The Armour Archive

Sean Powell

~psst~ Mac, don't tell that to my brother who takes his Camaro camping with a canoe strapped on the top... It's like what I sometimes say about whether "parade armors" could be used in warfare. Sure! You can drive your sports car down dirt roads, but you are not going to like the repair quotes. Mac...

Sean Powell

Remember Sean its the quick jobs that get you. I can't tell you how many times I have gone maybe I should put this on, nah ill be fine......OUCH!! The reason everyone hates a hypocrite so much is because everyone is one. I know damn well that I should be wearing the PPE even for the short stuff... ...

Sean Powell

I built a down-draft table. Please note that a good one takes more than a shop-vac for suction. Mine is rather anemic. My PPE safety violations are almost always from 'quick jobs'. If I plan on being in the shop for a few hours I put on the leather apron and mask as I walk through the hallway. If I'...

Sean Powell

no mortising machine at the shop... though to be honest, the first one I make will likely be made of inferior matierial (cheap) and use dowel pegs in place of mortise/tenon construction. I want to make sure I get it right before investing in more expensive wood and such. You don't need a mortising ...

Sean Powell

Sean, strange but I like the smell of Ballistol. I ordered some Fluid Film to try out since every one is raving about it, but I'm worried about the "sheepy" smell. Oh, YOU may, but I'm not married to you and trying to kiss you. If my wife thought balistoil was sexy I'd wear it as cologne. As it is ...

Sean Powell

And the BEST reason, hands down to use WD-40 instead of Balistoil: Because after cleaning my gear with ballistoil outside and scrubbing hands with green lava soap and then an extensive shower with both manly soap and even my wifes flowery scented soap my wife can STILL smell the dead-fish and liccor...

Sean Powell

Otto,

If you do the savonarola chair I recommend making good use of jigs and sleds for a router table. It is the best choice to protect your fingers and get a consistant shape.

Sean

Sean Powell

wrong thread One of the best things (to me) abut last year at Wades was the evening at Tom's and watching him play around with whatever technique he was demonstrating. We had like 16 people in a 1-car garage plus all of his tools? even if your shop had a hole in the roof I think we could make it wo...

Sean Powell

I feel in general that our collective understanding of hems is in need of some brainstorming. We should have a "hem symposium", where we can all get together and demonstrate and discuss what we do. Is someone out there interested in hoisting the first "Hemcon"? Mac Philly is closer than Wades in NC...

Sean Powell

Aussie Yeoman wrote:It does. I can see it in my mind now and even rotate it. Is it symmetrical about the long axis or lopsided?

Symetric as I recall. My memory is to be trusted about as much as my spelling.

Sean

Sean Powell

Step 1) This should be a sticky for all aspiring armorers to read. Step 2) I want to hire a photography intern to hang around Macs shop to help him with the selfies and catch the 'then a miricle occurs' steps. Step 3) JT: I don't care if the entire OT and political section dies in a fire but posts l...

Sean Powell

This is a piece of railroad track? that is a huge investment in grinding time. To my eye, it looks kinda like a sabaton toe made frim 1/2" thick steel, photographed from below. My eyes: they fail me. Having seen it in person: This is from the top of the track creating a T portion. The rusty portion...

Sean Powell

My Corazinna is 1/8" kydex and when I sold kit I sold them from 1/8" kydex. How bulky that is will depend a lot on how you pattern it. How protective it is will depend on padding, pain tolerance and local power calibration.

Luck!
Sean

Sean Powell

Turns out they have a 'request sample' button on their web-page. I imagine it will be short enough for a regular postage envelope but it should be enough to evaluate fit. Also requested some 3/8" (.375") which will be a tight fit over 2 pieces of 5mm luan (.393") which is my go-to for wood shields. ...

Sean Powell

Wade P.S. Oh - and I don't think anyone is trying to suggest that we think that this is the way armour was built in the 14th, 15th. or 16th centuries. It is merely a way to use the materials and tools we have to achieve a result that mimics their results. So it is fabricating but not reproducing. I...

Sean Powell

Base model? Even with the visible weld line in the back? That just screams out modern to me. I would have though that would get smoothed over. This is what I'd love to see more of on the field. Clean lines, authentic finish (at least to my eyes). I'm fairly certain that the eld line is gone before ...

Sean Powell

One roll for $211.61 would make 25 kits each 10' long, but wooden shields are starting to become rare. I wonder if I could get four other people to pitch in $42.32: call it $50 each with shipping twice and each of us get five? So $50 for 50 ft of trimlock? Not the best price but also not the worst....

Sean Powell

"Swing Stick. Win hat. Sit chair" in crayon on a napkin handed from I believe a duke to the reigning king over dinner after practice is at least urban legend and I suspect quite true... but probably not the schtick you were looking for.

Sean Powell

I've got nothing useful to add other than your drawings are very profesional looking. Most of us barely hand-sketch these ideas. I am curious what the horizontal spring is below the wheel and above the striker in your 4th illustration is for. I've seen it on other hammers but don't understand it. (I...

Sean Powell

Say what??? A pritchel is a type of punch; the pritchel hole was added to make a place to punch through steel without messing up the face of the anvil. I thought the punch was the 'prick' and the pritchel was the 'prick hole'. Kind of redundant to say pritchel hole then. Otherwise the most common u...

