a great community this is, and I wanted to thank everyone for being so generous with their knowledge.

I'd like to contribute something, even if very small... I haven't seen this trick, hack, “whathaveyou” anywhere else, so if this somehow helps anyone else out, all the better.

Two years ago when I made my uniform, I wanted the hose port to be something not permanent, so storing/washing the suit would be a little easier, so I decided to make the hose connector magnetic allowing it to attach/detach as I saw fit.

For the connector itself, I used plumbing components (the connector materials are not important) the idea of which came from a primermagazine.com article but this process could easily work with any hose connector you choose to use for your suit.

First, I put a rare earth magnet (available at your local hardware store) on a square of masking tape, sticky side up.

Image

Then, I placed the hose connector over top of that. The sticky side up tape creates a seal over the rim of the hose connector (very important!). Out of an over abundance of caution, I used some clay to form an additional seal around the base to prevent any leaks for the next step...

Image

Next, VERY carefully, I poured resin through the upward facing mouth of the connector... just enough to fill the base of the wider end of the connector...

Wait a few minutes for the resin to cure, and that's all there is to it; you're pretty much done!

Image

Now, you need something for the magnet to grip onto, and for that, I used the lid of a soup can – I coated the edges with the wife's nail polish to dull the sharp edge, but you could use glue or sand it down... personally, if I had this part to do over, I'd use something with a higher iron content to create a stronger magnetic bond, but ye olden Campbell Soup lid works well enough through my Tru Spec coveralls...

Image

...and that's all there is to it! Pretty simple.

Image

For a little extra “hose security” I clip the free end to my belt using a spare alligator clip from a lavaliere mic I had laying around and the whole assembly is pretty rock solid. Patrolled many a neighborhood last Halloween, and it worked out pretty great. The scaleable nature also makes getting into/out of cars easy without getting unecessarily caught up.

Image

Hope this helps anyone. Happy hunting!
By Sailerm
#4902854
This is what I'm planning to do with Roxane's and my flight suit. I just ordered the hose and connectors.

I'v used strong magnets on various costumes and they work great.

Here is an example. My trooper Santa hat is held by magnets so it won't slip off. Image

    I don't remember exactly, But I think I've had pr[…]

    Someone ID'd them on Facebook first, there w[…]

    Two specific ideas I have are basically holiday sp[…]

    While waiting impatiently for Frozen Empire to rel[…]