hinges on gaunts
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Stoffel
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hinges on gaunts
Can anyone give me some ideas on where to look to find historical info on hinges for gauntlet thumbs? Or historical info on hinges in general? I can find plenty of info on making sca stuff for gaunts, but nothing that will tell me how it was done back then.
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SyrRhys
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Stoffel:
Can anyone give me some ideas on where to look to find historical info on hinges for gauntlet thumbs? Or historical info on hinges in general? I can find plenty of info on making sca stuff for gaunts, but nothing that will tell me how it was done back then. </font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Part of your problem is going to be that most actual gauntlets didn't have any hinges. The exceptions are 15th-century gothic gauntlets, some of which used a hinge to connect the thumb to the metacarpal plate. Your first question should be to identify the specific medieval example you're trying to copy, and then, if that gauntlet had a hinged thumb, examine pictures of the hinge to recreate it.
In general, medieval hinges started as two flat plates of metal. Each piece was folded over on itself in half over a nail or rod the size of the eventual hinge pin. Teeth were then cut in each fold to complement the teeth on the other piece. I watched Mac (Roberto) do this, and he stressed the importance of "knocking the corners off" of each tooth with a file so make them fit smoothly into the matching gap in the other half of the hinge. When the pieces fit snugly together with no binding, a rod was inserted into the two matching pieces, and peened over on both ends.
This makes for a hinge that is much stronger than most modern hinges because each half is a completely closed piece of metal, whereas in many modern hinges the end of the piece is wrapped around the rod; the metal isn't actually folded in half.
Interestingly, on visor hinges, the "arms" of the hinge on the helmet (as opposed to the visor) side were hammered very thin; ideally, the same thickness as the original, unfolded, piece of metal in order to make the visor move up and down easily.
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Hugh Knight
"Welcome to the Church of the Open Field: Hunt hard, kill swiftly, waste nothing, make no apologies"
Can anyone give me some ideas on where to look to find historical info on hinges for gauntlet thumbs? Or historical info on hinges in general? I can find plenty of info on making sca stuff for gaunts, but nothing that will tell me how it was done back then. </font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Part of your problem is going to be that most actual gauntlets didn't have any hinges. The exceptions are 15th-century gothic gauntlets, some of which used a hinge to connect the thumb to the metacarpal plate. Your first question should be to identify the specific medieval example you're trying to copy, and then, if that gauntlet had a hinged thumb, examine pictures of the hinge to recreate it.
In general, medieval hinges started as two flat plates of metal. Each piece was folded over on itself in half over a nail or rod the size of the eventual hinge pin. Teeth were then cut in each fold to complement the teeth on the other piece. I watched Mac (Roberto) do this, and he stressed the importance of "knocking the corners off" of each tooth with a file so make them fit smoothly into the matching gap in the other half of the hinge. When the pieces fit snugly together with no binding, a rod was inserted into the two matching pieces, and peened over on both ends.
This makes for a hinge that is much stronger than most modern hinges because each half is a completely closed piece of metal, whereas in many modern hinges the end of the piece is wrapped around the rod; the metal isn't actually folded in half.
Interestingly, on visor hinges, the "arms" of the hinge on the helmet (as opposed to the visor) side were hammered very thin; ideally, the same thickness as the original, unfolded, piece of metal in order to make the visor move up and down easily.
------------------
Hugh Knight
"Welcome to the Church of the Open Field: Hunt hard, kill swiftly, waste nothing, make no apologies"
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wcallen
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The previous description of the hinges is correct. They were extensively used on late 15th. C. german gauntlets and on many 16th century ones.
This is not a very good picture, but you can see a pair of 16th c. Italian gauntlets here - they have hinges holding on the base thumb plate in the appropriate way.
http://www.allenantiques.com/images/ItalianGauntlets.jpg
Basically it is just a hinge. One rivet holds the hinge on to the back of the hand, and one goes into the thumb plate. This allows the thumb to move (some) forward and back (as the hinge pivots on the rivets) in addition to the normal bending of the hinge.
I am sure there are far better pictures, this one was lying around.
Wade
This is not a very good picture, but you can see a pair of 16th c. Italian gauntlets here - they have hinges holding on the base thumb plate in the appropriate way.
http://www.allenantiques.com/images/ItalianGauntlets.jpg
Basically it is just a hinge. One rivet holds the hinge on to the back of the hand, and one goes into the thumb plate. This allows the thumb to move (some) forward and back (as the hinge pivots on the rivets) in addition to the normal bending of the hinge.
I am sure there are far better pictures, this one was lying around.
Wade