The Armour Archive

jmercier

I just used a painters canvas dropcloth i picked up at lowes for 15 bucks. It doesnt leak any air that you can feel, but it does leak some air. If i'd had some sort of treated canvas like Thomas used, it'd probably have worked much better, but I went for inexpensive, since i'd already spent around 3...

jmercier

I think you'll find it easier to build yourself a set of bellows, either box or double chambered, than to build a sturdy reliable hand crank blower. I built this pair of bellows in a week this spring. They work great, though I had to make the chambers on the top and bottom larger than you normally w...

jmercier

4 and a half years ago one of Hal's deluxe newbie tool kits, back when he first started making them, was the first metal working tools that I had ever got, for a project that incidentally I never finished. 3 years ago I started learning to forge iron, and they were great tools then, and they're stil...

jmercier

Got my two today as well, very happy with them =) Just do be sure to take care with the pin since it's not on a pivot, but is bending the pewter, so dont bend it too far when taking it on and off.

jmercier

Yay, order coming your way via paypal in a bit =) I may not be that active here except as a lurker, but I saw that and said "i need one!"

jmercier

The hardness on these hammers is VERY hit and miss. The ones that I have are so soft that they didn't survive cold forming 16 gague brass into a swage block without completely destroying the face and flattening down the edges completely, I would have done better with un-heat treated mild steel proba...

jmercier

Not having seen many historic examples surviving, that doesnt sound too far off on the weight for that size and design. My Scottish targe, build historically accurate, is ~9lbs which is right in the range for historic ones. You've got a lot more metal on that than a targe (even with the brass tack w...

jmercier

Ahh, but leave it to a blacksmith to figure out how to steal a powerhammer anyways ! (calls a few other blacksmiths who happen to own rigging trucks and plans a road trip!) This thread got me thinking. I DID have a photo inventory of my shop, 2 years ago, and since then I've acquired a LOT of tools ...

jmercier

I don't post here very much though i still browse through and read every couple weeks, but I was talking with James Gillaspie at a bladesmithing hammer-in this afternoon and this thread was brought up, and somehow I had missed it.... all i can say is... *jaw drop* Wow! I've been focusing on knives f...

jmercier

Just some period forging points for people reading the thread. I dont know what (if any) period matthijs is working for (very nice forge btw) Coal was not much used for forging until around the 1840s, prior to that charcoal is what was used, and infact charcoal production for iron making and blacksm...

jmercier

Thomas has the right of it. I'd recommend you put your anvil about 4 or 5 inches above 'knuckle height' The anvils in my shop are all at wrist height, because this is the height that's the most comfortable for me. 'knuckle height' is the right hight if you're going to have someone else sledging for ...

jmercier

Adam, if you find any place "in the area" (anywhere from rhode island in the south to lewiston / auburn ME in the north) that still allows for "scrap picking" let me know, because all the places that I know of have all stopped selling their scrap "because of liability" as well. It's frustrating when...

jmercier

Ahh this story is just as enjoyable a year and a half after reading it the first time, as it was the first time!

If not for â€œThe Ugoâ€™sâ€

jmercier

The discussion in the "if you could have only one stake" thread got me thinking about the need to build a hammer rack this weekend and out in the workshop to dig up all my hammers from various benches and shelves and places on the floor. I realized... Iv'e got a ton of hammers. If I include flatters...

jmercier

Yeah yeah, I need to build a hammer rack, i've got hammers everywhere, including a really nice set of chasing / repouse hammers which i dont even know how to use properly yet >_< http://www.tharkis.com/images/hammersandstuff.jpg A hammer rack is probably going to be my weekend project this weekend a...

jmercier

I'd probably get one just like the one I have =) Tapered cone on one side, tapered square on the other

http://www.tharkis.com/images/shop4.jpg

jmercier

What I've done to mount some stakes that I have can be seen in this picture of my workshop http://www.tharkis.com/images/shop.jpg I've got 2x12s (or 2x10s i forget) laminated together, with a notch cut in just one board for the hole, then bolts driven through all of them. I put my stake in the hole,...

