The Armour Archive

Otto

Well, if there's no interest in a day or two... maybe I'll toss it on eBay and see how that works out.

Otto

I'll see if I can't get a picture on the thread soon. But what I've got is a brand new Otto's Armoury "Celtic" helm (styled after a 6th cent. Romano-British cavaly helm) with a slatted back. It's what I'd call a small. (would fit a 21-23 inch head depending on how you pad it) It's exactly ...

Otto

Well, it appears that your initial planishing was not enough to smooth the surface entirely. I'd suggest you should planish thouroughly with a bit more force which will get rid of all the unevenness but leave dimpling. Then, planish a second time with a lighter touch to smooth out the dimpling. Afte...

Otto

Well, I've given it a brief try out... cut out a spangenhelm quarter panel and some other basic cutting. I can see where there will be a learning curve as Matt said... but... it went through the 14 ga. steel zippety quick. Rounded the shallow curves of the quarter panel no problem at all. The bigges...

Otto

So, how does one properly set the blades for cutting 14 ga or 16 ga steel? I got the shear already but no guide on setting the blades.

Otto

OK, this one's pretty easy... stainless is a very hard metal... very rough on bits and blades... but quite workable if you do it right. Oil the tip of the bit and RUN THE DRILL SLOW. With decent pressure (not excessive) and a slow speed, a normal high speed steel bit will drill literally hundreds of...

Otto

Now this might not be it, but what the heck... you said you were drilling multiple layers of steel... sometimes when you break through a layer of steel, a little "cap" of steel remains on the tip of the drillbit which inhibits further progress. Such caps just need to be pried off with some...

Otto

Patrick, I got them on eBay...

Otto

Well, essentially what I'm hoping to do is speed up my long straight cuts and perhaps my easy curves. I spend a long time now cutting things out with my jigsaw... and I'd save a good bit of time if that could be sped up.

Otto

Well, I hope I did well. I got the 14 ga. dewalt shear for $130

Certainly a much better price than new... but I've never used one before. I'll have to see how that works out.

I'm just hoping it will speed up my simple cuts (straight lines, easy curves) and such without warping the metal.

Otto

Topic pretty much says it... I'm considering picking up either a nibbler by porter-cable or some 14 ga. electric shears by dewalt. Any notion if these would be maneuverable enough to help in my shop or am I better off just sticking with my jigsaw? (and don't try to sell me on a beverly shear... I've...

Otto

I sell both items @ $25 each... for what it's worth.

Otto

If I were you, I'd go for that helm offered up for $100... looks like a good deal.

Otherwise, my items are on the low end of the price scale.

Otto

What does one do with it?

Otto

I'll note that Stonekeep has one of my crusader pot helms in stock and at a sale price just now... might be worth a look. $200 if I remember properly.

Otto

Maybe it's cause I spelled my website ottosarmoury.com with a "u" in armoury... but I seem to have a lot of slow time.

Don't forget Otto's Armoury for your steel stuff needs!

Otto

I sell helms at reasonable prices, and also, Stonekeep has a variety of helms instock.

Otto

Hey now!!!

don't pick!

I had some nice carpet body armour to start with... it sucked!

I fear that I missed out on freon can helms... I didn't start until the early 80's

Otto

I was helping someone clean out an old storage shed today and I found an old green freon can... you know, the classic old thing with the 4 bumps on the bottom and all. I confiscated the can... with permission, of course,... now, I'm tempted to make a truly old-style SCA helm just for giggles and as ...

Otto

Thanks for the kind comments!

Otto

<Dr> Hey everybody! Let's not forget Otto's Armoury for... at least some... of your inexpensive armour needs. You can also find a small selection of Otto helms at Stonekeep already in stock. For custom orders or a few other types of helms, go directly to the Otto's Armoury website at www.ottosarmour...

Otto

A couple of clarifications... The helm in question IS technically a Stonekeep helm. I make them for Mike, and he sells them. I also sell some on my own which are similar, but not identical. Just for historical reference, I really don't know what happened to the first one of that style I made. It was...

Otto

I was doing some planishing today on a helm quarter panel for a spangenhelm and had some thoughts about it. If you really want to do a good job, it's gonna take at least three times as long as you think it should... still not really that long... just longer than you'd think. If you really want to do...

Otto

So, other than the "it's easter" smell... is there anything wrong... that you know of... with running a mill scale removing vinegar soak in the house?

Vinegar seems to cease to function when the weather drops into the negatives... the stuff freezes solid.

Otto

Congrats on the good news!

Keep on keep'n on man!

Otto

All this is kind of what I'd figured for myself... I just thought it'd be interesting to get more accurate answers from those who might have greater knowledge on the subject.

It's interesting sometimes when I'm hammering a piece of stock and it starts smoking.

Otto

I know how metal heats up when cut or sanded or polished... that's a function of friction. Why, though, does metal heat up so much when hammered/compressed? It isn't just a function of the compression, since if I compress say... a piece of roundstock with a single blow or high pressure, it doesn't a...

Otto

When you buy things from me, you're not supposed to let them get all rusty and nasty like that.

Otto

Well, I'm fairly sure someone can get you cheaper starter gear, but if you want cheap barrel helms, there's always my site.

www.ottosarmoury.com

Otto

Well, now in all fairness, there's at least 2 of us (Otto's) on the board that I know of...

I'm the one who runs Otto's Armoury

Am I the one in trouble?

Otto

I'll add my 2 cents worth... and I apologize if I miss something, but I don't have the stamina to wade through the many and sometimes long posts that have preceeded mine. It's good to have secure sources for your needs. You can't depend on scrapyard finds to fuel your armoury as they can dry up on y...

Otto

I'm no expert on roman armour... but your helm design looks very nice!

Sharp indeed!

Otto

I was honestly frightened for a moment!!!

Otto

Of course, you could always check Otto's Armoury... I hear he's wonderful!

Otto

Well, I could hook him up with a barrel helm (eyeslot or open-faced) new construction for $100.

Have a glance at my site.

Celtic styled slat back Spangenhelm for sale

How useful are dewalt electric shears?

Don't forget Otto's Armoury

Freon Find!

Otto's Armoury

On planishing

Vinegar in the house

Why does metal heat up when hammered?