Sean Powell

I don't think we will ever know if they are slits or pockets but a slit to access a pouch or keep a hand warm is definitely within the realm of reason. I'm not certain I would want to keep a lot of stuff in pockets in a poncho. Ever done it in a swearshirt? It's ok for soft fluffy things but when yo...

Sean Powell

I think you're describing 2 different processes here. Your first has been done forever, and isn't what hydroforming appears to refer to today. Your second is much closer, though it's not typically used on plastic. There's 2 types of hydroforming. Neither uses high temperature for either the form, t...

Sean Powell

Have I ever NOT bought something like this? As if you needed to ask.

Sean

Sean Powell

The square hole on an anvil is for a number of anvil tools like hot-cutoffs. They fit loose in the hole and have a square shoulder that meats the face. Some armoring tools like Hals knuckle tools and fit and work in an anvil but the looseness is obnoxious. Most tall stakes have a tapered base to res...

Sean Powell

I think what you might want to consider is custom plastic extrusion. If you got a custom extrusion die and a plastic near enough in composition to Siloflex you could have a 1.25" ID with 1/8" walls top and bottom and 1/4" walls left and right. The the extrusion process can go through rollers while h...

Sean Powell

Sean, I think your circuit breaker analogy is excellent (or perhaps a fuse, since a broken piece of rattan can't be "switched back on"), but is it accurate? Is rattan breakage part of what makes it safe? And, by the way, I'm not looking for an alternative to a $10 rattan rod, but an alternative to ...

Sean Powell

Pex is not siloflex. You will find siloflex in the aisle with the sprinklers. It comes in large diameter 50’ coils or 10’ straight lengths because it doesn’t like to bend well, but it only needs to bend around the edges of gardens and you can always use L, T or Y junctions. You will find Pex in the ...

Sean Powell

Harry Marinakis wrote:Your experiment is well-designed and should produce some insight, although your number n is too low to be of statistical significance. I commend your effort and look forward to seeing the results.

You counting N of sheets or N of links?

Sean

Sean Powell

Arrakis, how much do you know about extrusion lamination? Nothing, really, off the top of my head. It's when you extrude something directly onto another layer of itself to build it up, right? Right. In my head, I'm seeing 3D printing, but I know it is not that "simple". Or, wait, are you thinking o...

Sean Powell

Oh that's a heaping load of suck! I'm sorry for the round-trip and the emergency take-down. Sounds like the building inspectors are clueless to anything outside of the ordinary.

Sean

Sean Powell

Edit: I expect to be in Charlotte several times visiting surgeons over the next few years. I might be able to detour out your way to say Hi at some point. Sean If you drive to Charlotte, the total extra driving to stop by my place would be just over 10 miles. 8 total extra turns. That is the round-...

Sean Powell

Nah, you're good. I'd just try to increase the spray to morning and evening if possible, especially if the humidity is as low by you as up by me. (Wait, you are in Florida. It's never not humid. nevermind) No point in rigging up automated spray systems. If you ever get the desire to re-do the test I...

Sean Powell

There are plenty of ASTM standards for rust testing depending on where the rust is occuring and what damage the rust will cause. Rust on a piston cylinder from water in the oil is far more detrimental to vehicle performace then rust on the muffler. I don't know which of the ASTM specs to share with ...

Sean Powell

Unfortunately I'm out this year. New job, new house, time and money going into other projects.

Maybe in 2015?

Sean

Edit: I expect to be in Charlotte several times visiting surgeons over the next few years. I might be able to detour out your way to say Hi at some point.

Sean

Sean Powell

Wade, those were the ones I recommended as well. I think I have seen the design before but can't remember where. Unfortunetly design considerations are for a stainless welded brain-bucket that approximates a morion with defference to a budget, durability and cost of maintenance. I can't keep helping...

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Shop safety discussion: Best practices and solutions

Re: Shop safety discussion: Best practices and solutions

Re: Pattern for "X" type folding chair?

Re: Rust Prevention Test v2

Re: Rust Prevention Test v2

Re: Pattern for "X" type folding chair?

Re: Bascinet prototype and "can" or "house" construction

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Bascinet prototype and "can" or "house" construction

Re: Dusting off the cobwebs

Re: Bascinet prototype and "can" or "house" construction

Re: Quick maille question

Re: Trim-lok

Re: Bascinet prototype and "can" or "house" construction

Re: Gruber's (Surly Anvil's) second bascinet

Re: Trim-lok

Re: Letter of Intent-spiration

Re: Forging deep vessels

Re: Stakes in Aus?

Re: Medieval pockets, corazzina and reinforced shield.

Re: How PE3408 resin (siloflex) is made

Re: Eric Dube and Patrick Thaden Video project

Re: Stakes in Aus?

Re: How PE3408 resin (siloflex) is made

Re: How PE3408 resin (siloflex) is made

Re: How PE3408 resin (siloflex) is made

Re: Rust Prevention Test: What Product Resists Rust the Best

Re: How PE3408 resin (siloflex) is made

Re: Pennsic House

Re: Study Session - North Carolina, June/July 2014

Re: Rust Prevention Test: What Product Resists Rust the Best

Re: Rust Prevention Test: What Product Resists Rust the Best

Re: Study Session - North Carolina, June/July 2014

Re: Need ideas for decorative brass washers for 3/16 rivets