The Armour Archive

Thomas Powers

did you say 10 pound anvillette? If so most likely cast iron and trying to weld a piece of spring steel to it's face is pretty much doomed to failure. (BTW did you say 1/4" thickness---if so not a train leaf!)

Make one of the bolts into a dishing hammer!

Thomas Powers

My shop has the "post Battlemoor dump" look; rather deconstructionist in a rather doric hipster mode

As I had to empty the truck and repack for the trip down to my rental cave.

Thomas Powers

We used the center section to make propane forge shells for a forge building workshop. Way heavier than needed but that helps keep the forge from moving when you are moving iron in it and allows you to weld all sorts of bells and whistles to it---like a third arm. We went to the hydro test facility ...

Thomas Powers

Got to see these at Battlemoor and lovely they were indeed with much fine intricate decoration!

Thomas Powers

I bought an old milwaulkee grinder 15 years ago? Cost me US$40 used and has cut a lot of RR rail, welding tanks, mill balls, etc. In general I had rather buy a used top of the line model than a new cheepie---saves money in the long run. Learning to evaluate used equipment is a valuable skill.

Thomas Powers

I've cut a lot of tanks with my massive angle grinder. It helps to build a scribe to mark the cut: Board that will go across the tank bottom. Board fastened 90 deg to it with hole for scribe/sharpie/pencil at correct height. Getting valves out is difficult without a LARGE vise or LARGE chain wrench;...

Thomas Powers

Actually new pennies are a lovely source of zinc to add when casting brass as the zinc burns out during heating, so for small items a couple of pennies thrown in late will dell with the zinc loss very nicely---and they are a "metered" amount.

Thomas Powers

Like Anstee's work on pattern welding; incredibly groundbreaking work; but we've learned so much more about it the last 50 odd years that we can see where some assumptions were made that don't hold true.

Thomas Powers

Shall we address the problem with zinc too? Biringuccio's chapter on colouring copper using zinc ore in Pirotechnia is a good place to start as is "Metal Technology in Medieval India" for an idea on how difficult it is to get metallic zinc.

Thomas Powers

Thanks; I'd like to see them!

Have you though of moose antler plates, split in two and sanded down as blank material

Thomas Powers

copper harness rivets for your harness needs!

Thomas Powers

Souldn't the grain be running the other way for those combs? Inline with the teeth?

And actually I'd buy one of the mistakes---the joy of having a blacksmith persona and so not needing to portray gentry and above!

Thomas Powers

I've been using "previous use" and scrap things I'm unsure of. So that hammer and wrench I picked up went back to the scrappers so I would never be tempted to rework them, (the wrench would have made a lovely blade guard, sigh)

Thomas Powers

Having an open container of acid in your shop will rust EVERYTHING in it *fast*. However you can remove rust by dipping it in acid and neutralizing it as soon as the rust is gone.

We have basic soils (alkali) out here in the west and they rust metal stuck in them pretty bad.

Thomas Powers

Note that beryllium dust can kill you DEAD! It's one of the few things that scares me in the scrap pile. (pretty much because a place I used to live at would refuse an entire railroad car of brass scrap if they found *1* piece of Be bronze in it and would close down the scrap receiving area and do a...

Thomas Powers

I was recently reading "The Last Duel" about the final judicial combat held in Paris and even an estoc wasn't getting through the armour and it ended up with the fellow hammering at the latch on the other guy's helm with his dagger!

Thomas Powers

So *many* variables not mentioned! What t alloy of bronze? Some are quite brittle. What alloy of wrought iron? What quality of wrought iron (even into the 19th century you would have muck bar, merchant bar, singly refined, doubly refined, triply refined available and sold as such) Work hardened bron...

Thomas Powers

No reason to restrict yourself to just one in the end either.

Thomas Powers

Lovey breakfast fare!

Thomas Powers

build a box loom. Do the craft stores still sell wooden boxes?

Thomas Powers

Isn't that the Opera of Bartolemeo Scappi?

Thomas Powers

Still no word from Chucklz; anyone else interested in a 100# cast iron sphere to be delivered to Battlemoor?

Thomas Powers

bone carving, comb making, sewing (a nice hood made from a high grade wool repurposed from a suit coat at a thrift store for instance), embroidery, spinning...

Thomas Powers

We're talking centuries of time and a large number of countries---why would you assume there was *one* answer only to many of these questions?

Most of the answers so far lean more toward the English form and not the Polish, Hungarian, etc...

Thomas Powers

Note: unless you are willing to pay for international shipping it would behoove you to post a GENERAL LOCATION. After all the SCA and this board are *international* in scope.

Thomas Powers

I have a friend who had detached retina problems and so used a MASSIVE helm as a way to keep fighting---he was a stout lad 6'4" and his helmet once turned a 45 bullet without denting in testing. You just had to rember to not fall down dead while wearing it.

Thomas Powers

How about a boiled leather "case" for a set of kitchen knives?

Thomas Powers

When I was in Indonesia, horn combs were about a dollar a piece at the big "tourist" stores; I don't think I could find any of the ones I brought back now 20 years later...sigh

Thomas Powers

All the 9" balls are now spoken for with the exception of Chucklz tentitive dibs

Thomas Powers

I would think American white oak would be sturdier than red oak and is available and is closer to european oaks than red oak---though I would not suggest using used bourbon barrel staves for stock! What about beechwood? How about holly? Cherry? Apple? Lots of stuff that is fairly close in looks to e...

Thomas Powers

Note that the sapwood of black walnut looks a lot more like European Walnut that the heartwood (and is usually so much looked down on it can be sourced often for free from wood shops that cut it off and discard it)

Thomas Powers

Note that not one of those examples are "kitchen knives" but rather carving/serving knives or hunting trousseaus.

Sort of like asking what poor people drive and being provided with pictires of cars costing more than 100K$

Thomas Powers

Most of the pictures I have seen of kitchen knives have them laying on the table or the proverbial knife box.

Now you can try to duplicate a typical "using knife" scabbard. Have you looked through "Knives and Scabbards, Museum of London" for ideas??

Thomas Powers

Chuklz; you still want one? I didn't see a PM.

Thomas Powers

I've sold 3 of the 6 to folks in my local group.

One gentleman even will take 2 of the rougher ones leaving the better ones for folks wanting to make them into armouring stakes.

Re: What tools should I make?

Re: my shop today. whats yours like?

Re: Dishing Forms

Re: Combs

Re: Angle Grinder Question

Re: Dishing Forms

Re: Penny washers

Re: Bronze vs Iron

Re: Bronze vs Iron

Re: Combs

Re: What type of Rivets do you use for leather?

Re: Combs

Re: Bronze vs Iron

Re: Penny washers

Re: Bronze vs Iron

Re: Bronze vs Iron

Re: Bronze vs Iron

Re: Finding a craft that suits me

Re: Gaunt tools how to movie 1

Re: Finding a craft that suits me

Re: Kitchen Knife sheath pattern

Re: Big Balls at Battlemoor (Outlands event)

Re: Finding a craft that suits me

Re: Knights and Heraldry-Rules of Thumb?

Re: Looking for (cheap) Plate Armor

Re: concussion protection

Re: Kitchen Knife sheath pattern

Re: Combs

Re: Big Balls at Battlemoor (Outlands event)

Re: Combs

Re: Combs

Re: Kitchen Knife sheath pattern

Re: Kitchen Knife sheath pattern

Re: Big Balls at Battlemoor (Outlands event)

Re: Big Balls at Battlemoor (Outlands event)