The Armour Archive

I was considering starting a scale armour, but had a few concerns about the method by which I should produce the scales.

At first, I thought about cutting the steel into strips, then slicing them into individual scales.

It seems to me that I might make a rectangular punch and die with the proper dimensions, then grind off the corners of the scales to shape them. I should be able to get some rectangular pipe from a hardware store without difficulty. It's the production of the die that I have trouble solving.

Anyone else have any ideas?

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They're MY penguins! I paid for them, and I'll let them out if I wanna! ~DC~

Yes, someone please answer this, I just asked the same question over on the RAT board concerning a lorica squamata.

Hi guys, making a punch to cut the scales is deffinitly the way to go, although it's not a practicle "at home" project, unless you have a machine shop at home. I made a lorica squamata for a customer a few years ago and I want to make more as I've been very happy with the results. With that in mind I've been getting some quotes on having a punch made or, alternately, having the work of puching farmed out as some folks are doing with lamellar. On the suite I made I had the metal cut into rectangles by a fabricator I deal with and thenI rounded the corners with a grinder. That part actually went pretty quick compared to marking and punching the attatchment holes (5 per scale @660 scales.) I hope to have all my quotes together and a descision made within the next couple of months. If yu'd be interested in buying punchrd scales let me know and I'll let you know when I have a handle on costs.

Unless you already have a very large press or punch, your best bet will probably be to cut out the scales. Make yourself some jigs so that the shear depth is automatic if you dont want to line everything up each time. Do the same to line up your hole punch. You will need quite a few tones of force to punch that size of plate.

If you have a straight shear or a beverly, prodection shouldnt be too slow.

Good luck,
Jacob