Monday, July 18, 2005
Chest Protection….
Oh, the trials and tribulations! You may remember that I had been working on the plastic lamellar, but that I changed to a coat of plates, to be able to make everything match up with the other armor. I was working on the coat of plates (took the old thing apart, drilled the holes for the rivets in the extra aluminum plates, made a shell - I hate sewing), just waiting for the jiffy rivets to arrive. Well, silly me, I did not actually measure the thickness of the canvas, the plates, and the covering. Had I done so, I would have known that I needed the medium length, not the short. I now have 1000 nickel plated short quick rivets (Tandy style) that I do not need. I will attempt to exchange them (I am sure it will not be an issue), but time is a factor.
Remember that old Baronial loaner armor I spoke of earlier? Since I had permission to use whatever I needed (I will be making donations to the loaner armor…), I grabbed the plastic chest plate. Here it is in its raw state:
I cut off the bottom of the back (it was really too long) and trimmed the front. The neat thing about the plastic is that if you are very careful, you can mold it using a moderate heat. Showing great versatility, I used my Hot Head glass bead torch, brushing the flame across the surface that I wanted to form. You could possibly use a propane plumbers torch, although the flame may be too intensely focused. I then used my little mini anvil to apply steady pressure to the area I needed to flatten. After allowing it to cool down, the plastic retains the shape (in this case, flat). I had to form the bottom of the breastplate, as well as open the back plate, significantly in some places. L It was still not quite large enough to go around, so I made some trapezoidal plates to go in the sides. I made hinges out of leather, and strapped the whole thing up. Here is the almost finished product:
I believe I will be able to attach my new spaulders to the shoulder straps, but want to get some feedback from the marshals first. I may do straps for them similar to the leather arm harness, so we shall see. In any case, here is the finished breast plate. It needs to be covered (I think) although I may just leave it as is, and never not wear a surcoat. I do feel a bit like a trussed up turkey in the thing, but if I continue (and I had better) to loose weight, I may need to take it in, and it will fit better. Oh, and the leftover pieces got made into groin protection.
Fighter practice, here I come…..
Remember that old Baronial loaner armor I spoke of earlier? Since I had permission to use whatever I needed (I will be making donations to the loaner armor…), I grabbed the plastic chest plate. Here it is in its raw state:
I cut off the bottom of the back (it was really too long) and trimmed the front. The neat thing about the plastic is that if you are very careful, you can mold it using a moderate heat. Showing great versatility, I used my Hot Head glass bead torch, brushing the flame across the surface that I wanted to form. You could possibly use a propane plumbers torch, although the flame may be too intensely focused. I then used my little mini anvil to apply steady pressure to the area I needed to flatten. After allowing it to cool down, the plastic retains the shape (in this case, flat). I had to form the bottom of the breastplate, as well as open the back plate, significantly in some places. L It was still not quite large enough to go around, so I made some trapezoidal plates to go in the sides. I made hinges out of leather, and strapped the whole thing up. Here is the almost finished product:
I believe I will be able to attach my new spaulders to the shoulder straps, but want to get some feedback from the marshals first. I may do straps for them similar to the leather arm harness, so we shall see. In any case, here is the finished breast plate. It needs to be covered (I think) although I may just leave it as is, and never not wear a surcoat. I do feel a bit like a trussed up turkey in the thing, but if I continue (and I had better) to loose weight, I may need to take it in, and it will fit better. Oh, and the leftover pieces got made into groin protection.
Fighter practice, here I come…..
