The Armour Archive

mrks

I have been working on gauntlets for five months now. its been very expensive and frustrating. I have one set in testing and will have others out soon. until they have been properly prototyped and field tested I wont even consider taking an order or starting up a work que. I have never taken money o...

mrks

Lord Ogier wrote:Spell checkers are your best friend.

go read your scolding from the KEM!

mrks

I second the scotchbrite wheels. they rock.

follow up with a 8 inch muslin and white polish with buffing grease and you get a mirror with little work.

mrks

hi every armourer needs what was described as a grinding enclosure in the post above. if you can smell the work you are killing yourself. grinding welding doesnt matter small particles of metal and grinding wheel dust are being inhaled and sticking in your lungs. long term would you breath cement du...

mrks

unless you are a merchant its painful to set up as one.

not many armourers in antir that I know of merchant.

its too easy to use the web and access a wider customer base.

mrks

lots of hard work and effort learning how the metal moves.
after you understand the metal it gets easier.

that and use heat

mrks

the contact cement is used as a primer and it is very tough to scratch when you have a few layers built up. spray paint sticks to it very well but you have to let the glue cure for a while before you spray it. lasts forever in shield lifetimes. as a foam adhesive it needs to be renewed every 3-5 yea...

mrks

"red can" dap contact cement from homedepot is what I have used for ages. I glue in my elbow and knee pads and use them instead of straps. the elastic lets the armour fit flex so well I sometimes dont know I am wearing knee pads. contact cement in three or more layers lasts for years holdi...

mrks

hi vitus its not my work so I dont know. if you got it from duke icefalcon then he would be the man. he has excellent customer service. I could fix it for you but the original armourer probably wants first shot. I would sure be disappointed if something I made failed and I wasnt given a chance to co...

mrks

your grace 14 ga stainless tangs didnt last very long so I started using 12ga for my titanium hilts. just got one back that has seen heavy use and was made in 2002. even had a few 12 ga tangs will break over six to eight years of weekly use by a hilt blocker. the more ductile the better... so anneal...

mrks

holy thread derailment
take it somewhere else and help answer the OP question.

mrks

looks great!

mrks

red dap contact cement from home depot is amazing if you let dry in the hot sun or under a large light.

mrks

if you decide on paint.
coat it with 3-4 light layers of contact cement and it wont chip off.
let it dry in the hot sun or under a flood light.
my shields are painted this way and it takes metal on metal contact to scrape it to the bare metal with no chipping effects.

look great.

mrks

easy barbutes are all about the pattern and darts

mrks

looks good to me.

mrks

I use #14 copper rivets. the burrs are building up because they are not used.
cuts easily and easy to peen.

mrks

you are pretty tech on equipment so I am not surprised

a composite wheel is what I was referring to I think.
I dont know why more people use them.

mrks

the contact surfaces need to be smooth(duh lol). try to round the contact edges so there is little or no rub so they touch along as much of the upper plate as possible upon initial contact. usually scratches are from a bump or an uneven radius or curve. scratches an also be caused by a rough grind o...

mrks

hi there black yoga pad (3/8TH harbinger brand)from big5 sporting goods is excellent padding. then contact cement the glove to the pad. make sure you coat both pad and glove twice. then when you are ready to attach the glove coat the glove one more time and while wet adjust the glove into position. ...

mrks

yes it protrudes. the reason you use it is for durability. an opening and closing articulation will eventually eat away a peened rivet head and blow at the worst possible time resulting with your having to leave the field. a friend has had me replace four rivets of another very popular armourers mit...

mrks

jamie is the way to go for titanium plates.

wow what a selection.

will definitely recommend him next time I get asked.

mrks

mrks

I could probably easily make the plates but will in no way punch grind or deburr them.

thats hours upon hours of grunt work.

mrks

thanks never considerd teh spelling

mrks

hi there very nice legs. sport attachment works great for the sca. the knee pad is the strap and the leg floats on the elastic. demigrieve is strapped to the grieve and floas slightly during motion. real armour wasnt designed to be fought from the knees and in my opinion jumping around like a jackra...

mrks

great idea.
I keep one taped to one of my whitneys.
when you are assembling and need a hole marked.. I often hold the sharpie in my mouth while both hands align whatever I need a hole in.

never thought of just drilling a hole someplace convenient.

mrks

120 volts is not that bad. I mig weld stainless with a miller 130: 120 volt welder. works great but on a "4" heat I blow the 15amp circuit breakers. stainless welds are prettiest with trimix gas but it will also weld just fine with a 75/25 mix. the 75/25 can be a bit messy but thats what s...

mrks

once you identify the offending rivet you sometimes can strike the back of it a few times and "loosen" up the articulation. this works best are washers are used. if there are no washers you have to be careful doing this. too much will either drive the rivet through the hole or dent the met...

mrks

I also recommend Stonekeep also.
while I have never done business with him I send people there.
great product at the right price.

mrks

the auction has ended. folks the pair was fine as is but I started hitting myself with the armour testing stick and a down strike missing the thumb plate hitting the finget tip plate along the horizontal hurt the thumb. not swollen but more than uncomfortable and thats not acceptable. so I ripped th...

mrks

hi all I have been fooling with the gauntlets all day. I started to replace the thumb plates and removed one and then put it back. while i have the patterns I did something to them last year so the new plates I cut dont fit. the issue is the thumb should hide completely behind the thumb plate. altho...

mrks

so the guanlets at auction will have a glove installed? or just inserted? will the glove be sewn to the gauntlet? or does the gauntlet come with normal straps? hi I prefer to contact cement the glove to the padding and sew the fingertips to a buffalo hide strip riveted onto the inside of the last l...

mrks

hi

yes I have three left but they are more expensive than most of the ones available here.

this thread has a few of the sellers of shield bosses in it: http://forums.armourarchive.org/phpBB2/ ... shiledboss

best of luck

mrks

mrks

jewelers saw

man you are going to go through a few blades.

this post makes sense now lol.

mrks

lets see if I can remember:

a hammer and a hand, sable and argent, counter changed. think thats it

thanks for providing the SCA with a great service pitbull.