The Armour Archive

Back to work on it after some frustrating delays and rework of the pattern. And making yet more tooling to try to do a better job of it.

I scrapped everything from the cuisse down from the first try. Wing was too small to cover the bottom of the cuisse door. Made new cops with the right wing-the articulations were wrong. Moved too far and the wing point was slamming the door. So I threw up my hands and decided to just redo the other parts as well.

I was obviously thinking too much like an sca armorer when I was doing the movement phase. The real ones didn't have to let people crawl around on thier knees-you were pretty much dead by then.

Hi Bender, That is exactly why I dont take custom orders anymore! I like the shape of the new tools you made too. Anyway the new leg looks great so far, I thought the old lames might have been over dished.


Keep up the good work

Andy

Well,I needed to get a medievally correct pattern figured out anyhow. Most of my future work is more geared towards ren fair jousters than sca anyhow. Though I imagine I will be turning out things like helmets and guantlets for SCA, just not full fitted kits. The monetary returns never equal the labor and materials output.

The lames would have worked if they were drilled to the correct cop-and the points would not have protruded. I like sexy unbroken lines. I tossed the old ones because I couldn't see doing all of the rivet removing and welding in of old holes to fix them.

It doesn't take a lot longer to make a really authentic looking piece-than an "sca generic" one if you have the right tooling and skills. Whenever I see someone needlessly rounding off corners in plate armor-I think "sca amatuer."

It was not done in medieval patterns-only in modern work where everything is stuck together with straps-because they don't know how to articulate.

Bender can you post pics of what you mean on the lames? we need more pics of those legs anyway.


Happy 4th


Andy @ Pitbull Armory

I just made the first set of lames too wide in the center and swang them too far for that big of a wing. Like I said-my defect was in thinking of full articulation range. Just finished anealing and repolishing the new edge trims. And doing more scotch brite hand rubbed finishes.

I want a finish that looks good, and that she can maintain herself.

Meanwhile-My stuff got a little exposure in this commercial. Made it for some Seattle Knights here about ten years ago. I understand they were derusting it for a good week afterwards-I hope they were paid well!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7U1Y9DkYxI

I also found a place with affordable hammers. Going to start buying one a paycheck.

http://www.hammersource.com/index.html

Starting with one of these: http://www.hammersource.com/MetalworkingP2/IMAG010A.GIF

for general work. Greaves are next, lots of hot shrinking and planishing to do with those.

got some more done tonight.

finally got one leg done-tons of fiddly little details. It still needs a proper fitting-so some of the width proportions are off until I see her in here. I used metal mounts for the straps-more durable. The rivets that show as strap attachments were chiseled and filed into rosettes for decoration.

Took forever to get to this point. I had so many tools to buy and make. The rearticulation worked out ok-the crease of the wing no longer slams into the cuisse door.

Thats looking real nice Bender. Great work.


Take care

A@PBA

I think the similar legs you make are pretty cool too Andy-Thanks!

So I delivered them today-they fit, and she really likes them. Got paid, ran down to the bank and deposited the cash-ordered in the buffer. Will be here next week. Bought a chunk of four inch bar aluminum to make the 5/8 by three inch hubs for a scotch brite deburring wheel. Looks like an evening with the metal lathe is in my future.

Cut down the bandsaw base and put new wheels on it so I can roll it under the bench-clearing space for the monster buffer. Posting this while the paint dries.

Looking at convolute deburring wheels now-fine ones that give a really fast satin finish. $165.00 plus shipping, holy sh*t!

My other wheels are going to run about $45.00.........I'll get those next week.

She dropped me off small shoes and I did a perliminary pattern for the sabatons. Those will be next.

spent most of the week after getting paid making the adapter hubs after work. Machine came in Tuesday-finished lathing the counterbores in the hubs last night-got it mounted on a rolling stand early this morning. Working on her sabatons and a pair of finger guantlets tonight.

I have enough HP power in the shop to properly finish armor now.