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I Forge Iron

Lein

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Everything posted by Lein

  1. I know most of this has already been said, but here's what I have found. You can get muriatic acid at WalMart, pool supply stores, most hardware stores, Lowes, Home Depo, etc.. as concert cleaner or for cleaning swimming pools. Muriatic acid works fine for etching just about any metal, in my experience, as well as cleaning rusted/oxidized steal. Sulfuric acid can be gotten at just about any hardware store, WalMart, Lowes, Home Depo, etc.. in the form of drain cleaner just read the labels. I don't know the molarity of either of these found through these suppliers since it's not on the label or on the MSDS, but I'm sure they can be found by some research online. I have not yet been able to find Nitric or Phosphoric acid sold through any general retail store, only online and through chemical suppliers and even then not of all of them have it. Most chemical supply warehouses, that I have been to, require you to fill out paper work to purchase it due to it being used to make explosives and illicit drugs. As a note not all Radio Shacks carry PCB etchant (ferric chloride), I have only been able to find it at the franchise stores not the independently owned stores. I have had good luck with electro-salt etching using warm sea-salt water solution (2tble spoon per 1/2 cup of warm water), stereo wire, alligator clips, 12v battery, cotton ball/batting, and scotch/clear packing tape for 'small' etchings up to about 5x5 inch and it works pretty fast, I've done this on a 2x2 inch etching in stainless steal it only took about 10 minutes to etch about 1/16th of an inch in depth. But I did find out you want to put the positive clip on the steal to be etched and the negative clip on the cotton ball/batting. Use a Sharpie to draw out your design cover it with with the clear tape (your resist) making sure its as smooth as possible and you have plenty of tape going past the design (I normally do about 1/2 inch), cut along the outside of the marker lines with a zacto/craft knife, and apply the cotton ball/batting with negative clip to the steal. Make sure to give each part of the same amount of time under the cotton ball/batting so as to get an even depth to you etching, check often (every few minutes) to be sure you don't etch deeper than you want. I hope this helps some.
  2. Head over to www.armourarchive.com, sheet metal work is basically all the same. I find it's easier when making a new dishing stump to use a torch to start the dishes, then go back after the torch with and clean up the dish with chisel, sandpaper, and a hammer. There's a step-by-step guide for it on Armour Archive. I make all my own stakes so there customized to my needs. Also you may want to check out "ToMAR" : Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction by Brian R Price. It's for making armour but there some cool tricks in it for sheet metal work that you may find helpful. Good Luck and happy hammering, Lein
  3. I live about and hour South of Louisville near Ft. Knox. I don't have much of a workshop, but your more then welcome to come out any time.
  4. Now that's a work of art! absolutely amazing!
  5. Lein

