The Armour Archive

mrks

Some things I would love to see taught are hot working metal, proper fluting and rolling technique... Maybe some things like embosing or etching... Heck i'm open to learn anything from a pro... heck that sure isnt me. I am self taught and use techniques that heavily rely on machines that replicate ...

mrks

hi there I got the electrical finished in the shop so I can start moving machines. guideon if you have suggestions on the big machines I am all ears. I plan to build a castor trolley raising them about an inch bolt it onto the bottom legs and use a puller to get it up a tilt bed trailer. the big mac...

mrks

this is a pretty good rendition of CA at gulfwars..

part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StkyajKkku0

part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LsWGiFs ... re=related

does it look fun to you? reminds me of paintball using the 1st generation splatmasters.

mrks

I am in the process of moving my shop from seattle to belfair. so I will be right next to you at some point. am half way through insulating and putting the electrical system in. will take a number of trips to move the smaller machines. still not sure how I am going to move the 2 and 4 tonner. anyway...

mrks

been over and over this... CA is not on a level playing field with foot combat. to get a good idea of a CA behavior watch the gulfwars video that went around a few weeks ago? so how about: takes 5 years to become a good squire. takes around ten to become a knight takes much much more to become a sup...

mrks

hi your grace duke Davin had some awesome footage of ragIV which was even more brutal than III which I have a very good video tape of. youtube doesnt do it justice... even in HQ mode. was a very good ROF that year. maybe we can get a copy? maybe we can get all the footage together into one archive a...

mrks

this is from ragnarocIII(2005?): m fought to three blows or one really hard one. two more parts are available anyone want to see them? RagIV: full body targeting, kicking and grappling. rules have changed a bit since then. m best (non)event of the year(not incluging the "big" wars.

mrks

you can look period and still be competitive if you are a padboy. if you are wearing plate or chain the weight factor slows you down considerably. the difference in someone wearing 20lbs versus 50lbs+ is tremendous speed wise. I wear full Ti plate(45lbs) and feel it takes away 10 to 15 percent of my...

mrks

are there any tips or tricks i should know before I purchase the Ti, and all the expensive equipment needed to produce a fine product? as of right now i plan on working cold for i have no torches or a forge, though I can most likely build one given a little time and money once i return from iraq. t...

mrks

hi there sounds like you want to do it yourself. probably much cheaper in the long run. while it can be frustrating depending on the color you desire bit... your project is doable by an amature(I was once one and didnt have the internet as a resource back then). if you are willing to invest some mon...

mrks

I used a 1" solid fiberglas dowel that was a foot long. the splint was at the hand end of spear and helped counter balance the long end due to being behind my forward hand. worked very well and hit a with a bit more authority due to the extra weight but didnt seem to make much of a difference p...

mrks

happy to help.

I simple canister mask is good enough for light use.

if you dont remove the buffing dust from your shop/garage eventually every crevice and crack will be coated with a ultra fine black dust thats very tough to get rid of.

mrks

good morning your grace thanks for the compliment. I think that six inches on each side should do it. would not save as much material as 8" but would be much stronger in the splice area. I would superglue the fiberglass splint then sand it down until I could barely jam the splice together. if i...

mrks

hi your grace in my opinion... 4" is not long enopugh to provide the durability your reputation caries... I know the new spears are tougher but when I was traveling all the time my breakdown spears seemed to like 6" at the minimun. I think 4" will be too short so you should field test...

mrks

I too prefer a hardwood hammer handle mounted on a few plywood blocks and secured by two carrige bolts. you can save further weight by using a rattan cane instead of the hammer handle.

mrks

I started with a canister mask but later discovered supplied air which I love. positive air pressure at the face means no dust/gasses reach your respitory system. to keep from using air inside my shop for the mask... a 4" furnace duct to the front of my shop supplies the air pump. to reduce pos...

mrks

the last production piece I made before I retired was a Ti mitten gauntlet. used some different padding/gloving techniques. hint: I hate hand/finger straps. I prefer a full leather soft leather glove. pretty comfortable and functions well but not period at all. will post some pics later on this even...

