Mac, I am continuously amazed by your drawings - if I could only freehand diagram things even half as well. . . gave it an honest effort many years ago and just couldn't get the knack for it no matter how hard I tried.
Question/thought on diagram 2C (Wade's originals) vs. 2B - is the little angled cut at the back corner join of the
sleeve perhaps there as a means to ease tension on the links at that corner when the arms are extended fully forward? 2B would seem more simple/straightforward to build, but maybe that little detail in the originals is meant to keep the back of the armpit from unexpectedly blowing out?
Mac wrote:If I changed anything, it would be to lengthen the upper arm by two columns, and take about three columns off the forearm. I'm not sure it is worth the effort for so small a change.
Humbly, the decision to either do or not do this I believe comes down to the very point of the entire exercise. If the point is to exemplify how the tailoring can be done "in the field" using existing raw materials by the end user/customer, then I don't think it is needed - those few details will probably be modified by whomever is doing the tailoring to fit the specific person the sleeves would be for.
On the other hand, if the point of this exercise is to create a prototype to be shipped back to India and tell them, "Make THIS!". . . think of it this way: You have Wade's originals in hand in front of you - primary/original source. You now have your prototype - a "copy" with a few variations, for various reasons. The factory will now be asked to make a copy of the "copy" - again, probably with a few variations, for various reasons. Say the factory makes a prototype ("copy of a copy") that is then finalized and rolled out to the rank-and-file workers (humans making things by human hands with human error and all that entails) to make now a "copy of a copy of a copy". . . and we all know very well how that goes. . . So, in short, if the goal is a direct prototype to be used to build from - even (and maybe more importantly) if the scale is changed later in the process, starting with most exacting prototype would have the best chance of producing the best possible final product for a ready-made, no adjustments necessary, off the peg item?
Cheers to the folks taking the time to go to all this trouble in any case!