The Armour Archive

schreiber

Here it is with the cap removed. The handles are just pieces of 1/4" barstock bent into shape. The hole in the lid was a crap shoot. I had no idea how big it was supposed to be, so I cut a small one, ran it, noticed it was sputtering, widened the hole, rinse, repeat.... Of course I just noticed last...

schreiber

So accdntprone, here's a thread devoted to my little heat treating furnace. First, a shot of it standing up with the top on. The whole thing is constructed of soft firebrick. This is because while I am not an old man, neither am I a young man, and my tolerance for unnecessarily heavy things is serio...

schreiber

Haven't been outside since. Will try to get photos tonight. Don't expect art. Expect more of a "this is what you can do with crap you might have lying around" kind of thing. ETA: for posterity, here's the separate thread. http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=157013&p=2375405#p2...

schreiber

Is LA in Meridies? Do they still have the "one authorization fits all" system? Is that why she can't auth spear first? I have a friend who fights on occasion who is 5'6" and maybe 120lbs, and she does just fine in a breastplate. I'm a fan of breastplates myself (though I do not myself have boobs). H...

schreiber

I use copper roofing nails, so I think the bits I've been using are pretty small, 5/32's IIRC? Well the amount of effort you put into it is a function of both thickness of the metal and size of the punch. You need 1.4 tons of pressure to make it through 20g mild with a 1/2" punch. You need roughly ...

schreiber

If you're doing 5/32 or smaller, it'll punch through 16g stainless, sure, but it won't be fun. The smaller punches can do it, but I think the reason why anyone would suggest the larger punches is because 18 holes in a row is a PITA, so 185 is several nights' work. 18g would be easier. If you use the...

schreiber

Kenshin Hanabe wrote:Yes please, wow 4 time longer holy crap.

Every time I try it with my Henrob I think to myself "Well hell, this CAN'T be right", but it is.
It feels like you should be dumping soot on to your piece.

schreiber

Regarding the OP, I've found that if there's a problem with the rattan, saving the skin or some extra meat on it isn't going to help. If there's a weak spot, it's going to break, regardless of how you do it. I would try to retain the skin on the striking surface if possible. It's a lot harder than t...

schreiber

Well, math skills aren't period! :P http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_of_Wallingford http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_de_Dondi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_Astronomical_Clock Something of a pet peeve of mine. :mrgreen: This book is an excellent primer on how unsophisticated medieval ...

schreiber

I don't think scale is going to be your primary concern. I'm pretty sure jewelers like electric furnaces because it's basically a neutral environment. If it's not an oxygenating environment you don't get scale. There are two primary concerns here AFAIK. First, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, and if necessary ...

schreiber

If anyone's in the Woodbridge, VA area and you want a steel basket hilt, and can throw down a couple bucks for steel, and can swing a hammer or learn how to use a file properly, then just contact me and you can come build one.

schreiber

Well, here's what I can offer: I got to go to the Royal Armories in Leeds back in 2005. It was a productive trip. Because I was alone. Here's what I would suggest... Tip #1: if your wife isn't really into armor, and you are, then I think you should plan on going home from your trip disappointed at h...

schreiber

So could I be forgiven if I intentionally shortened a leg vise? I have one that needs a new spring, nut, and handle, and if I'm putting that much work into it, I want it to do what I want..... and I figure that if it's shorter, it'll be more useful for stakes, and also be more convenient for the swa...

schreiber

Nope that is a dishing/sinking hammer *NOT* a raising hammer. (and forging a raising hammer from a ballpeen would be a lot more *fun*) So you're one of the resident expert smiths, so let me know if I'm processing this properly.... I'm picturing a drift, a lot of heat, probably some swages, heat tre...

schreiber

Because it often (I would venture to say, nearly always) does not float. It attaches to the rerebrace. When you do this, you need articulation. This is it. The "14th century spaulders" you commonly see in the SCA are not a historical design. The originals were much shorter, tighter, and appear to h...

schreiber

Mac wrote:A belt sander without platens is only 1/4 the tool it could be.

