The Armour Archive

Keegan Ingrassia

Order matters, indeed. You want to build from the innermost layers, outward. Since the overlapping layers have to fit the underlapping layers and you, you want to make sure that your suit doesn't end up rather too small to squeeze into. 1.) Sabatons 2.) Greaves 3.) Legs 4.) Gorget (neck defence) 5.)...

Keegan Ingrassia

Took the metacarpals out to the shed this evening. Sanded out the raising marks, then wirebrushed and ran them through the buffer. I'm not a huge fan of the over-polished look on them, but it'll keep the rust off them while I polish up the finger lames. Right before assembly I'll knock down the shin...

Keegan Ingrassia

I'd hazard that there are far fewer accomplished repousse artists in the armoring community than there are competent armorers. If you went that route, you could both sell decorated pieces you made yourself or customize armor that people bought elsewhere. Edit: jumping sideways, don't underestimate r...

Keegan Ingrassia

A bench grinder is very useful, but the stone is coarse. A very light and quick touch is all that it takes to chamfer the raw edge. It's very easy to overdo it and end up with a blade-like edge. As to angle grinders, you can pick one up from Harbor Freight for about 20-30 bucks. They're very handy t...

Keegan Ingrassia

No, it's very unlikely to have a perfectly mill-finished edge, and you don't want your edges squared off. Moreso slightly chamfered on either side, to smooth and round the edges a bit. This serves three roles. One, it prevents the metal from developing a crack while working it. Two, it keeps your ha...

Keegan Ingrassia

Welcome back! Fully understand the predicament; had some similar changes too. It's hard to carve the time out after you've been away from it for a while. Look forward to seeing the progress on the projects!

Keegan Ingrassia

Cool. Thanks for finding these! I'll have to put in an order for some; I've got at least three projects that could use some nice metal aglets.

Keegan Ingrassia

Vermilion, how hard would you say it'd be to put a taper in these, either by grinding/cutting or by overlapping the sides? Just out of curiosity, since the historical ones end up cone-shaped, instead of a tube with a point. It's not a huge thing, but if it wouldn't take more than a few licks with a ...

Keegan Ingrassia

Hey Hal! Thanks for thinking of me. :) Funny that you bumped up this thread...I just this evening gathered up all the pieces of this project from storage and brought it home. I not fifteen minutes ago was talking to my wife about finishing these up now that I've got them in the shop again. So, no pi...

Keegan Ingrassia

That's understandable; I get the same way about my projects sometimes. As for people who could really turn a critical eye to your work, wcallen and Mac, here on the archive, would be my top two choices. You're also posting right at the beginning of the Pennsic event for the SCA, so a huge portion of...

Keegan Ingrassia

Rest assured, we're following every word. The information is very helpful, as are the progress pics. These are some of the best kinds of threads on the Archive. Thank you for sharing the process!

Keegan Ingrassia

More important is the gap between the blades! The lower blade needs to be moved so there is a wider gap for thicker metal, generally 1/6th the thickness of the metal. Otherwise, you risk chipping your blades. HF blades are generally over-hardened, so they're more brittle than they should be to begin...

Keegan Ingrassia

Videos? Tons.
http://www.youtube.com/results?app=desk ... 20repousse

Keegan Ingrassia

Well, here's the link to the description of the item.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/andrea_ca ... 014317655/

Seems that it was donated to the museum around 1875...judging from the nasal, and the very unique hinge, it is possibly a Victorian reconstruction.

Keegan Ingrassia

Usually, a material called chaser's pitch, inside a pitch bowl. Some people also use modeling clay, but its a bit more difficult to remove once you're done shaping.

Here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Repouss%C3%A9_and_chasing

Keegan Ingrassia

Yeah, Ugo is a rock star, critch.

As for the how, search here and online about "repousse" and "chasing". Combination of hammers, chisel, and semi-malleable backing material. Specific material varies, but there are a few common ones.

Keegan Ingrassia

Seriously, your eye for form is excellent! Very nice work.

Keegan Ingrassia

Yeah I've heard that.. What if you're unlucky and you find out after purchasing tanks, the place near you won't do it? Could you legally (via written invoice) return the tanks and get your money back from the seller? I'm thinking craigslist. Why not call the local place before you purchase tanks, a...

Keegan Ingrassia

Glorious.

Keegan Ingrassia

Oh that's nice James. Is that a black dye, or did you use an iron blackening agent or some such?

Keegan Ingrassia

If you've experience in brazing and soldering, then welding with an O/A torch will feel very familiar. Heat metal until puddle forms, then move the torch along your weld line, coaxing the puddle of molten metal along, while dipping your filler rod into the puddle. TANKS Cost - depends on several fac...

