The Armour Archive

Sean Powell

OK I'm going to be the rules lawyer who says it. The rule should read: If the camail or aventail lays in contact with the SKIN COVERING THE larynx, cervical vertebrae, or first thoracic vertebra, that section must be padded with a minimum of .25in (6mm) of close cell foam or equivalent. because unle...

Sean Powell

Hello, There are a vast number of SCA legal basket hilts on the market. There are plenty of period reproduction of basket hilts for the fencing and WMA community. What I am looking for is a safe (SCA), durable basket hilt that is based on ANY 16th century or early 17th century design. My present bas...

Sean Powell

Hartshorne Dale has been sent in. 1) Google maps is highly configurable. Since you are already set up to "map It" it should be possible to use the flags to identify locations rather then manually add them to the map. It would also let you see practices just over the state line which is difficult wit...

Sean Powell

I have a lead dish made by HAL here on the archive. It's a nice dish for gentle curves and the edge won't cut or scar the work piece like some steel dishes. Planishing still needs to be done if you use a steel hammer. Dishing with a steel hammer usualy causes a hammer shaped dent. Even when you over...

Sean Powell

[quote="Jay Sabath"]We used a homemade sheet metal breaker using 3 pipes. Every 3 inches we put another small bend in it to give it a â€œcurveâ€

Sean Powell

Here are some pictures of the concreate brick wall that is next to my house here in Japan. Whenever I'm home, I look out at that wall that has existed there for decades, and think how it could be used as an SCA event castle. Maybe looking at it might help you understand my "vision". You can tell th...

Sean Powell

heat bluing is a controled oxidization process. If you are careful you can get a piece of mild steel to match a piece of high carbon steel with reasonable accuracy. It is very temperature dependent so good lighting and an oven with a clear window are a good choice. Stainless is only blue-able with s...

Sean Powell

I work on a lot of stainless instruments for the medical industry. Here are some thoughts I can pass along. My first questions is Do you know what grade of stainless you used? If not can you check to see if it is magnetic or has somehow been made mildly magnetic during the heating and welding proces...

Sean Powell

OK, I was engaging in a bit of hyperbole. +/-0.001" would be plenty, just not the kind of tolerance I can get with my tinsnips. Um, you do realize you're talking within one thousandth of an inch? I hope for your sake you want a lot of these parts. And I hope that he dosn't. Precision takes time. Ca...

Sean Powell

EVERYTHING has a tolerance, even laser cut pieces. Best I've seen for laser cut is +/-.001". Wire EDM will usually do better, especially for thicker pieces. Machined tolerances can be tighter and ground tolerances tighter still (I've got gage parts on my desk that are probably +0/-.0001") What do yo...

Sean Powell

Now I just need to find the right undergarment to buy! Any suggestions? I'm going to try to buy all of this stuff soon, so would like to get most of it as inexpensively as possible... Any suggestions? Thanks! -Gregory- I'm looking at your post and I happen to glance up to the the small banner add f...

Sean Powell

IMHO the best choice for a "build it yourself" starter helm is a great helm. 5 pieces, none more then about 200mmx450mm and all fairly easy to size and shape. Second best choice is a modified spangen helm. The pattern is easy to develop and re-size but you have to add a non-authentic back and face p...

Sean Powell

No, you're right. I was thinking like a Westie, where there is no artificial "face only" rule-- the whole head is a target, for any weapon. This is an odd rule to people of my ilk, like the "engagement" thing at Pennsic. Hello, Sorry I'm coming into this discussion late. I was raised in the East ki...

Sean Powell

OT: why are the cases designed in a left-handed manner? It's really hard to twist your wrist around to take the punch out. Probably because the screw for the depth stop and the screw that holds the upper rocker in place both come in from the right side. The case is screws up, which is probably how ...

Sean Powell

Personaly I would try setting the crown inside the helm rather then over the top but that would probably add cost. Is there any historical precedence for this other than the Pembridge, which is dished? Hello, Thatâ€™s an interesting question and I thought I would do a little research before I tried...

Sean Powell

Sharp interior corners crack. If you need to "square" up the corners of the eye slots at least punch or drill a hole and cut up to it so there is a small radius to dristribute the stress. You've already made the concesion to widen the eye slot for SCA standards you should also keep in mind SCA durab...

Sean Powell

I'm coming into this discussion a little late but there is always a work around to the "Riveted Inside" rule. At no point does the "interior" have to be a continuous surface. You can grab a strip a 14ga (or anything over .0625) and samwhich the bars between the cheek plates and the strip. Now the "i...

