Armor repair basics

[Alex Baird]

What tools would you recommend for a basic shop setup to repair armor? Not so much make new stuff, but dismantle, un-dent, reshape to form, polish up and reassemble various pieces. Not, field repair, but a refurbish job.

I have basic field repair stuff, like leather strapping, assorted rivets, small bench vise, ball peen. I have a heavy duty bench, but no stump or such.

Would Halberd's Newbie Kit be a good start, or overkill? Anvil type? Vital hammer types? Polishing equipment?

[losthelm]

For the most part the tools that are useful vary depending on the project.

I like the harbor freight teardrop hammers and post dollies for dent removal.

a good leather punch and strap cutter are nessicarry if your replaceing a blown strap.

a good eletric drill can be useful with assorted accessories wire brush, sanding pads, sharp bits.

a section of rail and a good vice are also very useful for a number of repairs.

[Alex Baird]

The projects I'm contemplating right now are dent removal from a helm and fixing some beat-to-near-failure clamshell gaunts. Plus, taking apart some 5-piece knees for a good cleaning.

I've got a good set of power tools for woodworking and leather, so drill press, small lightweight bench grinder, clamps, strap cutter, leather punches, etc., I'm set on. What I'm lacking is efficient metal shaping tools; I've been hammering things over a pipe in my vise, for example. I'm not really looking to cut new metal or weld at this point.

[Konstantin the Red]

Mushroom stake or trailer hitch ball, then. Round off the edges of the flat on top at least, or take entire flat down into a shallow dome curvature. A tall enough 'shroom stake can reach into all kinds of awkward places for bouging a dent back to original curvature.

Your drill press will suffice for taking out rivets; an angle grinder of the smaller type is another efficient rivet remover. You can either drill a rivet head off or grind it. Wait 'til it cools afterwards; it will get quite hot.

Aside from your hard hammers, a soft whacker or two is wanted, such as a 32oz deadblow hammer or more expensively a Garland split-head with a rawhide face. Soft hammers can softly persuade articulated metal pieces to all assume the same curvature by hammering them together.

Keep that bit of pipe; it's serving well.

[Johann Lederer]

I have a set of the post dollies I bought on sale at HF. I friction mount them in a pipe to give more distance inside a helm sort of like this:


The dollie goes in the top and the others go in the rack...Mine is home made not Fournier