The Armour Archive

schreiber

Third. Is it possible to weld 1050 carbon steel and still harden and temper it? If so, can you suggest the best rod or wire to use for welding it? I know it's possible (I've seen it done). However, I would say it depends on your welding process, and your weld quality. Process, because I don't think...

schreiber

Duct tape and old copies of National Geographic.

schreiber

[quote="Chris Gilman"]The "super gas torch" (Henrob) seems to be a â€œgadgetâ€

schreiber

I don't do electric on armor, only the Henrob. Remember though that with the Henrob there are lots of other costs associated. By the time you get your tanks upgraded to a decent size, that's going to be a couple hundred. Hoses add up to at least $50 and the regulators... well, you CAN use the shitty...

schreiber

Couldn't help but remember this....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpCIYlRRw_o

schreiber

That's AWESOME. Who would have thought a spun top could look that good?
Definitely needs a finial on top. I suppose that's going to be a problem because anything up there can't go more than 1/2" into a bargrill, and everything I've ever seen in period will do just that.

schreiber

Here's the thing. If you go metal, you'll easily have the skill set when you're done to make 14 century reproduction armor. However, if you go with plastic, it'll actually have a prayer of being done in 8 months. When I look at that (who is it, Romita?) I see a lot of severe curves in places that ar...

schreiber

I don't really like UHMW. I have a 12" section of 3" rod of the stuff. I'd like to get rid of it.

schreiber

Yeah, I didn't have the nerve to drive 4 hours that night - we were at Tom's until LATE. I'll be a hero some other time.

I would love to share my photos and especially the notes I took and am still making. Unfortunately I don't have a photo account anywhere... where's a good place to go with?

schreiber

One of the most fun days in my life.

There is really no substitute for picking it up and handling it.
Now I am pretty stoked about the idea of making a 2-piece riveted burgeonet skull. Three days ago I didn't know such a thing existed. Now I have a good idea how to make one.

schreiber

Good grief! Milled out of a solid billet of alu! That's an expensive way of making a helmet! Yeah, to say nothing of the overhead. Multi-million dollar machine, probably 2-3 employees making six figures to program it, likely at least a full 8 hour day to do the machining, several tool swaps, God on...

schreiber

I'm hoping to upgrade to a MIG at the earliest opportunity, no fear! I don't know what prices are like, but from my research I'm determined to go to TIG if I need an electric welder in the future. O/A for armor and stick for tools works just fine for me as a hobbyist. Would it be better investment ...

schreiber

I suggest fighting two-stick every day with no forearm protection. You will eventually be shown the very latest in splinted forearms. Seriously, though, I would do it out of heavy stock like manila folder, in a design you like, and then with it secured to your arm, move it in every way imaginable. W...

schreiber

Commercially available wicks are exclusively cotton.

Given that cotton is generally not a European fabric, would it therefore not have been used for candle wicks?

schreiber

I used to have a lot more crap in my house that I planned on recycling into more crap. Then I got rid of most of it, and I used to have a couple places to stand. Now I have kids, and those places are occupied with their crap, which is generally non-recyclable into anything because a majority of it i...

schreiber

Thomas Powers wrote:For someone starting out I would suggest Roy Underhill's Woodwright's series

Just be sure to skip the chapter on how to downplay the fact that you just cut the *&^% out of yourself on camera.

God bless you, St. Roy.....

schreiber

A lot of mine are mild. If I want to do something like reshape a piece that's already riveted together or has a weld bead on it, I'm severely limited in how I can it it. Once I smack a rivet shank directly onto the stake, I've got a nice little divot in there that I have to work out. Sucky. I don't ...

schreiber

Think bigger, in general. I use my 4" ball and my large mushroom (probably an 4" radius) a lot more than I use my 2" ball. It's all about matching the curve. If you're bouging a knee, all a trailer ball is going to do is put more bumps in it. Likewise, the times I've raised something,...

schreiber

I've never seen a Dewalt drill press. If I had, I'd have bought it. I have a Harry Homeowner style Delta tabletop drill press. I think it went for around $75 back in 2000 or so. I have asked for, and gotten, much out of it. I used it a lot in building my helve. I had to drill 3/4" holes in 3/8&...

