Armoring

[SLAG]

I've noticed a stunning lack of threads about it so I figured I'd start one... well it was suggested that I start one here... so I can reach out and get in touch with people who enjoy making armor as much as I to...

[SLAG]

Bump.... s**t... i hope this doesn't die before I actually meet some people that know what they are talking about...

[Thalianost]

Awesome, another armorer! There are a few of us around here but I think we dont talk much because most of the topics are about knitting or sewing.

I mostly work with chainmaile though I have made a barrel helm and am working on a brigadine (plated vest). What kind of armor do you work with?

[Albino Sea Monkey]

SLAG

Bump.... s**t... i hope this doesn't die before I actually meet some people that know what they are talking about...

Textiles and Crafts is EXTREMELY slow-moving, so bumping is not allowed until your thread falls off the first page... which doesn't happen for DAYS, and sometimes WEEKS.

So just be patient, kay?
3nodding

I don't have the dexterity for chainmaille for some reason (too many little bits and pieces to put together, I guess!), but I love looking at and touching finished armor.

[SLAG]

Thalianost

Awesome, another armorer! There are a few of us around here but I think we dont talk much because most of the topics are about knitting or sewing.

I mostly work with chainmaille though I have made a barrel helm and am working on a brigadine (plated vest). What kind of armor do you work with?

Right now I work with maille but I go today to pick up a nice 55lb anvil so I can start on plate. As far as armor goes I have a chain-shirt and coif I got cheep on E-bay... it was supposed to be battle ready but the guy who made it used what looks to be either 16-18 gauge raw steel wire.. used dikes to cut them and hardly bothered to close some of the rings on the shirt... because all he did was cover it with some kind of oil and didn't properly finish the rings the thing rusted out and it took me like two weeks of soaking it in CLR and spraying it down with a powerful grease remover to just get the oil and most of the rust off. Then after I got it to where it wasn't 95% rust covering the rings I sprayed it down with black 'Rust reformer' paint by rustolium stuff works great... so now I have what I consider a training shirt so I can get used to wearing Chain for when I finally get enough free time to sit down and cut rings for my 8/2 shirt... That will probably be after I finish a few more 4/1 pieces for clients...

I don't do this proportionally but people have seen the belt I made for myself and want me to make them one... so in less than a month I will have sold my first piece for $90 and put that into going up to Harbor Freight to add to my tool box and maybe to TSC to get a half mile spool of wire.

[SLAG]

Albino Sea Monkey

SLAG

Bump.... s**t... i hope this doesn't die before I actually meet some people that know what they are talking about...

Textiles and Crafts is EXTREMELY slow-moving, so bumping is not allowed until your thread falls off the first page... which doesn't happen for DAYS, and sometimes WEEKS.

So just be patient, kay?
3nodding

I don't have the dexterity for chainmaille for some reason (too many little bits and pieces to put together, I guess!), but I love looking at and touching finished armor.

It takes practice when I first started out my work was sloppy... and if anything I think chainmaille takes more strength than dexterity... You just need a couple really good pares of needle nosed pliers and some decent rings to work with..I personally make my own form 14ga electric fence wire... It takes forever but it means that every scrap of chainmaille I produce really is hand made.

[Thalianost]

SLAG

Right now I work with maille but I go today to pick up a nice 55lb anvil so I can start on plate. As far as armor goes I have a chain-shirt and coif I got cheep on E-bay... it was supposed to be battle ready but the guy who made it used what looks to be either 16-18 gauge raw steel wire.. used dikes to cut them and hardly bothered to close some of the rings on the shirt... because all he did was cover it with some kind of oil and didn't properly finish the rings the thing rusted out and it took me like two weeks of soaking it in CLR and spraying it down with a powerful grease remover to just get the oil and most of the rust off. Then after I got it to where it wasn't 95% rust covering the rings I sprayed it down with black 'Rust reformer' paint by rustolium stuff works great... so now I have what I consider a training shirt so I can get used to wearing Chain for when I finally get enough free time to sit down and cut rings for my 8/2 shirt... That will probably be after I finish a few more 4/1 pieces for clients...

I don't do this proportionally but people have seen the belt I made for myself and want me to make them one... so in less than a month I will have sold my first piece for $90 and put that into going up to Harbor Freight to add to my tool box and maybe to TSC to get a half mile spool of wire.

