Some new tools, and a new project - hourglass gauntlets

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Hey all, had a very busy weekend here. Of the long list of things that I got to do this weekend, one of my favorites was that I got three and a half glorious hours of uninterrupted shop time.

So, I got to work these for a while. I shaped up and polished the brass pieces framing the knuckles and thumbs.

After finishing all the sanding, wire brushing, and polishing, I took a hard look at the gauntlets themselves, and decided that I really didn't like the harsh transition between metacarpal and cuff. Also, the wrist opening was too small to accommodate both my gloved hand and padding...and since I decided that I like the idea of a bit of shock absorption between my wrist and what was essentially a blunt steel wedge, I went ahead and reworked that area.

I worked hot, trying to emulate the lovely curved lines that are evident on Mac's pieces. I also went over the cuffs themselves with both dishing and raising hammer, working inside and out, to give them a subtle tulip shape instead of the straight cone shape they had before.

So, at any rate, that's my long overdue progress on the gauntlets. Trust me, I've been far more anxious than anyone to see these move along towards completion.

[Halberds]

So far so good. I sure like thoes thumb tips.
Thanks for the progress pics.

Hal

[Mac]

KI,

You may be getting a bit ahead of yourself by polishing the brass before it is installed. I find that no matter how carefully it is shaped, there is always some mallet work to get it really sitting properly. What I do is get the brass fitting roughly, and then hammer it to the steel as I rivet it down. I start with the brass dead annealed. I do all my grinding and polishing of the brass after it is riveted in place and fitting as closely as I can get it. It is a bit fussy to do the grinding without accidentally touching the steel, but the results are good. This all supposes flush rivets, of course, but you were already on board with that, right?

Mac

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Oh, yes. Definitely flush set rivets. I've some nice little brass wire nails that I will be using. Flat heads to the inside, peened flush outside.

Interesting...my thought process had been to get the brass polished, and the wigglework done, then rivet it on. But now that you mention it, polishing after the riveting would make the flush rivets much nicer, as well as provide a stronger base for the wigglework. Do you personally work from one end of the brass to the other when affixing it, or do you start in the middle and work your way to either side? You mentioned that you typically used a leather mallet for the brass fitting, yes? I've a rawhide and several plastic mallets I might be able to use for that purpose. The plastic mallets mar the face of the brass, but that won't matter if they're polished after the fact. This brings to mind another question: I was going to polish the steel before attaching the brass, to ensure an even finish and avoid nasty areas that couldn't be reached, like the valleys of the knuckles. I was basing this on an extant bascinet that had a mirror polish underneath where a coronet had once been riveted. Would my thinking be correct on that point?

[Mac]

KI,

Sorry, I missed this the other day.

Make sure those brass nails are the right sort of brass. You want something that will pein easily. I use soft brass wire for rivets. It's whatever gauge is just under 3/32".

It will definitely be easier to do the engraving after the brass is installed. If your rivets are soft brass, you will be able to engrave righto over them.

When I go to rivet the brass down, sometimes I start at one end and other times I start in the middle. It all depends. In any case, I do not drill for the next rivet until the brass is set down nicely. When the whole strip is riveted down , I planish lightly with the mallet.

I use a rawhide mallet, but any mallet that will not actually dent the brass will work.

I polish the steel before putting on the brass.

Here are a couple of threads where I say something riveting on brass borders.

viewtopic.php?t=94776&
viewtopic.php?t=84980&

Mac

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Thank you! All of that is very helpful.

I thought that I remembered seeing rivets on extant gauntlets that punched through the engraving, like one would expect to see if the piece had been engraved first, and riveted afterwards. However, when I went back to look, all I saw were engraved heads, flush heads on un-engraved brass, and obvious dome headed repairs. Guess I should have looked a little closer; I'll remember that for my next project.

[Halberds]

So way back machine, how did they turn out.
Got any finished pics for the pic hungry hive?

Hal

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Hey Hal! Thanks for thinking of me.

Funny that you bumped up this thread...I just this evening gathered up all the pieces of this project from storage and brought it home. I not fifteen minutes ago was talking to my wife about finishing these up now that I've got them in the shop again.

So, no pics tonight. BUT! I will have more pics soon. All the steel is shaped; I'd waxed all the pieces before I put them in storage, so there's no rust to clean up...just need a final polish. The decorative brass needs wigglework and punching. Other than that, it's just assembly that's left.

[Nicknizh]

I'm looking forward to it.

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Took the metacarpals out to the shed this evening. Sanded out the raising marks, then wirebrushed and ran them through the buffer. I'm not a huge fan of the over-polished look on them, but it'll keep the rust off them while I polish up the finger lames. Right before assembly I'll knock down the shine with a green scrubbie.

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Small update this morning; all the finger lames and brass gadlings for the right gauntlet have received their final polish. Need to sand and polish the fingertips and thumbs.

I am also going to go back and refinish the metacarpal plates. I was being lazy, and had skipped straight from an 80 grit to the wire wheel, then the buffer. Going to go back and sand it with 120, and maybe 240 as well, then repolish. A good reminder to do it right the first time. I let my enthusiasm for finally carving out some shop time make me sloppy.

