The Armour Archive

Thomas Powers

linseed oil; it will need to be boiled first or allowd to polimerize in sunlight for quite a while but it is an european product that becomes waterproof with proper curing. I have no evidence it was used on rawhide; but folks discount so much stuff because NE didn't have access to laquer... Thomas

Thomas Powers

Only downside to weedburners is they don't care about oxidizing atmospheres and so they will scale more than a properly designed forge will. Come up with a proper choke for it and then no problems. They do heat better if you have some firebricks to put around the object---but then what you have *is*...

Thomas Powers

For a quick and dirty small spear head I llok for trashed large socket chisels at rthe fleamarket and forge them into spear heads.

I would think that a period spear head would be delivered a bit less rough on the blade---hammer dings are not an indication of medieval workmanship!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Much of the language spoofing is not translated into english. Many of the names are actually plays on words etc. Much more like Gulliver's Travels than Le Mort de Artur. Classic example is his vallient steed "Rocinantes" a rocin is a broke down horse headed for the gluefactory, antes is "before". Th...

Thomas Powers

In my Spanish class we were taught that Don Quixote was written as a spoof of the rather common chivalric tales of the day and so there must be some out there! Perhaps this was one of them.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Dang I think I'd pay for a copy of Dogs Playing Poker (or "A friend in Need" ) done in the style of any of the Brueghels!

Of course I have a bronze age Penannular brooch made from Titanium...

Thomas

Thomas Powers

I'm hoping that "and all that" includes the Wallace Collection in London.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Or finding out something you *didn't* want to know! Whilst leafing through a book on the Prado this morning at breakfast looking for knives and furniture I ran across a reference to Jan Brueghel the elder that stated that he painted on velvet! The idea of entering scads of pictures of large eyed fig...

Thomas Powers

Which side of the crusade you plan to be on???

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Another viewpoint: Cloth was *much* more expensive relative to other things back than and so was treated with care---remember "a stich in time saves nine" ? There was a reason that cloth manufacturing was the basis for the industrial revolution. Note also that cloth (and cloth makers!) were consider...

Thomas Powers

We should be planting our cotton before the end of the month...

Thomas "from the ground up"!

Thomas Powers

Isn't that the one that filks so well to the banana boat song?

DE-o De-e-e-e-o Deo et gratia anglica!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Terminology is a big problem working with ferrous metals because most things have several over lapping names that may be descriptive, obsolete, a carry over from previous usage, etc. As exampl a "tin" roof has no tin involved in it ---unless it's soldered together... but tin got applied to thin shee...

Thomas Powers

Look under "enameling" (if a websearch add "glass" as well) It's a brittle form and so perhaps not a good match for armour. I don't recall it used on armour but it would be possible to use it on parade pieces. The big problem with doing it on iron is that unless you are coating the entire piece you ...

Thomas Powers

I think what he is asking for is *wrought* *iron* wire---what was used in the medieval and renaissance periods and no there are *no* commercial sources. I know of at least one mailler who has had some drawn into wire for his personal experiments; but it's not a common thing. Beware! Most stuff that ...

Thomas Powers

Ansteorra has also got the Heavner Runestone!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

I used to get 16, 14, 12 ga scrap from an ornamental iron shop that didn't want to store it between orders that used sheet metal. They would give it to me free and in sizes that would do legs as well as gauntlets..

Thomas

Thomas Powers

How much are you willing to spend, will you be welding or heat treating these? Are you willing to clean them up on a regular basis or should you bite the bullet now and then use them with low maintenance for a long while?

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Actually a good way to clean the face would be to forge hot steel on it. It will clean off rust but leave a patina on it---then wax it good with a microcrystalline wax!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Would it be possible to get a copy of this thesis; either electornically or by cd, (reproduction and mailing costs covered, of course), when it is done? As for pictures, I would try one of the large Auction houses, (Christies or Southebys), I don't know if they would allow reproduction but they do h...

Thomas Powers

A large number of the celtic blades examined in "The Celtic Sword" were welded up from multiple pieces, not so much pattern welded as piled generally and some of them with edge materials selected to be harder than the 'core".

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Over thatway about 5 miles!

Of course if you don't live near me this advice is useless...

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Well lets start with cleaning up the terms: Iron is commonly used to refer to 3 different things---the element Fe, cast iron a high---over 2%---carbon alloy and a bit obsolete Wrought Iron. Wrought Iron is NOT mild steel. Wrought iron is a composite material consisting of ferrous silicate stringers ...

Thomas Powers

Fairly low on the totem pole I would guess that a pile of straw on the ground would be your bed. Having your own cart on a baggage train with the horses, someone to drive it, etc would seem to be a bit upscale.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Sounds like you made a good contact there.

Let us know when the exhibit opens---or if you have other questions...

Thomas

Thomas Powers

"Sources for the History of the Science of Steel" C.S.Smith, though starting in the renaissance and ending with someone slapping their forehead and saying "It's *carbon* that makes iron into steel" around the 1780's is a very nice way to get the viewpoint on what steel was believed to be. It's very ...

Thomas Powers

Bascot---are those reproductions? The weights seem a bit heavy for the originals!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

The chains were forge wlelded---much easier and stronger than riviting when you were using wrought iron. The balls were wrought iron not steel. For a nice non-spiked version I have seen "balls" that were cubes or greater order polygons the "corners" acted as force concentrators. "Stone's Glossary" i...

Thomas Powers

OK here is what you want "The Celtic Sword" by Radomir Pleiner; won't be the easiest to find but ILL should manage it. It has extensive metallographic analyses of celtic ferrous swords and is a scholary work. Much more in the metallurgical vein then "The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England". In general I f...

Thomas Powers

Another simple woodworking project is to make a set of wax tablets to used for tasking notes. Thin flat pieces of wood with an indentation carved into the center to hold the wax. Soapstone is massive form of talc, most of the carving types sold in artist supply stores are now certified asbestos free...

Thomas Powers

Don't think .0004" will last long under armour conditions. BTW next time you have trouble getting a PCB in a rack hit it with a 4# sledge---works great for armouring! DC, where are you at? Sounds like you need someone with a good tumbler to clean the plates as well as a large tin pot. Thomas

Thomas Powers

Well you could carve a soapstone oil lamp---really it is a beginner's project. You will need a good artist supply store to get the soapstone from and "The Vikings" by the National Geographic Society has a good pic of one. The carving is easy with a few coarse old files and a nail or too.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Did you read the first part of that page as well?----"devoted to the study of the Middle Ages and Renaissance"

With all the interest in ancient cultures it is high time that they get an organization for themselves and so make *both* groups a bit more oriented to their stated times!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

DRM Pg 209

From the index: ventilation: Mine: bellows: 207-210

Yes but the chinese muddled it *first*!

Thomas waiting for his boss to ask why DRM is on his desk...

Thomas Powers

Sorry I was speaking of the one from Pirotechnica, top of that series on one post...---the bottom board is stationary, the middle board is floating; the top has a link to a *hand* powered pumping lever and there is a linkage disappearing off to the side doing ??? As DRM has a lot of water powered be...

The Pain of Research