Keegan Ingrassia

Welcome! You've got the expansion ring correct. It will hang with less tension than the other rings. It's mostly there to provide the two rings below it something to hang off of. Without the expansion ring filling that spot, you would have a gap in your mail. If the way it hangs truly bothers you, s...

Keegan Ingrassia

I don't have enough information on hand to definitively say that welding with oxy-acet produces the strongest weld available...but, if done properly, the weld will be stronger than the base metal. It is also much easier to smooth and blend a weld into the plates when using an oxy-acet rig. The smoot...

Keegan Ingrassia

Hey Nate,

There are pros and cons to every welding system, but for an all-purpose tool, you can't go wrong with Oxy-Acet. Its the only welding rig that also can cut and heat. You can use it when brazing, to heat plate for raising, to heat thicker metal for bending, etc.

Keegan Ingrassia

Ow. I seriously think I just got a headache from reading that.

Keegan Ingrassia

Seems valid to me. Kind of the whole point of the CdB, innit? Padding, that is...well, a solid foundation to point to, as well. I did the same thing when I layered the batting in mine. Areas that were bony or had more weight directly resting on it got one or two extra layers of batting. Areas that n...

Keegan Ingrassia

Yeah, for a while I had my arms and spaulders pointed onto my mail haubergeon. Put on the arming cotte and laced it up, then shrugged my way into the mail. Once it was on, I buckled the arms and elbows and was ready to go. Once I finish my new de Blois cotte, I'll sew on mail sleeves, then use Isabe...

Keegan Ingrassia

These are extremely well-made, James. Beautiful silhouette. The cup on the scabbard of the rondel is new to me; I hadn't seen that before this thread. Perhaps I hadn't looked hard enough. Are the decorations of your own invention, an extrapolation of extant designs, or a mimic of a surviving example?

Keegan Ingrassia

Zetheros wrote:The smell was amazing, and there was a river of soapy molasses running down the road with ducklings swimming in it.

Mmm...pre-seasoned duck.

Keegan Ingrassia

Looking good! If you haven't read through my thread a couple years back, you might find some tidbits in there that could help you with getting the shape to its final depth.

Fingertip Tutorial - From hourglass gauntlet thread

Keegan Ingrassia

I wonder if a more accurate approximation for calories burned would be from a sport like American football...wearing pads and helmets, with interspersed periods of high and low activity.

Keegan Ingrassia

Anything that allows either ankle-to-knee length tunics with a lot of gathering around the waist with a belt. So, early 14, 13, 12...Viking? Alternatively, bare-bottomed is period, right?

Keegan Ingrassia

Seriously, that hauberk is straight-up beautiful.

Keegan Ingrassia

*Bookmarked* Looking forward to seeing these progress, Tom.

Keegan Ingrassia

Looking forward to seeing it!

Re: First Helmet Tips

Re: Some new tools, and a new project - hourglass gauntlets

Re: Planishing Tools/Stakes

Re: First Helmet Tips

Re: First Helmet Tips

Re: I'm not dead yet (Scott Martin)

Re: Metal Aglets - Metal tips for your lacing Points

Re: Metal Aglets - Metal tips for your lacing Points

Re: Some new tools, and a new project - hourglass gauntlets

Re: Milanese harness in progress

Re: Milanese harness in progress

Re: First Helmet Tips

Re: Link to Ugo's super seeecret project ( aka- The Ugroli)

Re: Almost 10,000 pics in Flickr: Frescoes, paintings, armou

Re: Link to Ugo's super seeecret project ( aka- The Ugroli)

Re: Link to Ugo's super seeecret project ( aka- The Ugroli)

Re: Milanese harness in progress

Re: NEWBIE QUESTIONS ANSWERED - Add your Input !!!

Re: 2014 Show Us Your Kits

Re: Roundel dagger one peice scabbard with cup

Re: NEWBIE QUESTIONS ANSWERED - Add your Input !!!

Re: Doubt about chainmail

Re: NEWBIE QUESTIONS ANSWERED - Add your Input !!!

Re: NEWBIE QUESTIONS ANSWERED - Add your Input !!!

Re: A bardic rant

Re: arming coat points/ other questions

Re: arming coat points

Re: Roundel dagger one peice scabbard with cup

Re: The suit to end all suits!

Re: Started on my new Finger Gauntlets this weekend

Re: Calories burned fighting?

Re: What is the easiest Era for Kids?

Re: Review: Custom Chainmail

Re: Tailored Mail Sleeve (à la Mac) in progress

Re: Any extant examples of mail like this?