I did a Google search and found some cool ideas regarding making my own weight vest; not all of them are simple or reasonable.
Does anyone out there have a simple yet effective homemade weight vest design that is conducive to climbing in and can adjust the weight amount simply?
Weight vests change your center of gravity, and make climbing feel weird, unless you are not using your feet (pull-ups or campusing).
It's not home-made, but if you intend to climb with weight, I recommend a diver's weight belt. This puts the extra weight around your natural CG, so your coordination and balance stay the same. Don't get a cheap one with hard rectangular blocks of lead, but one that's soft with pouches that hold mesh bags of stainless steel (so it doesn't rust) shot. Mine has six pouches with 3lbs shot-bags, a total of 18lbs.
This style is quite comfortable, especially when you hit the mat or the end of the rope. You can rotate the weight so it's in front (feels most natural) or in back (good core workout, makes everything feel steeper).
If you're really pinched for money, you could probably make something like this, and use plain steel or lead shot from a hunter's reloading shop.
I've had success using ankle weights connected together with Velcro (reinforced with a little tape) and then wrapped around my waist. Easy and fairly cheap, total about 10 pounds. Not convinced it's great training though.
Go to a used diving gear shop. There are plenty of options for weight belts. Pockets filled with lead beads would be the comfiest. Why would you want a weight vest/belt anyway? Not proven effective in trad training. Just do lots of laps. You can rack up as much as 30 pounds on a diving belt.