The Armour Archive

I'm currently working on my first ever piece of plate armor (though i've had plenty of experience in chainmail), using Clang's mitten gauntlets as a pattern -- http://www.armourarchive.org/patterns/gauntlet_clang/ -- and I have three questions. 1--Where does the piece labeled "2 of 8" go, it shows no spots for riveting, and I'm quite confused about it. 2--This will probably sound silly (remember, i'm a newbie), but should i rivet before or after i have shaped the metal? 3--Do the rivets on both ends of piece number one overlap to close it, or am i mistaken (and if so, where do they go)? Any help would be appreciated, and thanks for reading.

Okay, this is just a guess, but I believe the 2 of 8 piece in question is the piece that goes between the metacarpal (The part over the back of your hand) and the cuff, sometimes called a rider I think, and that's what I'll refer to it as. The reason for no holes is that for proper articulation, you'll need to hold the other two pices in place with their pre-drilled holes and use them to mark exactly where you need the holes on the rider. It ensures that you won't stress out after predrilling all the holes, shaping the pieces and then realizing that nothing fits together (Don't laugh, it's happened to me ).

For question #2, rivet after shaping. Works much nicer. See #1...

For question #3, , yes, the single holes on the extreme ends overlap to allow a rivet closure. Don't overlap the holes that attach to piece #2, however... that would be bad...

Hope I helped.

Thank you very much for the help, i think you're right on piece number 2, after looking at it carefully, as well as the rest. This raises two other questions for me, what should i shape the pieces around (I think a shallow wooden bowl for "dishing", not sure)? I'm afraid i'll cut them all out and wind up ruining my metal in the shaping process. I also take it that you implied I drill all my holes AFTER shaping the metal? Once again, sorry for all the questions, but I don't have much money and can't afford goofing up the metal i bought.

For shaping, it appears that most of the shaping on this project is bending, so you'll want to use a deadblow hammer (rawhide, rubber mallet, ect.) over a smaller tree limb or larger diameter pipe. You'll need to dish a bit where plates articulate to avoid gapping, and that's what your dish is for.

I suppose I wan't very clear on the drilling. It is easier to drill in the flat pieces of metal, so you'll want to drill out all the premarked holes on the pattern. Then, after shaping, you'll use the predrilled holes to find out where the other ones should go.

Don't be sorry for asking! That's what the AA is here for, and you may not just be helping yourself.