The Armour Archive

Jurgen

High speed steel should work fine for mild steel and they are dirt-cheap.

Jurgen

I originally bought a 110v Millier MIG machine. I still have it, but I think I've used it all of 3 times since I got my TIG. I got a Lincoln TIG machine. The learning curve is tougher for TIG, but it is awesome once you have it down. Can also weld more materials with it. Need AC/DC for welding both ...

Jurgen

MSCDirect ships internationally and they have the 1/16" punches. I've paid a lot less elsewhere though.

Jurgen

You can buy 1/16" punches for the #5.

Jurgen

I know this is blasphemy, but a good mouthpiece is also critical in helping to prevent concussions....I learned this WAY too late... Last time I looked at the research (probably 5 years ago) nobody had been able to show that mouth guards had any significant protective effect against concussions. Ha...

Jurgen

I know this is blasphemy, but a good mouthpiece is also critical in helping to prevent concussions....I learned this WAY too late... Last time I looked at the research (probably 5 years ago) nobody had been able to show that mouth guards had any significant protective effect against concussions. Ha...

Jurgen

16 gauge BSG =0.065 thou USG =0.0625 thou 1/16 =0.0625 thou Recently encountered some low carbon sheet steel that was marked & sold as 16 gauge equivalent actually measured 0.057 thou at a reputable steel supplier in my area. Not equivalent in SCA terms as I believe the mass of the helmet is the id...

Jurgen

At least in my part of the world, I know force levels have increased quite a bit over the last dozen years or so. For better or worse, I was a big part of changing that, along with a handful of the other most-active knights at the time. At one point there were a bunch of people playing tippy-tap, wh...

Jurgen

I burnt up three Foredom Tx motors and 2 footpedals so I gave up on them. I got one of these instead:

http://www.woodcarverssupply.com/NEW-1_ ... fo/797425/

I haven't used it as much as I have the Foredom motors, but I am happy with it so far.

Jurgen

Jurgen

I've had two diagnosed concussions from SCA combat, 19 years apart plus a few shots that gave me headaches. The first concussion was from a spearman's face-thrust at a Pennsic before they allowed face thrusts there. The spearman broke the no-facethrust rule, and my helmet was inadequate to receive i...

Jurgen

Option one, buy one. Grizzly is a top of the line name, and it's currently on sale! http://www.grizzly.com/products/Knife-Belt-Sander-Buffer/G1015 Grizzly? Top of the line? You're kidding, right? They are one or two steps above Harbor Freight. All made in China these days and often in the same fact...

Jurgen

If your burner is running properly, you shouldn't really be making much carbon monoxide. It is created by incomplete burning of the fuel(i.e. too little oxygen in the mix). You will be making a lot of carbon dioxide and water vapor, which you also need to deal with. You will need makeup air. I recom...

Jurgen

I tinned a gauntlet at one point. I just used the flux plumbers use for soldering copper pipe. Seemed to work fine.

Jurgen

Yup. Just add it to water and once it dissolves you end up with the same thing as you buy in liquid form. Be warned, it is an exothermic reaction as it dissolves, so it can heat up the water pretty significantly. It is Iron Perchloride Crystals from GraphicChemical.com

Jurgen

I don't remember where I ordered from, but I ordered it as a powder instead of a liquid. It was cheaper for both shipping and on a per unit basis.

Jurgen

Until the screws holding the motor let lose, my drill doctor sharpened my bits to a better-than-new state every time. I haven't been able to get it back in tune yet. It has paid for itself several times over. I'll play with it a bit more, but I may just buy a new one if I can't get it working again.

Jurgen

A couple of years ago I bought a Drill Doctor 500X. It was working great until recently. A bit of investigation showed that the screws holding the motor in place had come loose, allowing the motor to move and therefore not sharpen properly. The problem is that I can't seem to get it back in the righ...

Jurgen

I've got an oxy-acetylene setup and it is very nice, but expensive to run. I have a home-built propane burner similar to that. The heat is much more diffuse. I think you need something more like Eric Thing has: http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/armor ... i-et02.htm

Jurgen

Jurgen

Generally vibratory tumblers work faster than rotary, but tend to be more expensive. You'll want either a ceramic or plastic tumbling media for deburring. Harbor Freight has a plastic media that would probably work and it is reasonably inexpensive for starters. Otherwise there are lots of places onl...

Jurgen

I have a couple of tumblers that I use. There are lots of different kinds of media. Ceramic, steel shot, porcelain, various types of plastic with embedded media, shells, etc. The type you want depends on what types of metal and to what level of finish you want/need. Two basic types, vibratory and ro...

