The Armour Archive

The Iron Dwarf

historically correct armour has been perfected over a lot of time and then it was more importand that it works well as the users life depended on it so it may be better to be at least guided by the design of historical armour.

The Iron Dwarf

ok for thin stuff if you get one with a continuously variable setting rather than just hi or lo, get smaller tips for it and 18 gauge is reasonable.
mine does from 16 G to 1 1/2"

The Iron Dwarf

great work
wish I could do things like that

The Iron Dwarf

forming them into the rivet shape work hardens them so they need to be annealed afterwards ones you have that are hard have not been annealed but the soft ones have

The Iron Dwarf

I can get solid or hollow ( the hollow are nearly 1/8" thick so dont dent easily ) also have ball bearings that size and other sizes up to about 4" and yes they are weldable if you know what you are doing. unfortunatly there is a bit of water between here and there that makes shipping costly

The Iron Dwarf

like the bit in one of the addams family films about girl scout cookies.
wednesday and pudsley are selling lemonaid and are asked if it is made from real lemons by a girl selling the cookies, you can probably guess the reply

The Iron Dwarf

thank you Thomas you have helped a great deal I did not intend to true up any surfaces on it with a grinder. as to reenactment at some less fussy events that I know the organisers of I use a forge I make with an electric blower hidden not far away, mainly to give the reenactors a go at it so not ver...

The Iron Dwarf

would this type of anvil be very old? I like the fact that it has no modern looking text showing on it and looks old enough to use at a reenactment event here ( unlike the cast iron cooking pots from africa that a lot of people use showing the capacity is litres in big raised letters on the side ) i...

The Iron Dwarf

two holes in the front, one near the base and the other half way up one half way up the rear, all of those about 3/4 square and the larger one in the base with quite a taper. top is not delaminating or detempered as far as I can tell. apart from the hole in the base the base is reasonably flat thoug...

The Iron Dwarf

I have a copy of Anvils in America that will identify it; but tonight's "Bad Movie Night" so I won't be looking it up until tomorrow. Is there a depression on the bottom and if so how is it shaped? (Hourglass, caplet, etc...) how many handling holes does it have---I see the one on the fro...

The Iron Dwarf

Muuahhaaaaha! I love when things follow me home How much do you think it weighs? 99.4 lbs Try looking on the sides for any marks what so ever, may have to take a wire brush to it then dust it with babypowder(it will bring any potential marks out) only those two marks on it, have checked I got 2 of ...

The Iron Dwarf

just got an anvil rather than having to make do with things I have made http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/hodgesaargh/DCP_1876.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/hodgesaargh/DCP_1877.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/hodgesaargh/DCP_1875.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...

The Iron Dwarf

I dont make armour but if I wanted too and devoted time and money I probably could make something usable. others do better, cheaper, faster so I do what I specialize in that others dont or cant do better, cheaper or faster as a beginner you will be making stuff that is worse than average and it will...

The Iron Dwarf

anyone going?
anyone need any of my stuff?
I will be at both but often sell out of some items and if I know in advance could make custom stuff too.

The Iron Dwarf

Andrej you do not need to appologise for your english, it is better than some of the americans on here

I cannot help you much with the helms but many years ago I visited Kiev, I thought it was a great place with great people

The Iron Dwarf

Alun now has more replies, he has just got back from a week away so I dont know yet if he has contacted you but it looks like it is all on track for a weekend of hammering at my place.
if there is anything you need to know just ask and I look forward to meeting everyone

The Iron Dwarf

Another handy tip right here! http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_12isplP5LVY/Sss5dAYVu2I/AAAAAAAACkA/mXIgOp0czBo/s320/Don%27t+Set+Yourself+on+Fire.jpg How about the clueless about tool, yet overly enthusiastic friend who messes with your tools.. can I set him on fire? A good point Odd, I think you should do...

The Iron Dwarf

another one you should follow is 'do not look into laser beam with remaining eye'

The Iron Dwarf

thanks for the suggestions guys, here is another bit, this time it is the end off a shaft from truck brakes, this shaft is rotated by a large air actuator and the S shaped piece forces the brake shoes apart in the drum. it will be reasonably hard and the S is about 4" long and 1 1/8" thick...

The Iron Dwarf

for a stake plate and tools go to Hal, his plate is solid and takes tools with a 1" square shank, he also makes a range of tools to fit is and if you want to make your own just start with a 1" square solid bar and add whatever you want to that. I make a similar stake plate but mine is for ...

The Iron Dwarf

am always on the lookout for interesting things to make tools from and yesterday I got about 30 pieces shaped like this http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v170/hodgesaargh/DCP_1867.jpg they are the 'knife edges' that the older mechanical weigh bridges for trucks have as pivots. I know they will be ve...

The Iron Dwarf

if the course goes well there will be more next year its not ironhead palmer who you met at midfest when he was showing how he did socketed spear heads, it is Alun Walker who you may have met at my place on one of your visits in the past. and in reply to Heinrich H if you are here for an event I may...

The Iron Dwarf

for those interested in this ( and there are quite a few between several forums I use ) only 1 person has so far contacted Alun about actually booking the course. there is a minimum of 5 needed to run the course and a maximum of 10, untill deposits are recieved you are not booked in and it is not lo...

The Iron Dwarf

you could try asking on livinghistory.co.uk/forums it is not as big or as busy as this place but a lot of people there will be quite knowlegable

The Iron Dwarf

Nissan Maxima wrote:But guess what? No one got really hurt.

Armour works.

well it has been tried and tested for a few ( thousand ) years so by now it should work quite well

The Iron Dwarf

I have one piece of simple advice:

pay attention to the advice above, they know what they are talking about.

The Iron Dwarf

Har. Nowhere in England is much over a hundred miles from anywhere else, particularly Midlands to south. A mere bagatelle for anyone with an auto. A bigger bagatelle for the train rider. I live in the midlands and can go 590 miles north, 150 miles south, and 324 miles south west so england may not ...

The Iron Dwarf

the large handled noga deburring tool cost me about 5 uk pounds, a pack of 10 blades for it cost me about 4 uk pounds and each would last several weeks if used 8 hours a day 7 days a week. a cheap angle grinder will cost you maybe 15 uk pounds and will have a 12 month warranty ( but will prob only l...

The Iron Dwarf

was not lager or stout but was a load of balls

several thousand ball bearings from 1/2" to 4" diameter

The Iron Dwarf

here are a few details for anyone interested who has not PMd me forgework course second weekend in dec at glendon forge glendon lodge farm kettering NN14 1QF To those interested: this will be a two day course based on your abbility, interests and requests within reason. it will start with the basics...

The Iron Dwarf

it seems a bit hit and miss. the twice I have imported stuff, both from the same place and the same type of goods the second consignment which was lager and cost more to buy cost less in import duty, vat and everything else. it was not armour and it was not from the US and we are talking about nearl...

The Iron Dwarf

I normally use a flap disc on a angle grinder for large stuff, a noga tool on holes and some sheet edges and a cement mixer for bulk lots of small stuff.
a lot of my stuff is laser cut so needs no clean up

The Iron Dwarf

if it is an unfinished helm you want there is one being auctioned at the moment from a very good maker and is it not a mass produced kit, it is a one off.
http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=124191

The Iron Dwarf

have no personal experience of them but have heard rough from the hammer are good value,
have not heard of any complaints about them.
good, solid and a good price ( and would save you a lot of work )

The Iron Dwarf

Halberds wrote:Yeah... they knocked me out of the bidding pretty quick.

then next time you should sell one of yours there Hal

it followed me home!

UK markets, ILHF and TORM

interesting shaped junk to make into tools