How to make a muscle breastplate?

ender701 · Post by **ender701** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 8:00 am

Hello friends!
Does anyone have any experience in making a greek or roman style muscle breastplate? mainly from steel. I know it would take a combination of dishing and raising, i was just curious if anyone had any pointers or helpful tips they could pass on. Thanks in advance!

freiman the minstrel · Sat Oct 30, 2004 7:53 pm

As far as I know, Dishing and raising are the same thing.

I don't know how skilled a metalworker you are, but if you are not already skilled, then learning to shape armor that would count as a decent muscled breastplate is far more expensive than buying a good musclulatora from an established armorer. Both in time and money. If you are not already a good metal sculptor, the price in time and money is way too high.

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Thomas H · Post by **Thomas H** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:13 pm

dishing and raising are completely different techniques:
dishing involves pushing stretching the metal into a dish or concave former while raising involves copresing OVER a stake to thicken the metal.

Lord Ogier · Post by **Lord Ogier** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:27 pm

Of course you could always do something that is late period like this:

[img]http://www.ogiers.org/images/LoricaMusculata.jpg[/img]

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 9:34 pm

AaronT. made a couple like this:
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/h ... /vrah2.avi
Warning this is a large file, a 3.7Mb movie that only last about 13 seconds.

Or: you could pound it down into some shapes in a log stump.
Bouge it out on a flat piece of steel.
Planish it out over various mushroom domes and stakes.
Roll or turn the edges.
Grind and finish.

Lots of folks make em. They are fun.

Halberds

Kristoffer · Post by **Kristoffer** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:32 pm

I want that machine. Give it to me. Now.

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Sat Oct 30, 2004 11:43 pm

Buhahahahahahahahaha.....................

Russ Thomas · Post by **Russ Thomas** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 7:09 am

I have built several muscled cuirasses over the years,unfortunately I cannot show you any pictures of them because all the pictures of my earlier work were destroyed in a fire.However,if there are any pictures available anywhere from the Shakespeares Globe theatre ( Bankside), production of 'Julius Ceasar' or 'Anthony and Cleopatra',I made those,the helmets etc. too.
They are tricky to make successfully,however,making them as they are made in the picture that Lord Ogier has posted makes them considerably easier,ie.three pieces,this saves you the trouble of having to 'raise' in the sides to create the waist.Basically , all the parts can be blocked (dished),from the inside.The only work that has to be done from the outside is the plannishing, which can be a bit tricky if the musclature is very well defined. As always, the backplate is much more difficult to make than the front !
Unfortunately, the last one that I made ,for Brutus in one of the above productions, was described in the paper (The Evening Standard),as, "He put on his plastic breastplate' true it was neat ,and it was blued,but looking like plastic ? ....Those critics really know how to hurt a guy ! :cry:

By the way Thomas,raising is NOT done "to thicken the metal",this can at the edges be a consequence if not done carefully,but raising is carried out so as not to stretch and thin the metal as is done in blocking.It can ,with skill ,be done admittedly,but this is not the primary reason.

Regards as ever,

Happy metal pounding :wink:

Russ

ender701 · Post by **ender701** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 8:34 am

thanks you for the input and advice. I do have some metal sculpting experience, having made a face mask for a kabuto once and a set of one piece wrap around 16th century couters. There are some dishing forms in the shop, im just worried of trying to dish 2 depressions, ie: abdominals, in the dishes will flatten out each other. I suppose i could just light dish then use a ball stake and raise it the rest of the way. One more problem i see is getting those defined edges im always seeing in the muscles, also as in the abs and rib muscles. I did see an armourer on ebay selling commisions to make a musculata a few months back- Does anyone know of this armourer and his current status? I could, given enough time, probably make my own, but with work entering the busy season, i find that free time fading away! Thanks again guys for your help and response!

Russ Thomas · Post by **Russ Thomas** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 10:26 am

Sorry, I realise that my last post didn't actually say much about making them,more about tales of woe ,about making them!

They are as I said difficult to get right,but look great when done ! Biggest I have ever done was for an opera singer who was 6'4" with a 60" chest , and that one was gold plated !!

I do not know who wrote the ebay advert,but something like a commissioned muscled cuirass I would definately go to one of the 'better' armourers,who are probably not offering their services on ebay! Mark at Clang armoury or William Hurt spring to mind as likely sources for a good job on something like this ,and at a reasonable price too.If you need,or want, their addresses drop me a line and I will happily forward them to you.
If you were definately going to try and 'go it alone',then one thing that I would suggest is that you block the whole thing on wood and not steel forms.The musclature wants to be crisp,but not too crisp.Wood is easier to work on for things like this.

Incidently, if memory serves me correctly the cuirass that Lord Ogier has posted has a plaque in gold inside which states that the whole armour was completed in TWO months !! :shock:

It was made by Bartolomeo Campi in Pesaro, Italy in 1546,either for the Duke of Urbino or for the Emperor Charles V.

Two months.........mutter,mutter,mutter.........

Regards as ever,

Russ

Lord Ogier · Post by **Lord Ogier** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 12:28 pm

Greetings,

The cuirass that I pictured above was made for Guidobaldo II Della Rovere, Duke of Urbino.

Also, Yes, the armour was completed in two months by Bartolomeo Campi at the wishes of his prince.

Kristoffer · Post by **Kristoffer** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 1:04 pm

I know that Alan Bauldree has made a **very** nice 2 piece musculata. It was on his old site.. Lion nipples.. and shiny... mmmm...

AB Hammer · Post by **AB Hammer** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 4:01 pm

How about this one. I did it all by hand hammering.

http://creationtime.com/abbsofsteel02.GIF

Oh yes Halberds, I like that air hammer would you have plans for it? I would love to have something like that when my arms get tired.

AB Hammer

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 5:07 pm

Thanks AB, it is really great for roughing things out.
Did i mention with a change of the dies it turns into a very controllable planisher.

Their are no plans. The electronic controller PCB was designed and built by Chupa and I don't have a clue how it works. All I know is it has 3 very comfortable settings.

Sorry,

Hal

sarnac · Post by **sarnac** » Sun Oct 31, 2004 8:51 pm

ABHAMMER wrote:How about this one. I did it all by hand hammering.

http://creationtime.com/abbsofsteel02.GIF

Oh yes Halberds, I like that air hammer would you have plans for it? I would love to have something like that when my arms get tired.

AB Hammer

Alan...

is that Valharic's???

Halbreds.... what would you charge for someting like that????
I am a big guy.... wide chested so it would be larger than normal...
but I am looking for one in steel or leather.

Melwyn · Post by **Melwyn** » Mon Nov 01, 2004 10:34 am

http://creationtime.com/abbsofsteel02.GIF

That's all hand-hammered? Nice. Smooth. Can't examine it closely from the photo but looks like impressive, well balanced craftsmanship from here!

Mel

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Thu Nov 04, 2004 5:37 am

[/quote]Halbreds.... what would you charge for someting like that????
I am a big guy.... wide chested so it would be larger than normal...
but I am looking for one in steel or leather.[/quote]

Sarnac,

I have never commissioned one, so I am not sure of the cost;
although AaronT. made a couple like this one in progress.
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/h ... splate.jpg
Any deals you make are your business.
I no longer have any apprentices.... I relinquish my title as shop master.
I am no longer qualified to have apprentices and have failed as their mentor.

From now on: Anyone in my shop will be referred to as: **insert name here**.... or shop monkeys.

Halberds

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How to make a muscle breastplate?

How to make a muscle breastplate?

Muscled cuirass....

Thank you guys!

muscled cuirass