Wow, thanks for that - I imagine a platen with felt backing would make deburring really short work.

schreiber

I have a currently motorless industrial sewing machine, and an old Atlas lathe with a working motor that I am trying to replace. The way I'm doing it is by scrapping old treadmills. They can be found for free in a lot of cases, since owners tend not to do maintenance on them (leading to problems bey...

schreiber

I think you'd cry a lot if you knew how *little* I had in my anvils. I will suggest you be sure about your interest in the craft before shelling out top of the line new anvil prices! Yeah - I read a good argument about this recently... I live in an area where people drop $30-40k on cars that they e...

schreiber

(Note: putting tapered stakes into a parallel sided hardy hole of a traditionally made anvil is an excellent way to figure out if the heel weld has any issues. If it does you can exclaim with joy "I've just trashed an anvil and thrown away a large sum of money!" I might have risked it as my main sh...

schreiber

I want to get rid of two pieces of crap and replace them with a single shop anvil. I want to collect the money, spend the money, and only cry once , as they say. I'll be using this for cut-and-thrust sword hardware, forming armor on the horn, plus occasional small work like rivets, buckles, etc. I w...

schreiber

I assume the story could be that his mother or wife gave him her anklet as a token or "favor" to wear into battle... Works for me ;) It gives reason for a warrior who normally wouldn't be wearing arm armor a reason to have an out of place metal brace on don't you think? It's a better concept than "...

schreiber

Let's have a look at your setup. Here's one thing I did a while back that helps a lot: http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=150517 In my relatively-experienced opinion, I don't like actively having to swing a hammer. I like it a lot more when the weight of the hammer does the w...

schreiber

Sean Powell wrote:What's the challenge with 410?

I did some with the torch this summer, and I didn't find it much different from 300 series.
Which is to say, it was a complete pain in the rear. Seems like I have to make the flame almost orange before I can get it to puddle.

schreiber

by changing the surface texture and making it reflect only certain wavelengths of light. I'm sure we'll all be in the grave before this gets affordable for the layman, but it sure would be interesting to make 300 series stainless the same color as mild. http://uk.news.yahoo.com/experts-change-colour...

schreiber

What would I use such a thing for, you ask? Well I use mine for running an O/A torch, or for running O/P. Free oxygen. I do not have this concentrator. It is for sale at the Hi Mart (thrift store that used to be a K-Mart) on the corner of Rt1 and Rt123. It's going for $50 and refurbs that are used b...

schreiber

But they are pursuing this. Its one of the long term goals for the programs that came after the landwarrior program. Why do you think they are pursuing powered loadcarriers, micropower generators and what not. It shouldn't be too hard to find one of the mockups they had. : http://en.wikipedia.org/w...

schreiber

all that is fine to say i hate rude comments but quite enjoy cunstrutive critisim and the gain of information otherwise why would i post here right? so let me ask hypotheticly if someone wanted to equip lets say 4 to 5 men with armour that is bulletproof to all but heavy weapons and had uncountable...

schreiber

http://www.amazon.com/Fluid-Film-Spray-AEROSOL-CAN/dp/B001OKBFBS http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31ngvjkybKL._SL500_AA300_.jpg This stuff is fairly economical. It's what I spray my mild sheets with when it's sitting waiting to get used. I've had armor sit in a bag for two years after hitting i...

schreiber

(How the heck is that supposed to cut 1/4" plate???)

I'd probably get a jigsaw with decent blades, and just do the inside curves with it.
There's a lot of beginning armor that doesn't require any (or many) inside curves.
Like spangenhelms, basic couters and poleyns, plates for coates of plates.

schreiber

Any issues with thin stainless stock? If so I'll need to get a real B1 (or buy the HF and replace the blades with Beverly blades) Nope, in fact most of what I do with it is 20g 410. But I don't know about the 300 series steels... I have never cut a bunch of 300 series on it. My experience with it g...

schreiber

thank you everyone for all of your help i think im going to try to save up a little more and try to find a coupon for the b1 knock off :) its toobad the reall thing is damned expensive I went out and got a B1 knockoff after owning an actual B2 for several years, because I wanted to be able to cut t...

schreiber

I'm working pretty much in 410 stainless at this point, though I do mostly gauntlets and smaller pieces. I like 410 because it's heat treatable, but it doesn't heat treat exactly like carbon steel. The end result is a material which can be deformed like mild steel, but with much greater effort. Befo...

schreiber

....

....

....Doesn't anyone sell riveted kits anymore?

schreiber

Just personal preference, but I never use lead for piening... for one thing, I don't like the idea of lead floating around my shop like that, and for the other, it's just too soft. I use pewter if I need something really soft, but for something like this I'd be likely to use Aluminum. It's still won...

schreiber

Yep, that's a pretty standard 220 plug. Electrical is one of the things I shy away from. 7000 degree flame? I'm in. But I'm not into electrical. However, I know enough about it to know that if you're willing, it's not rocket science. You should be able to read a book and have all the knowledge you n...

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