The Armour Archive

Thomas Powers

Beeswax was expensive since many methods of honey collection resulted in death or severe weakening of the hive---why much information on catching bee swarms is found in period Beekeeping works. Maeryk; I said that *cheap* replaceable stuff was probably *not* finished with beeswax. This would tend to...

Thomas Powers

In the SCA you treat people as if they were of noble or at least gentry status. You don't have to portray someone of that status. I am a smith and so a craftsman not a noble. I have now been accorded the status as a master in the guild and so in a free german town would be a burgher; but *not* a nob...

Thomas Powers

CJ, why would one "kill" a dog when there are sources for the hides elsewhere? I would talk with a local vet school and see if you could get a hide from one of their disections and do a period tan on it if it bothers you greatly. IMNSHO authenticity is a sliding scale----which makes it fun as you ca...

Thomas Powers

Beeswax was *very* expensive (comparatively) in medieval times---why tallow candles were used so much and so would probably not be used on "cheap replaceable items" that would more likely be replaced when looking scraggy.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

I think thats a glitch in translation and he meant mild steel.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

I believe that there was some tests of carburization methods listed in "The Best of the Hammer"

But Steve is right with the extra time and fuel and fuss you could mow laws and *buy* a rivited mail shirt cheaper!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

What are the alloys used? Makes a difference you know... I don't like topo so my typical etch for a bandsawblade and strapping billet is a hot vinegar and salt solution (add salt till it stops dissolving). Did you dilute the ferric chloride? If your alloys are close in "dissolvability" then a *weak*...

Thomas Powers

Their original hardness was due to work hardening of the metal. This is due to the drawing process and or the bending you did to make the rings. To reharden them you need to repeat the work hardening. Mild steel does not harden when heated and quenched. There is a renaissance method (quoted in "Sour...

Thomas Powers

The ornamental Iron fab shop near my previous employer used to scrap all cut-offs from a job---they didn't want to use the space or the time of their employee's digging through piles of junk for stock. At one time they had to pay the scrapyard to come haul off the dumpster and were quite happy for m...

Thomas Powers

Mike, the purpose of the helm is to show off the heraldic mantling; so a tournament helm would be a good choice since that's when you'd wear such "ornamental" extras.

Thomas

Thomas Powers

I've draw temper on the back end of such bolts, (top wrapped in wet rags), and drilled and drifted the end for a hammer handle and made a very useful deep dishing hammer. It's a tad light; but i do hot work,,, Even better is when you can find a bent one where the curve follows the curve of you hamme...

Thomas Powers

Rinshot, heck---that was nothing but net! On dealing with vampires: I have found that the application of Holy Water will deal with vampires very well. One Pennsic when I was bathing my sore feet in the run off of our food storage container, (like the emporer of old we use snow swiftly carried from t...

Thomas Powers

Your helmet doesn't have a "functioning visor" so please stop thinking it does. The back part is just to hold the crest on and does not have a "function". It is used specifically for jousting and so is designed *not* to have any movable joints that could fail upon impact. This type of helmet was as ...

Thomas Powers

Most "ovens" don't get above 500 degF to anneal you will want to get above 1000 degF.

BTW are you annealing or normalizing?

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Most honourable Jehan you mention the following: "culminating in the sophisticated plate armors of the 15th century (which functionally does not improve further except with highly refined compression articulation in the 16th century)." I would think that if you review Dr Alan Williams work on the me...

Thomas Powers

How do they know they were tent stakes if they were not found associated with a tent?

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Much like armour made using mild steel and welded using modern methods, no???

Thomas

Thomas Powers

That first one, looks kind of like 19th century french to me---the postvise looks like a pretty recent version.

Anyone have the cite for it yet?

Thomas Powers

"Japan will not allow ANY of their "real" swords to be exported. They made them all "national treasures", so no exportation. " And there are literally THOUSANDS of them in the US brought home as war booty. They range from the really poor gunto's to "national treasure" blades that haven't made it bac...