Getting an anvil, huh? I'm jealous, I don't really have an anvil yet. I just have this little metal cylinder made of iron or steel, not sure which, probably steel. It works well enough for pounding rivets but it isn't big or heavy enough for shaping plates.

If you ever get rusty armor again, you could just clean it the old fashioned way: Stick it in a sack with lime and sand and have your squires toss it around for a while. Or if you don't have squires you could do it yourself, good exercise.

I don't know why but I never thought of making belts before, maybe I should try it.

As for my armor, right now I have a 6/1 hauberk and matching coif. They are made with rather large rings though, 14g. I am working on a 4/1 coif made with smaller rings, still 14g, and a 4/1 with larger rings to try to sell.

[Thalianost]

SLAG

Albino Sea Monkey

SLAG

Bump.... s**t... i hope this doesn't die before I actually meet some people that know what they are talking about...

Textiles and Crafts is EXTREMELY slow-moving, so bumping is not allowed until your thread falls off the first page... which doesn't happen for DAYS, and sometimes WEEKS.

So just be patient, kay?
3nodding

I don't have the dexterity for chainmaille for some reason (too many little bits and pieces to put together, I guess!), but I love looking at and touching finished armor.

It takes practice when I first started out my work was sloppy... and if anything I think chainmaille takes more strength than dexterity... You just need a couple really good pares of needle nosed pliers and some decent rings to work with..I personally make my own form 14ga electric fence wire... It takes forever but it means that every scrap of chainmaille I produce really is hand made.

It does take practice, but I think it's less strength or dexterity and more spacial reasoning skills, just to understand where everything goes.
Sea Monkey, if you are still interested, you might try starting out with larger rings just to get the hang of it.

[SLAG]

Thalianost

SLAG

Right now I work with maille but I go today to pick up a nice 55lb anvil so I can start on plate. As far as armor goes I have a chain-shirt and coif I got cheep on E-bay... it was supposed to be battle ready but the guy who made it used what looks to be either 16-18 gauge raw steel wire.. used dikes to cut them and hardly bothered to close some of the rings on the shirt... because all he did was cover it with some kind of oil and didn't properly finish the rings the thing rusted out and it took me like two weeks of soaking it in CLR and spraying it down with a powerful grease remover to just get the oil and most of the rust off. Then after I got it to where it wasn't 95% rust covering the rings I sprayed it down with black 'Rust reformer' paint by rustolium stuff works great... so now I have what I consider a training shirt so I can get used to wearing Chain for when I finally get enough free time to sit down and cut rings for my 8/2 shirt... That will probably be after I finish a few more 4/1 pieces for clients...

I don't do this proportionally but people have seen the belt I made for myself and want me to make them one... so in less than a month I will have sold my first piece for $90 and put that into going up to Harbor Freight to add to my tool box and maybe to TSC to get a half mile spool of wire.

Getting an anvil, huh? I'm jealous, I don't really have an anvil yet. I just have this little metal cylinder made of iron or steel, not sure which, probably steel. It works well enough for pounding rivets but it isn't big or heavy enough for shaping plates.

If you ever get rusty armor again, you could just clean it the old fashioned way: Stick it in a sack with lime and sand and have your squires toss it around for a while. Or if you don't have squires you could do it yourself, good exercise.

I don't know why but I never thought of making belts before, maybe I should try it.

As for my armor, right now I have a 6/1 hauberk and matching coif. They are made with rather large rings though, 14g. I am working on a 4/1 coif made with smaller rings, still 14g, and a 4/1 with larger rings to try to sell.

I have a large piece of I beam I was going to use but Harbor freight had an anvil on sale for $45 I couldn't pass it up... but between those two and a few bits of metal I'm gonna shape and get set up bars and pipes and such welded onto bar stock I should be able to get some plate pieces going... I figured I'd start with pauldrons... the thing that's proving hardest to get my hands on is a 3" diameter steel ball... to make a planishing stake... I have an idea as to how to improvise something to planish with... I'll post it here if it works."

