The Armour Archive

Thought I'd throw up a couple of shots of what I'm working on for my new harness for this season.

I really should have ground my crosspien down alot more to use as a raising hammer... Oh well, live an learn.

yes Hal this was mostly done with your tools

Getting the central crease was a pain (funny that as I dont have any actually creasing tools setup as yet )

Those who winge about not being able to do compund curves without oxy/acet or atleast a proper LPG setup heres what you can do mostly cold with a poxy little propane torch that takes a good 2 min to get 18 gauge to a dull red

[img]http://photos-g.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2399/210/106/756549289/n756549289_1593550_7855.jpg[/img]
From the front

[img]http://photos-c.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2399/210/106/756549289/n756549289_1593546_6675.jpg[/img]
My woeful hammer work

[img]http://photos-h.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2399/210/106/756549289/n756549289_1593551_8143.jpg[/img]
And from the front after some more work

[img]http://photos-d.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v2399/210/106/756549289/n756549289_1593547_6967.jpg[/img]
Testing the front and back halves together before trimming - note propane torce

If you have access to fire/refractory bricks,they are cheap,and help hold your heat. Even just a few can help reflect the heat towards your workpiece. Just a thought if you don't have any yet.

Richard

prutty cool, i like it.

i did my greaves all cold and they look prutty good to. took some nice heavy hitting though lol

Looking good, Hey Hals creasing stake will make those flutes easy for you, Its like its magic.

Take care

Pitbull

Pitbull Armory wrote:Looking good, Hey Hals creasing stake will make those flutes easy for you, Its like its magic.

Take care

Pitbull

Yeah, just got his fluter at the moment which isnt too bad for sharpening them up, just used a crosspien and a line ground into a stump used the crosspien like a blunt chisel (as all my chisel are sharp) and hammerd it down with another hammer)

[edit:] athough they are supposed to be creased not fluted [/edit]

Redrook: I hadn't thought of that, when I get a little money my way I might try that, that said when I get some money behind me I'll be getting the hose and regulater to be able to use my LPG torch might still try firebricks though.

I think you are doing damn good with just a small newbie stake set.
You picked one of the more difficult projects.

Some of the places are hard to do with out a Y-Stake.

As a make shift tool one can clamp a 2 by 4 wood on edge to the work bench.
cut out a saddle about 1 1/2" from the end.
Slide your greave over this.
Then use your raising hammer in the cut out dip.

Thanks for the progress pics.
Keep em coming.

Hal

Halberds wrote:I think you are doing damn good with just a small newbie stake set.
You picked one of the more difficult projects.

Some of the places are hard to do with out a Y-Stake.

As a make shift tool one can clamp a 2 by 4 wood on edge to the work bench.
cut out a saddle about 1 1/2" from the end.
Slide your greave over this.
Then use your raising hammer in the cut out dip.

Thanks for the progress pics.
Keep em coming.

Hal

not too far off what I have been doing with the stump and yes it had occured to me how much easier this would be with a Y-stake. Never the less, having seen the midwest armouring dvd where doug strong (I hink it was and someone else whos name escapes me) hot raised a greave over a T-stake I figured as I do need full plate legs this comming season that I'd give the pipe stake you gave me a go.

With the limited heat at my disposal its alot of hard work and the metal isnt flowing quite as I'd like it to (as you can see in the closeup pic) but the stake performed admirably (especiallyu as I no longer have a vise and have had to improvise a mounting method) so all up I'm rather proud of how they came out, even if they arent quite as shaped as I'd like.

Amazing what one can do with just a short piece of pipe on a stick.
How did you mount the 1" shank with your vice broken?

Best of luck on planishing them out.
You might bouge them from the inside first, over your large mushroom stake and pipe.

Then planish them from the outside using the dome stake.
Your spoon stake will help in the very tight curved areas.

We would like to see more progress pics too.

Hal

Halberds wrote:Amazing what one can do with just a short piece of pipe on a stick.
How did you mount the 1" shank with your vice broken?

Hal

Your not going to like the answer :S

As the shank is hollow I simply put it over the fluting stake, its not a perfect fit but itr lets me work until the hardware store gets stock to replace my vise.

MOre pics as soon as the missus will let me down to the workshop which at this rate wont be until thursday at the earliest... damn house inspection I have a harness to build

You can damage your fluting stake and pedestal doing that.

Do not make tooling longer than it has to be.

How about making a hole in your stump the pipe stake can stick into?

I can't believe you did that.
It must of been over 2 ft. tall.
Dang dude... Talk about a wobbly stake.

Don't do that.

Hal

It was crazy high but surprisingly stable.

I'll look into sinking a hole in one of my stumps that'll take a stake, not sure if ive got the tools to pull that off, but if I can then thats certainly a better option.

One can make a big hole in their dishing stump with the electric drill.
Go as deep as you can with a 3/8 bit and use the drill as a side cutter.
Drill 4 holes where they should be then hog out the rest.

A wood chisel could help to clean up this mess.
Also you can burn out the bottom with your little propane torch.

Best of luck on your greavs I like them so far.

Hal

Ps: There is a Silver Deming drill bit at the hardware store.
It has a 1-1/2 drill with a 3/8 shank.
Now that would make a nice hole in the stump. Yes?

It would if I had money to buy one yes

Ended up improvising withj a 3.75mm drill bit and a cold chisel. not the right tools for the job but are adaptable, and its not like I actually need my chisel sharp so blunting it isnt an issue. (I intend to blunt it for fluting/creasing anyway)

More pics omming later as I was able to steal 2 hours in the shop. I consider the shaping on the front half of that grave finished so Ive been planishing and sanding it back (I wish I had a linisher I really do, orbitals dont work anywhere near as well), once thats done I'll be doing the same on the back.

Probably a little hard to tell but this is now about 20% through linishing (I dont have a slack belt sander so this stage always takes me forever)

I think a little more time spent bouging and planishing woul go a long way to helping the sanding step. try and find a wooden mallet to even out a couple of the bigger bumps then planish with a nice mirror finish hammer.

It helps a crapload, honest!

The ankle bit of these is tough to planish since there aren't many shapes which match what you want very closely. You might have some success planishing from the inside. Take a cheapo ball pein and re-shape it to the curve you need, place the outside of the piece on an anvil face and tap away. Use your fingers to search for lumps since the reflections can decieve your eyes.