The Armour Archive

The Iron Dwarf

leaving in the metal form will help that, concrete does take a long time to get to its full strength so you may have to wait longer than you think to use it

The Iron Dwarf

here most scrap yards wont let people in but I do have a tame one nearby. today I found a few of these parts from very large fork lift trucks, they are the rollers from in the mast and are about 6 1/2" diameter and about 2" thick, they will be quite hard steel and should make some good sch...

The Iron Dwarf

here is the one I make
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160687744885?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649
it is cheaper direct from me, have sold a few ( hundred ) of these

also cheaper and a lot more items on ebid

The Iron Dwarf

at a scrap yard you may be able to pick up a complete power pack like that, personally I prefer solenoid operated valves and set up limit switches on the press for the travel. also in the directional valve there is a pressure relief valve to set the max pressure you work at, over that it goes back t...

The Iron Dwarf

you can get lever or air operated jacks, you also get hydraulic pumps that are lever operated, air operated or motor operated. yes you can get a power pack that is made commercially but there are many types and they cost a bit, second hand from a scrapyard is also a good possibility. pressures commo...

The Iron Dwarf

here most motors except those in hand held stuff dont have brushes, a single phase motor will normally have 1 or sometimes 2 capacitors on it and it sounds like the start one has gone ( will be a cylindrical item with 2 wires on it, often on the outside of the motor or under a cover ) or it may be t...

The Iron Dwarf

I intend to try some soft lower tools for forming, have thought about using sand in a box sheets of rubber a block of lead. I dont normally do thin stuff, most of the forming I do is 1/2" thick stuff. have also not yet had the opertunity to form things hot with my press ( want to try dishing st...

The Iron Dwarf

used a donut that I thought was forged once but was cast to do some deep dishing, bits of it made some deep indentations in 1/4" thick steel that was between me and the donut. presses here would come with a steel plate for the platten rather than iron normally except for fly presses and the lik...

The Iron Dwarf

dont think they have a harbor freight in the Ukraine, did not see one when I visited in about 1991.
maybe you can get the parts and make one there ( a frame and an air hammer and a foot control )

The Iron Dwarf

will depend a lot on the type of press, the type of form and the material you want to form I have a 30 ton powered hydraulic press which I use with various tools to shape mild steel up to 1/2" thick positioning it by hand and often moving the material or changing tools to get the desired shape....

The Iron Dwarf

metal ones are often used here, even those organising English heretics events have used mine.
there is at some places a limit on depth though.
seen an illustration with metal pegs with the top bent over like some of mine but cant remember where

The Iron Dwarf

yes you can buy direct from me, dont know about sending a liquid to the US so would have to check on that.

The Iron Dwarf

the shank is 3/4" mild steel and about 12" long, too narrow for fingers but im sure it will go at the first event I take it too here ( late feb ).
have 3 in total and will look for wider pieces of the same.

The Iron Dwarf

Dont let your kit get rusty, try this instead
http://uk.ebid.net/for-sale/the-iron-dwarf-s-battle-wax-rust-prevention-for-armour-etc-57753432.htm

The Iron Dwarf

last pic

The Iron Dwarf

here is something that may have a use, wish I could find a few larger ones though.
started with part from a cv joint
cut it into 3 pieces
weld onto a stake

it is too small for fingers ( at least my giant ones ) but I expect some here will have uses in mind for it.

The Iron Dwarf

but we want real turkey armour, in a month we are coming to the main turkey eating day in this country and we should have turkeys that can fight back

The Iron Dwarf

agree with blackoak about auctioning it, there are many out there who want a Halberds . and as someone with an arc welder ( amongst other things ) who makes tools, I often make them without a clear idea of what use they have but rarely have unsold tools and make use of the hive here to find uses ( i...

The Iron Dwarf

Alun Walker who I share a workshop with has just sent me a message saying he is avaliable to run a course either on the 15th or the 29th of january. please contact him if interested his message...... We are running a day course if you are interested it's £75 for the day 9-5:30 Bring your own lunch W...

The Iron Dwarf

for a first project it looks good, may you make more things and learn from it

The Iron Dwarf

I hope it works out well. lots of people want me to make things I dont want to / cant make I prefer to make what I want and have still got lots of happy customers. there is someone somewhere who will like any item I make, even if it is not the person who originally asked for it and then rejected it....