[Thalianost]

Yeah, well the first armorers made their own tools as well. Even modern day armorers sometimes need to modify tools themselves to get exactly what they need. I have never heard of anyone using an I beam before, though i have heard of someone using a piece of railroad track. I would really like to get into real plate armor but I would feel bad putting all that money into it when I still have as many unfinished projects as I do.

The 3" ball, are you referring to a hammer or an actual ball? Because if it's a ball, which I assume you would use for bending bowl shapes, i had never heard of that method. i have heard of using a bowling dish, you may have more luck finding that.

[SLAG]

Thalianost

An actual ball... made of steel preferably... It's used for planishing... smoothing out the little hammer marks and dents caused by dishing out the plates... kind of like a fine tuning of the shape before tempering...

[chainmailleman]

SLAG

Thalianost

SLAG

Right now I work with maille but I go today to pick up a nice 55lb anvil so I can start on plate. As far as armor goes I have a chain-shirt and coif I got cheep on E-bay... it was supposed to be battle ready but the guy who made it used what looks to be either 16-18 gauge raw steel wire.. used dikes to cut them and hardly bothered to close some of the rings on the shirt... because all he did was cover it with some kind of oil and didn't properly finish the rings the thing rusted out and it took me like two weeks of soaking it in CLR and spraying it down with a powerful grease remover to just get the oil and most of the rust off. Then after I got it to where it wasn't 95% rust covering the rings I sprayed it down with black 'Rust reformer' paint by rustolium stuff works great... so now I have what I consider a training shirt so I can get used to wearing Chain for when I finally get enough free time to sit down and cut rings for my 8/2 shirt... That will probably be after I finish a few more 4/1 pieces for clients...

I don't do this proportionally but people have seen the belt I made for myself and want me to make them one... so in less than a month I will have sold my first piece for $90 and put that into going up to Harbor Freight to add to my tool box and maybe to TSC to get a half mile spool of wire.

Getting an anvil, huh? I'm jealous, I don't really have an anvil yet. I just have this little metal cylinder made of iron or steel, not sure which, probably steel. It works well enough for pounding rivets but it isn't big or heavy enough for shaping plates.

If you ever get rusty armor again, you could just clean it the old fashioned way: Stick it in a sack with lime and sand and have your squires toss it around for a while. Or if you don't have squires you could do it yourself, good exercise.

I don't know why but I never thought of making belts before, maybe I should try it.

As for my armor, right now I have a 6/1 hauberk and matching coif. They are made with rather large rings though, 14g. I am working on a 4/1 coif made with smaller rings, still 14g, and a 4/1 with larger rings to try to sell.

I have a large piece of I beam I was going to use but Harbor freight had an anvil on sale for $45 I couldn't pass it up... but between those two and a few bits of metal I'm gonna shape and get set up bars and pipes and such welded onto bar stock I should be able to get some plate pieces going... I figured I'd start with pauldrons... the thing that's proving hardest to get my hands on is a 3" diameter steel ball... to make a planishing stake... I have an idea as to how to improvise something to planish with... I'll post it here if it works."

My first apprentice uses a short log as a dishing stump for his pauldrons. A 4x4 (wood) rounded to a ball would work quite well up to 14 guage.

My first anvil ever was the same 55lbs. cast iron harbor freight special. I saved my pennies and bought their "Steel Russian" anvil...but it only has a steel face and horn, the body is cast iron. Eventually I'll get around to making my own anvil when I can build a big enough bloomery in my backyard without the neighbors freaking out.

[SLAG]

chainmailleman

SLAG

Thalianost

SLAG

Right now I work with maille but I go today to pick up a nice 55lb anvil so I can start on plate. As far as armor goes I have a chain-shirt and coif I got cheep on E-bay... it was supposed to be battle ready but the guy who made it used what looks to be either 16-18 gauge raw steel wire.. used dikes to cut them and hardly bothered to close some of the rings on the shirt... because all he did was cover it with some kind of oil and didn't properly finish the rings the thing rusted out and it took me like two weeks of soaking it in CLR and spraying it down with a powerful grease remover to just get the oil and most of the rust off. Then after I got it to where it wasn't 95% rust covering the rings I sprayed it down with black 'Rust reformer' paint by rustolium stuff works great... so now I have what I consider a training shirt so I can get used to wearing Chain for when I finally get enough free time to sit down and cut rings for my 8/2 shirt... That will probably be after I finish a few more 4/1 pieces for clients...