schreiber

Cast iron would be useless.
If you have wrought iron, you should sell it to a blacksmith and use the money to buy whatever steel your heart desires.
I don't know what good it would be. I only know it can get you better materials.

schreiber

What kind of kettle? If you're talking about a straight-brimmed kettle with a separate skirt on the bottom to protect the back of the head, it will be a lot easier, since you can brace the bargrill to the skirt only with long tabs welded to the sides of the bargrill, and not have to mess with the br...

schreiber

Surely some of these bulky sorts of trade goods could be moved around by the same people who are willing to drive 12 hours or more to an event like Pennsic war? For a couple years now there's been a firewood import ban at Pennsic. That seems to be the way people are starting to think the whole coun...

schreiber

Same here. Though as a rule I don't have to adjust the bottom die. Maybe once for the material I'm working with: you need less clearance for thicker metal.

Now that you have one, get two more! It's nice not having to swap bits every time you want a different hole.

schreiber

What happens when the finger rolls a little sideways, and the blow lands, crushing the deep "U" shaped plate together into an "O"? If you're REALLY damned lucky, it's just a bitch to get the gauntlet off. Too true. In my mind I wouldn't even consider making finger gauntlets out ...

schreiber

Here are two more ideas for going vertical.... The walls of my shop are block, so I had to frame up supports for pegboard & such, and as you can see it comes in handy. The dish bench rack is 3/4" tube, welded to some plates with holes drilled in them, that are bolted to the framing. It's on...

schreiber

Just for the record..... I consider "grounding" to be neither necessary nor desirable in a gauntlet. Nor was I trying to characterize you as one who would... I was capitalizing only on your idea that the design must be sound. What that means is another discussion. Which I too would like t...

schreiber

Before last Pennsic I made a set of poles for the wall tent after taking a few walks with the pruning saw in the couple acres of easement in back of the house. I was taking beech saplings as a rule. I got enough for the poles by taking I think 4 saplings - two long uprights and 8 side poles. The rid...

schreiber

I'm going to agree with Mac and Sean... if you have a lousy enough design, it doesn't matter if it's made out of coke cans. In 97 or 98, I got to see the results of what happens when a rattan sword hits a hand in a gauntlet with floating articulations. I got to see the x-rays afterward, too. It affe...

schreiber

I cannot justify the purchase of a true B1. Nor should you, really.... Go for the B2 if you get a beverly. The file suggestion isn't a joke, really... spend $40 and get yourself a usable (not made anywhere west of California) set of files, and some decent file handles. Get a 10" half-round bas...

schreiber

losthelm wrote:Have you considered etching?

I was going to suggest acid as well.
It's not going to be as much of an investment IMO.
You can also do it on formed pieces.

schreiber

Dude, Hal, you have got to get a gas welder. Once you're good at it, you just tell the metal what to look like as you're welding it.

Of course, I hate the dusty operations more than any other part of this, so I go out of my way to avoid them.

schreiber

You need to use your hands more and build up some calluses. I've done this on a regular basis for 10 years now, with everything from the rivet-setting modified tack hammer up to the 12 lb sledge, and worked outdoors before that. I already literally can't feel which of my daughters' stuffed animals ...

schreiber

Actually, if you want to learn a lot really quickly, turning up enough metal to rivet to is the way to do it. You'll probably need more metal than you think, and you will end up junking the first try. Even on your second try, you'll miss with at least one rivet. Heat is your friend, but whether hot ...

schreiber

... Is anyone else thinking that we need to start an armorer's hospitality service? Come to my place, we'll armor, then I'll show you DC & Virginia... then I go to Ireland, or Scotland or Czech or Australia or Italy... It's amazing where people are popping up these days..... I think a greathelm ...

schreiber

I got a HF cross pien on Saturday, and tried it out when smithing some tent stakes last night. I'm now the proud owner of two gigantic blisters, one on the heel of my palm, and one on my index finger that I got after trying not to rub the heel of my palm. This has never happened with other hammers o...

Re: 1050 Carbon Steel Questions

What was used for candle wicks?

What do you do to hammer handles?