Thomas Powers

Atli was right to remind us that a simple way to tell cast iron from cast steel is the spark test. Touch it to a bench grinder and look at the sparks it throws, compare it to those thrown by mild steel, carbon steel and cast iron. Cast iron thros few dull red sparks with no bursts; carbon steel thro...

Thomas Powers

For the ash handles I made: I have a friend who was cutting ash with his small sawmill. I got some scrap 2" and 3" square 8' long pieces and waxed the ends and tossed them in the rafters for about 10 years. Had to leave the leftovers when I moved.

How about baseball bats as a source?

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Drag a log behind the cart---a traditional form of breaking

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Quote: >>I promise that if I visit I won't wear a doublet and hosen! >These items were worn throughout the entirity of the middle ages? No; I used them as an example of what "out of place" garb might be for a group dedicated to the ancient cultures of Europe. If I attended an event for such a group ...

Thomas Powers

It's not *done* yet; don't be jealous until I have lights! OTOH it was spec'd with a 2000# capacity rolling chainhoist, extra thick floor and a roll up door at either end and they will be going in in the next couple of weeks; I'm dying to play with the big screw press... OTOH the wife's studio has i...

Thomas Powers

When I had a mortoise and tennon post and beam tent frame for pennsic I boiled the mortoises and tennons in wax (BE SAFE!!!) letting them soak it up and it both prevented them from swelling in the Pennsic damps but also helped keep the wood from cracking during stroage in the rafters of the garage--...

Thomas Powers

You can do a lot on a flat face, dishing is possible, I was doing S hooks yesterday where you bend the end about 90 deg and then ste it pointing up on the anvil face and tapping down on the point get the curve most folk use the horn or a jig for. Atli, I turn my bick to point *AWAY* from that region...

Thomas Powers

If you hit something hard it breaks.....drilling gray cast iron (called that because the broken surface is gray) produces a lot of graphite dust.. Cast iron resists acid discoloration more---an old way to test wrought iron from mild steel was with an acid mixture, cast iron and wrought iron take lon...

Thomas Powers

Have you given some thought that all the reasons given for it being OK to do it in the SCA might also be considered reasons *not* to do it there? If you want to do a higher authenticity level "game" then the SCA might very well serve as a recruiting ground and a place to get started; but at some poi...

Thomas Powers

I bought the house and am building the shop---can't affort the wiring yet. I expect that I will need 4 110 outlets and two 220 outlets every 10 feel along the walls and a high amp 220 outlet for the welder and the triphammer (big motor) and the compressor (not bought yet) on both sides. I brought al...

Thomas Powers

I had 4 folks help me move my 515# anvil---it has two hardy holes (1.5" sq!) so they stuck pipe through them and then picked it up and carried it to the shop---where I hadn't had time to unlock and open the door yet so that had to stand and hold it... My new shop, we're staking it out *tomorrow* the...

Thomas Powers

Actually the medieval solution to the powerhammer was the tilt hammer---water powered and usually used in things like a battermill making sheet iron though one can be seen in the background in one of the "Venus at the forge of Vulcan" paintaings. It did look like there was a lady standing in the bac...

Thomas Powers

One thing to note---are they being rated the same way? I was at Sears Saturday picking up my wife's washer and while waiting I wandered through the tool section. I noticed that the "sears" light duty compressor was rated at 7 horse power with a much smaller motor than the Ingersoll Rand industrial C...

Thomas Powers

I am a world renowned expert on Peril (and moosebites); just let me know the location and I will deal with all 7 score of them!

Thomas

Thomas Powers

Thomas, since you do say "proper" and this is the research and authenticity forum---can you share your documentation for that?

I'm not trying to be snarky; but as I have been asked to make some I'd like to go with stuff I can show is demonstrably period...

Thomas powers

Thomas Powers

An excellent picture! Notice the size and shape of the anvil and how tall the stump is---this iwould be a *very* simple type of anvil to bring to events, far cheaper than the "london pattern" that became common in the 1800's basically you just find a cube of steel and inlet it into your stump. it wi...