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Whelp, many small chunks of time later, progress has been made.


Setting aside dedicated shop time each evening was the smartest decision I've made in a while. Putting a work lamp out in the shed is a close second.




As of this evening, all the major pieces for the pair of gauntlets have received their final polish. I still need to make the brass decorative pieces that go around the wrist and the cuff. However, since neither of those pieces interfere with any other, I'm going to go ahead and start assembling these.



Click the image above if you want a full-size picture.


I'm extremely excited to finally see these come together, and I can't wait to jump into the file- and wiggle-work. Hope to post again soon with more progress photos.

[Halberds]

Oh boy! now I am excited.

Be sure and take your time at assembly and wiggle work.
Measure twice and punch once.

Hal

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Glad I can provide some entertainment, Hal.

Took your advice on really nailing the assembly and spent half the evening tweaking the fit of my thumb pieces for the right gauntlet. A lot of time fitting, barely hammering a curve deeper or shallower, filing off a bit of an edge, stretching the metal to have enough length for an articulation, etc.


The range of motion is good, if a bit stiff. I hope that the motion will break in a bit as I work it, and once the glove is sewn in.
I also wanted to make sure that I got the thumb attached and working, because of advice earlier in the thread about getting the thumb attached before doing the fingers, since the orientation of the thumb will determine how the rest of the fingers need to lay.


The other half of the evening was spent on a bit of fun with the brass border.

Again, following advice up-thread, I annealed the brass nails to make my life a bit easier. This should also pay off when I get to the wigglework.


Since these are being riveted flush to the brass, I chamfer'd the hole to give the rivet some headroom.


Also, in this case I cut the length of the rivet such that it was twice the combined thickness of the steel and brass. I probably could have gotten away with less, but I wanted to make sure that there was enough rivet to both swell in the hole, as well as upset into a broad enough head to fill the chamfer.


So, here's the first one. Little scuffed, but that'll come out with a bit of polishing.


Followed Mac's method of tapping the brass with a rawhide mallet to pull it a bit tighter to the steel, then worked my way out from the center to one edge.



Then, reversed direction and worked my way out to the other edge.


And, just a shot of the inside. The nail heads had been slightly domed, but flattened nicely into broader flatheads during the peening.


I forgot to snap a shot of it, but once I got this brass border riveted in place, I went back and ground the edge until it matched the steel underneath exactly. I'll get a picture of it tomorrow.

[Kalle Ommer]

Keegan, this is really looking good. In fact I am now thinking about to nice up my own unadorned gauntlets with a little blink myself.

Keep those pictures coming, they are an inspiration

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Hey thanks Kalle! You've got a surplus of fantastic armor on your side of the pond to compare this against, so that means a lot to me.


As promised, here is the shot of the brass edge, ground to match the steel. It'll be polished and smoothed later.



I forgot that my wife - and by extension, I - are helping out with a friend's wedding this weekend, so I'll be lucky to see our house at all in the next several days. I plan to get back out in the shop on Sunday, however.

[Nicknizh]

I like the elaborate details of your gauntlets, Keegan, all these creases make it look very good, I also like your fingertips.

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Thanks Nicknizh! I think these have been the most fun, and the second most aggravating, piece I've made.


Eugh, this week...anyway, got back in the shop this evening and got the other brass piece on the front edge.






There will be file work along the front edge of the finger and thumb openings, and the typical wigglework weaving along the entire length. I'm going to go ahead and take care of that before I attach the thumbs and fingers, because I don't want to fight for space with my file and chisel. After that, I'll get the thumb attached, then jump over to riveting the fingers to their leathers.

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Hm. I should have read my post here about doing the filework before attaching the thumb...no matter, I'll just put a piece of masking tape over the thumb to prevent any scuffing from an errant file.

So, In the middle of rearranging rooms in the house, rebuilding furniture, visiting my cousin in the hospital to congratulate her on their first baby, and grouting the bathroom tile, I snuck out to the shop and stole an hour.

Articulating the thumb was a nerve-wracking experience. I taped the thumb to my glove and shoved the gauntlet on, then just sat there staring at my hand for ten minutes while I flexed it back and forth, trying to figure out where I wanted to punch the rivet holes.

I punched the hole closest to the web of my hand first, because it needed the least movement to adequately open and close my hand. With the hole in the gauntlet punched, I stuck a fine point sharpie through the hole and opened and closed my hand a few times to give me the arc I needed to punch out of the trunk of the thumb. I went with the old nibble and file method. Only took about a minute to get the hole cleaned up.




After I had that in place, I repeated the procedure on the far articulation point. This had a much longer arc.



Before I riveted the pieces together, I wanted to make sure that my range of motion felt comfortable and natural, with no awkward pinching or twisting. So, I shoved the pieces together with unclipped rivets, taped them in place to my glove, and grabbed an axe for a few swings.



