The Armour Archive

Otto

For those of you who use beverly shears on a regular basis for cutting 14+ ga. steel... has it ever caused a muscle strain or pull in your back? I'm dealing with a pretty rough muscle strain that has been bad enough to keep me off work for a few days, but I can't track when it happened. I'm wonderin...

Otto

Don't know who will see this... don't really expect a positive response... I know I haven't earned it. but... Things are starting to go fairly well and I expect to start refunds flowing within 1-2 months. Not fast as I'm far from well off... I don't even own a car at this point and I live in a cheap...

Otto

Here are a couple pics of a little round forge stand I got for free!

It's obviously missing a few bits... appears to have had a manually operated bellows/blower of some sort... I'm going to have to do a bit of research to see what I'm missing and do a bit of reconditioning.

Otto

For me, cold rolled is the only way to go...
I go though a 4 x 8 sheet in a month or less... so it doesn't sit around gathering dust and rust.

Otto

Yeah, the real trick is to remember to only buy cold rolled.
It's only a tiny bit more expensive... hot rolled just isn't worth fussing with.

Otto

Yeah, I've done it before, but it's been awhile... so I was trying to remember.

Otto

I don't remember, how long do you soak hot rolled steel to remove the dark gray scale?
In vinegar, that is.

Otto

I used the center punch to outline the whole thing and then the dremel to "connect the dots" as it were.

Otto

Here's a bear paw print that I did for someone a while back... it's a bit amateurish... but what can I say... I don't have the right tools for it.

I used a center punch and a dremel tool with cut off disc.

Otto

I have someone looking for a fairly open helm looking at 15th cent. Romanian

any ideas?

Otto

Well, I may have a long long way to go yet... but I've completed and shipped out 5 old orders from the list so far this spring. It's a start!

Otto

I'm not using that crap again unless I decide I want some personal armour... for some reason. It's damn near as hard to work with as stainless, but since I can't identify it for certain, then I really can't sell it as stainless... so it's a lot more work for no extra money. Not a good exchange when ...

Otto

Would the fact that it is noted as "Fab Sheet Laser" mean anything particular? I didn't have as much trouble cutting or drilling the stuff as I have in the past with straight up stainless... but it was much harder to cut and drill than mild steel. and I'd swear on a stack of bibles that it was as ha...

Otto

All I can say for sure is the helm I'm finishing up out of this is going to be an absolute tank! Whether it's stainless or not, I'm not sure.... Hell, I'm not sure exactly what it is. I'm going to end up holding almost an entire sheet of the stuff cuz I really don't feel inclined to use it after thi...

Otto

here's the ticket pic about as clear as I can get it.

Otto

We did the heat quench test and while it hardened a bit... it did not become brittle. It's a bit heavier than normal steel It's a bit harder to cut but not quite as bad as stainless It's at least as hard/difficult to shape as comparable stainless (hit it with a 4 lb dishing hammer (hard) and only ma...

Otto

I got some steel for cheap from a scrapyard... it's kind of a dull gray color... is hard to cut... harder than normal mild steel, but I don't think quite as hard as stainless I've worked with in the past. It's a bit heavier than normal and is VERY resistant to shaping It came with this tag do you th...

Otto

Actually, the two tone I'm most fond of thus far is this one...

Otto

While it's pretty and all... doesn't sound like a practical thing I can use.

Otto

You can clear coat, but doesn't that stuff go all "crackle" on you when it gets hit?

Otto

I noticed in some helm pieces that I was blackening in a gas fire... that the non-blackened side had turned an interesting blue-ish shade. The blue showed up best when the light was at a certain angle. I wondered... how well does this coloring hold up or will a bit of use ruin it? It was a neat meta...

Otto

The helm isn't anything new... but I've never two toned one before and I thought it looked kinda neat so I'm sharing.
(It's already been shipped to someone, so no, I'm not advertising this for sale)

Otto

That's a nice helm, I surprised you've had no bites yet.

Otto

/anyone have a use for it?

Otto

So here's a couple pics of a mystery tool... it's related to sheet metal work... I picked it up at a yard sale for like a buck a couple few years ago and I forgot what the guy told me it was for. You can see it clamps to a bench or table and then you've got this rollie bar on the back which appears ...

Otto

I wish my funding was in any kind of shape to buy that... but they're not.

Otto

I wish I could... but that's a little too far outside my comfort zone.

Otto

I'll be making these two types of chairs and perhaps a few other things in my "non-shop" time. My armour shop is only available to me during certain hours, so my evenings are free-ish. What would y'all consider decent low-ish prices on these two chair styles?... basic construction/staining, no fancy...

Otto

I haven't made my first one yet... so I can't give a price... not til I've tried it out and done it first.

Otto

Actually, I'm planning on adding woodworking items to my list of things I do. I'm starting with the savanarola type chair and planned on doing chests as well as any other sca camping type gear I can think of. I can do this stuff at home when the shop is inaccessible and maybe it'll help me make a li...

Otto

Upon last check, my woodworking skills were a bit weak... depending on how the first couple come out... I may be making lots in my "shop down" time... or maybe just a couple for me to use at events The savonarola chair is sooooo much prettier than a folding metal chair or "chair in a bag" for eventi...

Otto

My farming skills are minimal at best... I did gardening as a kid when mom and dad decided growing a big garden would help with the food bill. I'm past the eviction thing for the moment and have gotten 4 old orders out and starting another old order this weekend... so things are ok at the moment. Ac...

Otto

no mortising machine at the shop...

though to be honest, the first one I make will likely be made of inferior matierial (cheap) and use dowel pegs in place of mortise/tenon construction.

I want to make sure I get it right before investing in more expensive wood and such.

Otto

Having done a bit of looking, the chair I really like is the savonarola chair... I like it's appearance so much more. I'll do the straight sided X chair for the experience and because it's easy... but the other chair has such a nicer appearance, there's no comparison... for me anyway.

Otto

I like Mr. Oakley's chair... I'll have to try that at some point. I've wanted to do woodworking for a long time but my talents in that area are weak. I can likely get some pointers and help from the shop I work in as they mostly make a wide variety of custom tables and cabinets and such.

Beverly Shear users... question

Re: Otto's Armoury Backorder List

Free forge for me

Re: Vinegar soak to remove hot-roll steel scale

Re: Vinegar soak to remove hot-roll steel scale

Re: Vinegar soak to remove hot-roll steel scale

Vinegar soak to remove hot-roll steel scale

Re: A small bit of engraving...

A small bit of engraving...

Helm recommendations?

Re: Otto's Armoury Backorder List

Re: scrapyard steel

Re: scrapyard steel

Re: scrapyard steel

Re: scrapyard steel

Re: scrapyard steel

scrapyard steel

Re: Two tone norse helm

Re: Heat coloring steel

Re: Heat coloring steel

Heat coloring steel

Two tone norse helm

Re: two colored spangenhelm for sale, $200

Re: Mystery Tool

Mystery Tool

Re: Beverly B-2 Shear for sale

Re: Can you craft this helm for me?

Decent prices for SCA type folding chair question

Re: Otto's Armoury Backorder List

Re: Otto's Armoury Backorder List

Re: Pattern for "X" type folding chair?

Re: Otto's Armoury Backorder List

Re: Pattern for "X" type folding chair?

Re: Pattern for "X" type folding chair?

Re: Pattern for "X" type folding chair?