I don't do this proportionally but people have seen the belt I made for myself and want me to make them one... so in less than a month I will have sold my first piece for $90 and put that into going up to Harbor Freight to add to my tool box and maybe to TSC to get a half mile spool of wire.

Getting an anvil, huh? I'm jealous, I don't really have an anvil yet. I just have this little metal cylinder made of iron or steel, not sure which, probably steel. It works well enough for pounding rivets but it isn't big or heavy enough for shaping plates.

If you ever get rusty armor again, you could just clean it the old fashioned way: Stick it in a sack with lime and sand and have your squires toss it around for a while. Or if you don't have squires you could do it yourself, good exercise.

I don't know why but I never thought of making belts before, maybe I should try it.

As for my armor, right now I have a 6/1 hauberk and matching coif. They are made with rather large rings though, 14g. I am working on a 4/1 coif made with smaller rings, still 14g, and a 4/1 with larger rings to try to sell.

I have a large piece of I beam I was going to use but Harbor freight had an anvil on sale for $45 I couldn't pass it up... but between those two and a few bits of metal I'm gonna shape and get set up bars and pipes and such welded onto bar stock I should be able to get some plate pieces going... I figured I'd start with pauldrons... the thing that's proving hardest to get my hands on is a 3" diameter steel ball... to make a planishing stake... I have an idea as to how to improvise something to planish with... I'll post it here if it works."

My first apprentice uses a short log as a dishing stump for his pauldrons. A 4x4 (wood) rounded to a ball would work quite well up to 14 guage.

My first anvil ever was the same 55lbs. cast iron harbor freight special. I saved my pennies and bought their "Steel Russian" anvil...but it only has a steel face and horn, the body is cast iron. Eventually I'll get around to making my own anvil when I can build a big enough bloomery in my backyard without the neighbors freaking out.

Yeah... I was thinking of using a rounded steel pipe cap... But I don't know how well that will hold up... as for dishing I planed on getting a section of log. In my aria finding one won't be hard.

Any ideas on how I can get a simple but effective gasless forge?

[chainmailleman]

SLAG

chainmailleman

SLAG

Thalianost

SLAG

Right now I work with maille but I go today to pick up a nice 55lb anvil so I can start on plate. As far as armor goes I have a chain-shirt and coif I got cheep on E-bay... it was supposed to be battle ready but the guy who made it used what looks to be either 16-18 gauge raw steel wire.. used dikes to cut them and hardly bothered to close some of the rings on the shirt... because all he did was cover it with some kind of oil and didn't properly finish the rings the thing rusted out and it took me like two weeks of soaking it in CLR and spraying it down with a powerful grease remover to just get the oil and most of the rust off. Then after I got it to where it wasn't 95% rust covering the rings I sprayed it down with black 'Rust reformer' paint by rustolium stuff works great... so now I have what I consider a training shirt so I can get used to wearing Chain for when I finally get enough free time to sit down and cut rings for my 8/2 shirt... That will probably be after I finish a few more 4/1 pieces for clients...

I don't do this proportionally but people have seen the belt I made for myself and want me to make them one... so in less than a month I will have sold my first piece for $90 and put that into going up to Harbor Freight to add to my tool box and maybe to TSC to get a half mile spool of wire.

Getting an anvil, huh? I'm jealous, I don't really have an anvil yet. I just have this little metal cylinder made of iron or steel, not sure which, probably steel. It works well enough for pounding rivets but it isn't big or heavy enough for shaping plates.

If you ever get rusty armor again, you could just clean it the old fashioned way: Stick it in a sack with lime and sand and have your squires toss it around for a while. Or if you don't have squires you could do it yourself, good exercise.

I don't know why but I never thought of making belts before, maybe I should try it.

As for my armor, right now I have a 6/1 hauberk and matching coif. They are made with rather large rings though, 14g. I am working on a 4/1 coif made with smaller rings, still 14g, and a 4/1 with larger rings to try to sell.

I have a large piece of I beam I was going to use but Harbor freight had an anvil on sale for $45 I couldn't pass it up... but between those two and a few bits of metal I'm gonna shape and get set up bars and pipes and such welded onto bar stock I should be able to get some plate pieces going... I figured I'd start with pauldrons... the thing that's proving hardest to get my hands on is a 3" diameter steel ball... to make a planishing stake... I have an idea as to how to improvise something to planish with... I'll post it here if it works."