mrks

your body hates holding 10lbs+ and below 8lbs is too light. the weight savings can make a huge difference in the shields balance and feel. sometimes its easier to just build a new shiled. if you are looking at weight savings reducing the edging weight can make the biggest difference. if you are usin...

mrks

Piers Brent wrote:Thanks for coming in at the end of this thread and completely missing any points made.

my wife was on me to leave so I skipped the meat of the thread... my appologies.

mrks

please consider the fact that they royalty use the best most protective materials they had at the time. if they had modern spring they would have used it. if they had titanium they would have used that for some pieces. the authentic reproduction is almost impossible for most normal people due to mat...

mrks

Odo of the Abbey of Saint wrote:I paid a lot more the 600 for the brig cuff titanium clam shells. Speaking of which I should probably get them back from you. So much for titanium being the holy grail of armouring.

Odo

actually Ti is the holy grail of armouring.

mrks

hi there

at 78db your collector motor is a bit loud.

with proper ducting I reccomend moving it outside (if it wont bug the neighbors). when I was residential I put the vac motor in a insulated box and it was much quieter.

mrks

hi there as someone who has experienced a few buffer fires in his shop I reccomend you put in a filter of sorts to catch the cotton buff dust and leavings.... especially if you use grease while buffing. wax filled cotton is a huge fire hazard and one sparked piece can set your whole system on fire. ...

mrks

we used to use them in antir. I stopped using them after an antir/west war when I could walk up and machine gun the line. people are just not used to the increased range and are taken unaware. in a line battle a 12 can reach about 16 feet down the line with a step. there is no way your periphial vis...

mrks

hi there I use scotchbrite wheels and follow it up with a buffer run. you can get them on ebay.com: m I use them on my 11000 rpm angle grinder(wear glasses as they can shatter/shred) you can also cut them down to 4" or so and they willl run slower but be much safer. they will knock down a weld ...

mrks

I just spent a few hours poking around in the archives. some great posts there. anyway here is the last big post on working titanium. hi sigurd Information from THL Buku I use 18 - 16 guage titanium. I cut it using my beverly shear (#1). I use a drill press to make holes. I tried using a whitney pun...

mrks

there you go some of the best posts on working Ti.

best wishes and happy holidays.

mrks

Posted: Wed May 08, 2002 10:45 am Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- posted 05-08-2002 01:45 PM Hi there wow a buck a pound is practically free I pay $8 when I can find it. How about buying me a thousand pounds? lol. the part about it sprin...

mrks

Joined: 17 Dec 2000 Posts: 1255 Location: seattle wa Posted: Fri Feb 22, 2002 8:47 am Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi PoD I have been gone alot lately and am traveling again tonight. the advice above is very relevent. working Titanium...

mrks

a few posts from the archives. Posted: Fri Mar 23, 2001 11:30 am Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi dane the guage depends on a few things. the thinner the guage the lighter the piece is. you use the guage that fits the application. the ...

mrks

hi there I made about 60 sets of ti legs during my 5 year production run. and countless other pieces. there are only a few full harnesses out there that I know of. maybe I will dig up some pictures or you tube footage. I am now retired from production armouring. I do still make stuff from time to ti...

mrks

hi there you can use a 30 ton press. you will need something to support the dished dome on the sides where you want to curve it. ge a heavy steel bar and press down on it between the two supports. press slowly unil the dome starts to curve in the up and down direction. do this slowly and dont let th...

mrks

hi there you should be able to get a wood stove for free on craigslist. if you can afford it you can get one thats enviromentally friendly. craigslist.com look for your nearest city on the left. I converted a 90 percent efficient furnace to run on propane and it rocks. you can also get them on craig...

mrks

during the heydays of avaiable titanium I made and used about three different titanium shields. the .040 one is stillin occasional use and is the "magic" shield because everyone seems to like its feel. a .050 al64v 22 by 36 heater ends up weighing 9.5 lbs with lightweight edging. (made two...

mrks

hi there.

whats up?

mrks