The Armour Archive

All,

I am on my 4th attempt at a decent-functional 16th Century articulated gorget and am obviously missing the idea of getting things aligned and properly shaped together.

Any play-by-play advice would be greatly appreciated.

Phillip

Phillip, get some pictures in front of us.

You're unhappy with... something... in the assembly of an articulated plate gorget. But you haven't told us what that something actually is!

Might as well tell us what went wrong or didn't go together in the first three attempts too. Toute exacte.

With all the mods and tweaks I have absolutely destroyed it

I am basically going back to formula here... and am looking for information on how it is done. I understand the basic shape-ology, but I need sequence and caveats etc...

there are some here that should be able to help, however many are probably at pennsic

The first thing I can think of is start from the top lame and work your way down. hinge the top lames together and have them fix with a pin or something. This will help give the rest of the lames structure. In your first round of fitting use rivets to hold the pieces together until you are happy with the shape and then fill the outside holes with dummy rivets and articulate using leather.
When you get to the shoulder parts they have way more shape than you think they do. I have made dozens of them and I put in more shape than I think it needs and I still don't get enough! Remember, you can always trim down excess, so don't get too set on your initial pattern. If you can get yourself a neck mandrel they can help lots with the shape. Jewelry supply places usually carry them but be warned, there are different kinds. Go for one that has a more gentle shape! I made this mistake and it was expensive. search around and you will see what I mean.
If you want to see pics of beautiful examples check out [url]ageofarmour.com[/url] for some of the prettiest ones I have found online.

hope that helps!
Estaban

Estaban,

That actually makes a great deal of sense!

I believe I may have started from the bottom up and made a royal mess of things.
I have never heard of a Neck Mandrel until now, but a quick google search, and they certainly would seem to be nearly indispensible for such an undertaking.

... and agreed on William Hurt's work. He is absolutely one of the best out there with the cleanest of lines.

I should add that I don't actually have a decent neck mandrel, but man would it be nice! It can certainly be done without one.
happy pounding!