jmercier

Wow... just wow... Way to read something completely wrong and take offense. Perhaps you should return to that state of bemusement before trying to insult people. I never once said that your two pictures were of the same vise, that is patently obvious. On the contrary I stated exactly what would help...

jmercier

Not "somewhat" like that, what he has pictured IS the top of your two pics sasha, just in bad shape and broken =)

jmercier

The anvil for sale on ebay and the one shown on the anvilfire site are 2 different items. Note the hardie holes; the anvilfire anvil has the usual square with 2 sides running parallel to the face, the one on ebay is set at a very unusual diagonal- making a diamond. I have never seen a diagonal hard...

jmercier

http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/ru_top_index.htm

jmercier

For re-enactment purposes, unless you're re-enacting revolutionary war or newer, your anvil shouldnt have a horn anyways. Large bickerns were used for 'horns' and the anvil was usualy a square or rectangle without any protrusions. [img]http://www.tharkis.com/images/bickhorn.jpg[/img] Old heavy (70lb...

jmercier

Well, this is my first ever penannular broach which i made this morning., I'm still a raw beginner when it comes to blacksmithing, so the scrolls arent that good, and the pin isnt totaly symetric etc, but it's got a nice rustic feel which i like. Started out as a piece of 1/4" square. Just has a for...

jmercier

heck, I should pump out a bunch of those on the forge and offer 'em up

jmercier

I'll tell you right now, if you're planing on making damascus blades, you'll want a blown propane forge. They will quite easily get up to forge welding temps, are very fast to heat, and you dont have to worry about inclusions in your steel. (this is even more evident and beneficial when doing someth...

jmercier

the A block is an exact copy of a Yeater pattern swage block. Honestly though, unless your'e doing general blacksmithing, you're better off getting something more specialized. Ironmonger sells a swage specifically for armor making, or individual dishes and stakes, and Halberds has dishing donuts tha...

jmercier

I've considered selling my collection to pay off college loans and my truck, or to even put more equity in my house. My collection spans from alpha-> current, probably 50k cards total. aprox val around 10k even though I've only got a couple p9 cards, my arabian nights set isnt complete etc. But havi...

jmercier

If you want to be working 14g stainless, that HF setup will do you no good, you're really looking at a professional quality 1000 dollar planisher for metal that thick and hard. Most small air hammers like that are rated for 16g mild, and even at that it takes a long time, and they work best with 18g.

jmercier

Kayne and sons are reguarded as one of the most respectable online blacksmith supply locations in the US. They help out with many events, demonstrating such things as their induction forge, the KA75 air hammer, and other things.

In all my dealings with them everything has been fast and professional.

jmercier

Yes, paypal is my prefered way to get paid, it lets me get the itesm shipped asap without waiting on checks to clear or MOs to get sent, etc.

PM me with your shipping info and i'll get you as exact a shipping quote as I can and give you my paypal address.

jmercier

The Lewis Moore plate, the icefalcon BP, and the chainmail are all paid for and shipped. Just the gambeson remains available. Currently it's been the wrong size for, or would hvae caused an ugly situation with spending money on 'more armor' with wives with everyone who's contacted me about it, and t...

jmercier

I'm skinny too, which is why your former gambeson fits me just fine =P

jmercier

Ok looks like the Gambeson is available again for anyone. It's too small for 3 people who PMd me, and apperantly too large for Elvewyn =P It's 25 inches across at the front of the gambeson at the armpits, which means it should theoretically fit fine over someone with a 42 inch chest just fine, but w...

jmercier

The lewis moore armor and the icefalcon bp are both paid for and will ship out tomarow morning on my way to work. I will get tracking numbers to those who they're being shipped to asap. I'm giving Seawolf2k untill the end of tomarow to get back to me about the chainmail suit, after that I'll contact...

jmercier

Churburg is gone. Shipping out tomarow morning on my way to work, already sealed in box. The lewis moore armor is sealed in a box and ready to ship once i recieve payment, and thus likely gone by tomarow as well. Seawolf2k, please PM me if you are still intrested in the chain armor, as there are sev...

Lets see those hammers ! (hammer racks too!)