The Iron Dwarf

I have an interesting mould made for plastics, it is for a rubber duck bath toy ( dont know if they are popular in the US or other places ).
think I will cast a couple in lead

The Iron Dwarf

if working hot rolled cold as most armour is it will soon work harden, cold rolled starts off a little harder but both end about the same.
cold rolled will be more consistent and of even thickness than hot rolled

The Iron Dwarf

Alun Walker who I share a workshop with has just sent me a message saying he is avaliable to run a course this sat. there should be places still avaliable, please contact him if interested ( sorry about the short notice but I have only just heard about this ). post code is NN14 1QF cost is £75 all d...

The Iron Dwarf

a stake plate with verticle, 45 deg and horizontal sounds good.
my normal stake plate already gives 8 different orientacions for tools in verticle, maybe I will try for more

The Iron Dwarf

depends on how much you bid in the auction that is running

The Iron Dwarf

have tried a donut and ball on my press ( the donut was 2" thick forges steel ) to dish some 1/4" discs cold, it worked allright. as to Thomas Powers idea of a pile of charcoal and a blow dryer to burn several people at the stake at the same time horizontally I think you will need a very l...

The Iron Dwarf

I would do the bend in a press, though the shanks on my tools are only 3/4" square the press hardly notices them and I can bend 2 at a time it will also do 1" square easily even cold

edited to add piccy

The Iron Dwarf

the round hole has a hex above it so you can fit a nut in place without it turning and also there is a slot enabling a nut to be placed at any position and not turn. hid about 12 of these today so I can buy them when I need, did not get time to get more pix ( am working hard to get ready for a big e...

The Iron Dwarf

thank you guys,
I think I will pick up a few more of these today, and I will get a pic of the underside and more of the rest of it with something in the pic better than a ruler for scale

The Iron Dwarf

I doubt that, it seems more like a wear part from something dealing with stone, also it was with a load of bucket teeth. the lines of wear indicate something very hard caused the scratches in it. I guess something for moving or crushing rock. but my quest here is not so much to identify what it was ...

The Iron Dwarf

found a few of these today. about 12" long, the middle bit is about 2" square with a hole and a slot in it and each horn has 2 concave sections. am wondering what sort of tool I can make from either the whole thing or parts of it. this item is hard and has a nice ring to it. should I attac...

The Iron Dwarf

welcome back to England, hope you do well here.
I too will be trading at Torm as usual

The Iron Dwarf

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/150689648975?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 those who have tried it before, during and since that wet Kelmarsh event this summer have been saying how good they thought the liquid form was so I thought I would add it to my listings. will be on ebid ...

The Iron Dwarf

the tinning on printed circuit boards and some other items is lead and tin, not just tin.
here now plumbers have to use lead free solder on copper pipes used for drinking water and that solder is mostly tin

Re: Anyone used concrete for press forms?

Re: Mill Balls

Re: Cheap Coal Forge

Re: Press forming basics

Re: Press forming basics

Re: Cheep drill press w/ stalled motor: repair, replace or s

Re: Press forming basics

Re: Press forming basics

Re: Looking for tools.

Re: Press forming basics

Re: Period Tent Stakes

Re: The Iron Dwarf's BATTLE WAX

Re: another new tool

The Iron Dwarf's BATTLE WAX

Re: another new tool

another new tool

Re: Turkey Armor

Re: Critique my helm

England, begginers forgework course in january

Re: So that's why this is called "AA". I'm hooked!

Re: Stonekeep Armory Announcement: Going in a New Direction

Re: It's the day of the speeding Jackalobe!

Re: hot rolled vs. colled rolled steel

begginers forgework course this sat ( England )

Re: New tool: Horizontal/Vertical Raising Stake

Re: New tool: Horizontal/Vertical Raising Stake

Re: New tool: Horizontal/Vertical Raising Stake

Re: New tool: Horizontal/Vertical Raising Stake

Re: another interesting find

Re: another interesting find

Re: another interesting find

another interesting find

Re: HE / Black Swan Designs at TORM

Something new from me

Re: Tinning steel items