My first apprentice uses a short log as a dishing stump for his pauldrons. A 4x4 (wood) rounded to a ball would work quite well up to 14 guage.

My first anvil ever was the same 55lbs. cast iron harbor freight special. I saved my pennies and bought their "Steel Russian" anvil...but it only has a steel face and horn, the body is cast iron. Eventually I'll get around to making my own anvil when I can build a big enough bloomery in my backyard without the neighbors freaking out.

Yeah... I was thinking of using a rounded steel pipe cap... But I don't know how well that will hold up... as for dishing I planed on getting a section of log. In my aria finding one won't be hard.

Any ideas on how I can get a simple but effective gasless forge?

Let me get my camera out and I'll post a tutorial in the Guild on forge and furnace contruction. Are you more interested in a hairdryer type blower or full hand bellows?

[SLAG]

chainmailleman

SLAG

chainmailleman

SLAG

Thalianost

SLAG

Right now I work with maille but I go today to pick up a nice 55lb anvil so I can start on plate. As far as armor goes I have a chain-shirt and coif I got cheep on E-bay... it was supposed to be battle ready but the guy who made it used what looks to be either 16-18 gauge raw steel wire.. used dikes to cut them and hardly bothered to close some of the rings on the shirt... because all he did was cover it with some kind of oil and didn't properly finish the rings the thing rusted out and it took me like two weeks of soaking it in CLR and spraying it down with a powerful grease remover to just get the oil and most of the rust off. Then after I got it to where it wasn't 95% rust covering the rings I sprayed it down with black 'Rust reformer' paint by rustolium stuff works great... so now I have what I consider a training shirt so I can get used to wearing Chain for when I finally get enough free time to sit down and cut rings for my 8/2 shirt... That will probably be after I finish a few more 4/1 pieces for clients...

I don't do this proportionally but people have seen the belt I made for myself and want me to make them one... so in less than a month I will have sold my first piece for $90 and put that into going up to Harbor Freight to add to my tool box and maybe to TSC to get a half mile spool of wire.

Getting an anvil, huh? I'm jealous, I don't really have an anvil yet. I just have this little metal cylinder made of iron or steel, not sure which, probably steel. It works well enough for pounding rivets but it isn't big or heavy enough for shaping plates.

If you ever get rusty armor again, you could just clean it the old fashioned way: Stick it in a sack with lime and sand and have your squires toss it around for a while. Or if you don't have squires you could do it yourself, good exercise.

I don't know why but I never thought of making belts before, maybe I should try it.

As for my armor, right now I have a 6/1 hauberk and matching coif. They are made with rather large rings though, 14g. I am working on a 4/1 coif made with smaller rings, still 14g, and a 4/1 with larger rings to try to sell.

I have a large piece of I beam I was going to use but Harbor freight had an anvil on sale for $45 I couldn't pass it up... but between those two and a few bits of metal I'm gonna shape and get set up bars and pipes and such welded onto bar stock I should be able to get some plate pieces going... I figured I'd start with pauldrons... the thing that's proving hardest to get my hands on is a 3" diameter steel ball... to make a planishing stake... I have an idea as to how to improvise something to planish with... I'll post it here if it works."

My first apprentice uses a short log as a dishing stump for his pauldrons. A 4x4 (wood) rounded to a ball would work quite well up to 14 guage.

My first anvil ever was the same 55lbs. cast iron harbor freight special. I saved my pennies and bought their "Steel Russian" anvil...but it only has a steel face and horn, the body is cast iron. Eventually I'll get around to making my own anvil when I can build a big enough bloomery in my backyard without the neighbors freaking out.

Yeah... I was thinking of using a rounded steel pipe cap... But I don't know how well that will hold up... as for dishing I planed on getting a section of log. In my aria finding one won't be hard.

Any ideas on how I can get a simple but effective gasless forge?

Let me get my camera out and I'll post a tutorial in the Guild on forge and furnace contruction. Are you more interested in a hairdryer type blower or full hand bellows?

Either would be good... I'm not looking for anything super permanent I'll be moving with in a year...