Sean Powell

Well that cinches it. I've been delaying joining the ARS for financial reasons but for a chance to handle the extant pieces I'd join at twice the price....

Hmmm 26th is a Friday. I'm going to have to call in sick *cough, cough*

Sean

Sean Powell

i have my suspicions that the rene armours were to be off the rack and rather standard. thats just my thoughts. I'm curious why you would have these suspicions. I would have suspected quite the contrary. A melee with kloben as described by Renee d Anjou would have been an elitist sport for the very...

Sean Powell

dragonjohn wrote:don't buy them from HD or Lowes they'll run ya 20 to 30 bucks

and most likely be plated instead... Anyone know how to tell the difference before you buy and cut?

Sean

Sean Powell

i know i need 3 diffrent form sizes.....what sizes work best for all of you who use stumps to form your beautifull pieces of armour? -Steve 3 different sizes? News to me but I'm not a production armorer... I have one dish that I cut with a 7 1/4" circular saw. It gets used to dish spaulders with a ...

Sean Powell

Duplicate post

Sean Powell

If you find someone who makes them I really want one too! Based on a conversation with Robert MacPherson I've come to understand that they are not as easy as we both might hope. Done properly the body armor must be done first and then the shape of the neck opening must be an exact match to the upper...

Sean Powell

I can't comment on the de-greaser or the floor wax although they both sound like good ideas. If you had a small sample you might want to try it first. The sand might be more aggressive then necessary. Maile tends to pollish itself as it tumbles. If you tumble it with an absorbing medium (wood-chips,...

Sean Powell

Merry Christmas to me... The wife got her Jewlery and I got my book. I bet I spend more time reading mine then she does wearing hers... Excuse me, I need to go back to reading.

Sean

Sean Powell

A steel ruller and basic razor knife will do fine but I stole one of my wifes old rotary cutters for fabric and they work beautifully for leather. The think looks like a pizza cutter but has a razor edge. Be careful. Anything that can cut animal skin can cut human skin... and blood dosn't like to co...

Sean Powell

I dig the buttons on the mail like a pretty sun dress! Kinda sexy in a weird way.... I think those buttons are on the gambeson and showing up THROUGH the weave in the maile. I like the suit too but the mail (and the gambeson) seem long to me. Is it based on a particular effigy or a composite of man...

Sean Powell

Let me start with: This is one of the better first attempts at an elbow, raiesd, dished or otherwise that I have seen for a first attempt. That you are doing it without any supervision or personal guidance makes that even more true. Other thoughts: Raising IS harder then dishing and no one would fau...

Sean Powell

Looks to me like someone had a great bascinet without a visor and decided to set a kettle hat on top of it... Considering the evolutionary development / purpose of a kettle hat which was usually used by archers and the development / purpose of a great bascinet for jousting and horse work this helm s...

Sean Powell

Hey everyone, thnaks for the feedback. I'm a little disappointed that the original dosn't have breaths but I might just build it anyway as a show piece. I selected this particular helm as I have fairly decent front and side views of it to build patterns off of and I wasn't happy with previous patter...

Sean Powell

Bump. Ok I didn't expect many responses but none? Great helm with a crest is enough of a rarity to attract attention. Anyone ever been to the Rustkammer in Vienna? Can anyone confirm that the helm is still there and on display or has this shifted to an unused back-room some place? Anyone know anythi...

Sean Powell

OK enough about the pretty women. We all have the internet, we can see pretty women any time we want. Pretty ARMOR is why we come to this message board. Care to share info about the armoring technique. I've never seen anyone get aluminum to take quite that complex a shape before. I'd like to duplica...

Sean Powell

Von Prankh Helm
Hello. Iâ€™d like to build a more accurate reconstruction of a great helm then the usual SCA modifications I have done in the past. I have decided to try to replicate the â€œVon Prankhâ€

Sean Powell

Well from Worchester, MA it's about 1:45 to H.H. Perkins in New Haven CT. They are the predominant East Coat importer of rattan (Other then Ice-falcon). You can look through the stacks and buy just the piece (or pieces) you want. They are used to the SCA as a market. It's a long way to drive for jus...

Sean Powell

Nail from the one true cross?

(Sorry, don't mean to offend any Christians but I had to...)

Sean

(SCA) WTB period documentable basket hilt

Re: my workshop...and a question too!

Pics/Info wanted: Von Prankh Helm