Cuting scales quick cheap and painlessly

Buran · Post by **Buran** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 1:49 pm

I have need to make a scale armor corselet, not for SCA combat use. I am wondering what would be the cheapest and most efficient way to cut brass scales. Would it be worthwhile to invest in Beverly shears? Can I make do with airplane shears? Is there some powered attachment - like a cutoff wheel - that would be worthwhile? Thanks!!!

Ivo · Post by **Ivo** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 1:59 pm

Hello.

If you have a metal shop nearby that has this huge sheet shearing device, have them cut shallow strips for you. From these you can cut (or have cut) small rectangles. Build yourself some tool to clamp 10 or 20 of them together and drill these packs in one go. Then shape by hand.

Regards

Ivo

Buran · Post by **Buran** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:46 pm

Thanks, I'll see what they charge.

I wonder if it would be cheaper than getting my own cutter...

Ivo · Post by **Ivo** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 2:50 pm

A friend of mine had his steel scales laser-cut. Cost him about 50 Eurocent each. If youÃ‚Â´ve got some laser type near you, ks them what you can do aforehand, so they donÃ‚Â´t charge you preparation time (my friend had to have them do all the computer stuff)

Ivo

Thomas Powers · Post by **Thomas Powers** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 6:39 pm

Buran, until you tell us how thick they are and if the metal has any special properties, (spring bronze, silicon bronze, etc) we can't tell you what type of shears will work best.

Thomas

Buran · Post by **Buran** » Mon Mar 21, 2005 7:50 pm

I'll get back to you on the thickness.

Buran · Post by **Buran** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:41 pm

I'll be following the info on the Legio XX site.

They give a range of .020" to .032" in thickness. Apparently that's pretty thin, like less than 20 gage?[/url]

T. Finkas · Post by **T. Finkas** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 6:55 pm

Buran,

I am guessing you have checked out my recent thread on brass scales. I will be paying less than 10 cents apiece. The thicknesses are .02" for plain and .025" for polished. With a reasonable amount of effort, they can be cut with tinsnips. That might give you an idea of what to expect if you are making your own from scratch.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Tim

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:49 pm

Anybody got any pics of their scale amour?
That stuff looks damn cool in the old illustrations.

The sheet metal shop cutting strips is a good bet.

Hal

Buran · Post by **Buran** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:21 pm

Thanks, that seems to be a good option to me, although putting a stack of metal under a bandsaw has occured to me. What about the rounded lower margins?