cheap MOLLE / PALS gear mount

corax

Explorer
Tried to hit a lot of razor edges with a file. One thing I noticed - one side of the grate has razor sharp edges from the cutting process, the other is more rounded. Put the rounded side to the inside where you're more likely to touch it. I used tape and split loom with zipties to cover as much of the edge as possible.

A twisted wire cup brush mounted on an electric angle grinder would also do wonders to abrade the sharp edge off, and probably save a bunch of time while doing a more complete job of it - just use a piece of junky plywood for backing to support the mesh while you work on it. The kind below is what I use from Harbor Freight and threads right onto the arbor on my 4.5" angle grinder
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robert

Expedition Leader
Be very careful using anything from Harbor Freight that goes round and round at high speed. Their RPM ratings seem to be optimistic and the wire cups sling wire (at least the one I tried); we also got a couple of bad lots of Chinese made wire wheels/cups when I was in Malaysia that shed wire and I've seen undamaged Chinese cutting wheels come apart. I stick to the major brands now even thought they cost more; not saying they won't do the same thing, but I've had much better luck with them. Whatever you do always wear gloves and a face shield and glasses.
 

trae

Adventurer
Good afternoon anyone. Any ideas for making cheap MOLLE mounts for the rear of the vehicle? Off the shelf stuff is quite epxensive.
 

ultraclyde

Observer
On a past vehicle I used sections cut out of an old wire dog crate and mounted them in the rear window insets. I never used molle gear, but they were great for bungees, helmets, camelbaks, and other adventure gear. Haven't got around to doing the windows on the Jeep yet but I plan to. I've been looking for something like a 1"x1" square wire mesh but haven't found a good one yet.
 

ultraclyde

Observer
Finally found the cheap bits to make this happen. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but not bad
20180728_145907.jpg
Start with small wire shelf. This one was the only one I found locally that was big enough and also wire mesh. $15 at the local Kroger

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Cut off legs, cut to fit window.

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A little scrap copper pipe is easy to fit for a main brace.

20180730_171209.jpg
Brace painted, trim reinstalled, shelf mounted with zip ties at the top and screws into the plastic at the bottom. Should be good enough for any weight that's safe on the wire rack anyway. Mostly I'll use it for bungees, dog leashes, MTB helmets and packs, etc, but it should also work with molle bags. I may add a couple for the heavier ratchet straps or move my first aid kit over. I'd prefer it painted black but the vinyl coating shrugs off paint. It does keep it quiet with crap hung on it, and the Jeep's white, so it's not too bad.
20180730_171914.jpg
 

ultraclyde

Observer
Nice @ultraclyde, beats $100.
Thanks. I put the one in our Explorer on a whim but I was amazed how much I actually used it and how much weight it would handle. I commonly hung a full 3L Camelbak on it. The Jeep window has a lot more compound curves, it was harder to get the fit to look decent.
 

corax

Explorer
Wow, thread back from the dead. I'm still upset over the photobucket debacle . . .
Good job ultraclyde.
 

ultraclyde

Observer
Wow, thread back from the dead. I'm still upset over the photobucket debacle . . .
Good job ultraclyde.


Thanks. Incidentally, I finally got around to hanging my first actual molle bag on it, a first aid kit. It works great. The little squares are the perfect size but it does take some fiddling to work the straps though.
 

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