Jurgen

I got some stuff printed at the local UPS store. I am not sure how big of a printer they had, but the prices were OK.

Jurgen

Steel toed boots.

Ventilation.

Adequate lighting.

Jurgen

Add another vote for Egoscue. I've had back issues for years. It took a couple of months for the exercises to straighten things out, but I only have to do them sporadically now to keep things in line as long as I am exercising.

Jurgen

If he has an argon feed into the kiln, he shouldn't need a bag. He'll get a little bit of scale transferring from the kiln to the quench bucket but if it is done right, it shouldn't be too bad. I've always wondered about that foil though. It isn't cheap. Can you quench the piece in the bag? I would ...

Jurgen

I would soak them in some acid(vinegar will work slowly, hydrocholoric acid will work faster, but with nasty fumes) to get any firescale off. There are lots of tumbling abrasives available. Sand or sandblasting media might work. I use ceramic media when I tumble. It leaves a very even satin finish. ...

Jurgen

You wouldn't need a transformer. The kinds of inverters used for hybrid vehicles generally have boost converters to step up the voltage and run three phase electric motors on the output. You'll still need a generator to generate the power in the first place. I'm not a power electronics guy, but I wo...

Jurgen

Modern power inverters might do the trick. They can convert single phase into 3 phase power.

Jurgen

Will it have an effect? Yes. Will you notice? Nope. The tempering process is a factor of time and temperature. I did a quick look at some charts and for a 1050 alloy. It would still be reducing the hardness, but at a VERY slow rate. Think hundreds to thousands of hours at that temperature. Jurgen

Jurgen

Oops! I fixed it. It should be working now.

Jurgen

I uploaded a word document that documents my gauntlet raising to http://scametalwork.com/raised_gauntlet.docx. I kept track of time, and took measurements along the way. I made a pair, one in 1050 and the other in 4130. Most of the work was done hot over a 1.5 inch diameter stake with an oxy-acetely...

Jurgen

Oh, and I did a welded seam on the inside of the wrist. No particular reason, I just liked the smoother line. I think I kept some pictures as I went. I'll see if I can dig them up.

Jurgen

I did mine basically like the images in the link Theo posted. I think I had about 5 hours of work into each gauntlet to get it to the rough shape stage. I the left first, and the right about a year later. I think if I was in practice I could do it somewhat faster. I have considered making a form tha...

Jurgen

What are you using for software? I've got MACH3 running my mill. I've used Photoshop and CorelDraw and Inkscape in the past for my etching line art. I know you can get vector to GCode converters, but it might be easier to go with something designed for this sort of thing. I've got a friend of mine t...

Jurgen

Voshe wrote:I go the route of CNC engraving. In time I'd like to learn acid etching to complement the CNC engraving.

I'm getting my vertical mill set up so I can do engraving. Got any tips?

Jurgen

Jurgen

They do, or at least used to for the larger ones.

Re: Drill bit suggestions?

Re: Advice on buying a welder

Re: Punching Many Narrow Holes in Thin Metal

Re: Punching Many Narrow Holes in Thin Metal

Re: Better helmet design- concussion prevention

Re: Better helmet design- concussion prevention

Re: Better helmet design- concussion prevention

Re: Concussions and CTE

Re: rotary tool attachment

Re: Concussions and CTE

Re: Sources on belt grinders-

Re: Question on ventilating a garage

Re: Tinning rivets?

Re: Where to get ferric chloride?

Re: Where to get ferric chloride?

Re: Drill doctor no longer sharpens properly

Drill doctor no longer sharpens properly

Re: Hot work setup

Re: Deburring tumbler

Re: Deburring tumbler

Re: 3D printer time wanted

Re: Saftey shop tips... please add if you have some.

Re: Fighting after back injury - your experiences?

Re: Heat treating, cleaning and polishing scales in 4130.

Re: Heat treating, cleaning and polishing scales in 4130.

Re: Any EE's or scrounge meisters in the haus?

Re: Any EE's or scrounge meisters in the haus?

Re: Repeated heating of heat treated steel

Re: How do you form one-piece hourglass gauntlets?

Re: How do you form one-piece hourglass gauntlets?

Re: How do you form one-piece hourglass gauntlets?

Re: How do you form one-piece hourglass gauntlets?

Re: A small bit of engraving...

Re: A small bit of engraving...

Re: Slotted rivet punch for Whitney's?