Grip was extremely comfortable and secure. The metal didn't bind against the haft, but it definitely felt like there was almost no chance of losing the weapon.



I also took a little video, to demonstrate the range of motion that I was getting on my thumb.

<--Click image to watch.

After that little experiment (that, frankly, left me grinning), I went ahead and trimmed and peened the rivets in place.



My wife's family is coming over tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to squirrel away, but I hope to make some more progress in the morning...either bringing the left gauntlet up to speed, or beginning to rivet the finger lames to their respective leathers.

I discovered that I could not adequately open my hand to grip wider things like a cup, but there is more than enough movement to be able to grab hafts and shield straps, and enough dexterity in the thumb for fine control and picking up a pen. We'll see how much of that dexterity remains when the fingers and knuckle rider are in place.

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Small update. Added the file and wigglework to the brass edge of the right gauntlet.





Once the sharpie lines have been removed and the face repolished, the lines should stand out much more clearly.

[Halberds]

That is some dang nice wiggle work.
For something so simple, it produces quite striking results.

Thanks for the update pics.

Hal

[Ckanite]

I love how it looks, but what exactly is wiggle work?

[Keegan Ingrassia]

You take a small, sharp chisel...about 1/16" to 3/16" in diameter...and walk the sharp edge across the metal. Corner of chisel, across, pivot on the opposite corner, across, pivot, across...it's called wiggle work, because you're wiggling your hand back and forth to walk the little chisel along. Most people use a thick piece of wire, glued in a little bit of Dowell, for their chisel. I took a set of micro screwdrivers and sharpened them.

[Mac]

Wiggle work is one of engraving's most closely guarded secretes. In fact the Museum of London's "Dress Accessories" book shows how to do it wrong in order to conceal the truth. Later in that same book, they even invent a totally unworkable process for "opposed triangular punched decoration" just so you will not see that it is really just another sort of wiggle work. Cunning, these archeologists.

This video shows a guy doing a practice piece which includes wiggle work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmkytzTOZdc Just do like he is doing.....except don't leave your other hand in the path of the graver. It's really that simple.


Here's another video where a guy tries to sell engraving lessons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSIn5qbfzzs He shows wiggle (wriggle) work between 1:40 and 2:00, and then again at 2:36 through 2:43. He says that it has been used "for over a century"; which shows that you don't have to know much about the history of your craft to be good at it.

Mac

[Ckanite]

Very interesting and as always, very informative! Thanks Mac!

@ Keegan, I may just have to make some of those. Can you get me some close ups of those heads? I'm very interested... I love how these are coming out and I can't wait to see the finished product!

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Ckanite, poke me about the photo this evening and I'll get it for you. But really, it's a chisel shape. Flat and square, with a sharpened, beveled face.

[Mac]

I sharpen my wiggle work tools to a 45 degree angle like I would any other graver. The edge is asymmetrical, you understand, and the bevel is up.

Mac

[Ckanite]

Will do Keegan. I'm just curious as to how they're supposed to look before I tear apart a few freebee's that I've acquired in the last few months... I am also playing at the idea of getting some drill rod and making a few gravers and chasing tools...

[Ckanite]

Any chance of getting some close ups?

[Keegan Ingrassia]

Here you go, Ckanite. Hope these work for you. Looks like I need to reprofile mine; the corners have begun to round out.

[Ckanite]

I think that'll do just fine! Thanks man! Now I have to start cutting and grinding it try and make something workable...

[Mac]

Here are a couple of pics of gravers I use.

This is just a normal flat graver. It looks like I have it sharpened a bit blunter than the 45 degrees I said earlier. I may have done that so that it would not chip its edge on steel. In any case angle is not critical, so long as it is sharp.



Flat gravers come in many widths.



This regular old square graver I modified to cut the "opposed punched triangles" of Dress Accessories fame. The notch is cut in with a dremel cutoff wheel. If you were making this graver from unhardened stock you could cut that notch with a saw or a slitting file.


This is a small sample I just whacked up. My lines are not very smooth.....



Mac

[Keegan Ingrassia]

I dunno about smooth, but your engraving is much deeper and clearer than mine, Mac.


Here's this evening's progress. I polished up the brass on the right gauntlet, then gave the whole thing a thick coating of wax to protect it while I bring the left gauntlet up to speed.




And here's my stopping point for tonight. The left thumb has had its shape trued up (for the most part...) and articulated, and the first piece of brass attached, planished, sanded, and polished.

[Mac]

I dunno about smooth, but your engraving is much deeper and clearer than mine, Mac.

KI,

I think it's about the relationship between the lower facet and the axis of the tool. That determines what angle the tool gets presented to the work. If the lower facet is in line with the axis, the tool will bite at a shallower angle to the work. This will let it cut a bit more during the time it's going from one corner to the other.

Mac

[Mac]

This guy's got flat gravers in different widths for about 5 bucks each. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Muller-Flat-Car ... 19b817ba78



...and this style of handles will do just fine for wiggle work. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Set-of-8-Narrow ... 2ec188b89a



Treat your self to some gravers!

Mac