    Scot sword ban

    The English did this to Scotland before, it didn't work then. What will be next the places that teach Martial Arts? the contents of a tool box? the things you keep in the kitchen? Beer bottles? Trash cans? Bricks? Shoes? the rocks and sticks.... When will the law abiding citizens of the world stop being sheep and refuse to be bullied by there governments? “A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killer's hands” ~ Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)
  6. My vote, as someone that does shave with a straight razor, would be for restoring them( if needed) passing them down to the grand children and use them to shave with till there of age. It's the finest shave you can get. I would suggest against converting them into knives. Along with what has already been said, straight razor blades are very hard and brittle and easy to brake. If you tried to convert them you could go from a fine straight razor to a broken piece of scrap, and most likely will. I broke one I was trying to restore with a dremel polishing wheel. As for there value when properly restored can got for as little as $35 to as much as $2000 depending on who made it, what model, age, condition, and who's buying. You CAN find them cheap, but if there not vintage or a really good deal form a friend they won't hold a shaving edge for longer then it takes to shave one cheek. The ones you find in catalogues like Bud K and whatnot are cheap xxxx and not fit for anything but a letter opener. I've never seen modern make straight razor cost less then $75 and that was a "cheap" Dovo razor. I've also seen some go for as much as $2000+ for the fancy pattern wielded costume jobs by the big name makers. Head over to Straight Razor Place. Those guy's know everything there is to know about straight razors. As well as there are guys there the offer services to restore and sharpen them. There's also a section of the forum that is dedicated to women's uses of them.
  7. The Maille looks good, keep at it.
  8. Your most welcome. most of the stakes you can make your self, just find some pictures and you should be able to figure it out. I just made a small spoon head stake out of a RR spike and another fluting stake out of the point end of a RR spike, all in about 15 minutes from grinding to polishing. my other fluting stake is a 12" cold steal chisel from the hardware store that I modified. You will use a Ball and Fluting stakes the most. You should have your son post some pictures of his work, if not here then on Armour Archive. We can give him all the help that can be given over the internet, If he needs it. Thought if I related about my apprenticeship a little it may help you in some way. I hope it this helps. When I started my apprenticeship (it was 6 years total), it was a almost 6 months before I started to actually make anything. At first I was learning how care for the tools and what they all where, before even using them. At first it was frustrating not being able to do much more then to hold stuff and catch & fetch, etc.. but after the first few weeks of that I got to learn how to do it. First things I learned to do was rivet, cut, edge, and polish. over time and after a few years when other apprentices came into the shop, I found out why. Because in a shop until you get to that point your a burden, once you learn how to rivet, cut, edge, and polish you become useful. One of the first skills I learn was to round a square bar and square a round bar it seem pointless when your learning it, but later you will see why it's a useful skill. After about the year and a half of hand holding I was give a pile of scrap and a pattern, and was told to make it only asking for help when I got stuck or I knew something was wrong. About 8 hours into the project I figured out the pattern was bad with. It was a sort of test. first was to see if I saw that it was bad, and how it was wrong. Second part was how long it took to figure that out. He said normally his apprentices don't figure it out till they try to put it together. When I got to about the 5th year, I was given the same pattern and a pile of scrap again. when I asked why I already knew the pattern was bad, my master said this time that's not the point. This time I want you to fix it, and make it work anyway. I worked on the piece for almost 2 weeks, with my master chuckling every time he checked my progress, then one afternoon I had a eureka moment and figured out the problem. Also I learn during that if I had stepped back and looked at it from other angles and asked the RIGHT questions I could have fixed it on the 2nd day.... It was exercise in learning that even after years of doing it sometimes you still need help. And the difference between and apprentice and a journeymen is not just what skills you have, and how long you've been doing it. But it's also how you problem solve. When you get stuck keep in mind the end product and what it's supposed to look like, take a step back (put it down and come back later if you need to) look at it from all angles, compare what you have to what it should be, If you need to ask for help, Did you skip a step? did you do something wrong? maybe it's not wrong you just don't see how it's supposed to go together. If you need anything just ask! you can send me a PM for help/advice anytime. I know I would have given up if I hadn't done an apprenticeship, and I don't want to see someone give up just because they get stuck and can't find a solution to the problem.
  9. Space wise as much as you can get.. really. You will build up piles of scrape, tools, and random stuff as fast as you can buy it. As for tools and Equipment here's a list of things I can think of off hand. most of these will cross over to blacksmithing. Now you don't need all this just to start out, but the more you do it the more you will want/need. Get a copy of ToMAR (Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction) this will help a lot! Safety gear : eys's, ears, gloves, and a blacksmith's apron. Safety First! Hammer's : various size/weight ball pens, cross pens, Dishing, Planishing, Ball End, Long Head, Raising, Doghead, Slash pen, Raw Hide, Dead Weight, Fuller, Mallets(teardrop,rubber). Stakes : Raising, Mushroom, Ball, Saddle, Fluting, Kettle, Dogleg(there nice but you can use a normal ball). Stumps or dishing forms, shot bags. Rivet seat. Lead Bar - I use several different sizes, you can also use a shot bag but for some thing's I've found a lead bar works better though. can be used in place of a rivet seat as well. 3 Pin roller's. Metal cutting/hole making : Beverly shear, and hand shears, aviation shears, tin snips, chisels(cold and hot), hand punches, hole punch(like a leather punch but for metal) Vice's Power tools : Drill, Angle Grinder, tabletop belt sander, Buffer. You don't 'need' them but they are nice to have, and make things a lot easier. Some sort of Wielder and wielding hood, Flux Core wire feed type are fairly easy to learn the basics, and don't require gas. not as good as one with gas shielding, but there cheaper. I use a Autodark hood, but that's preference more than anything. English Wheel( don't skimp on this one, the cheap one suck and most are not rated for the gauge steals you will be working in) Duck Tape, you'll know it when you need it.... (tip: you can use it with a piece 1/8 - 1/4th inch of round wire stock to start a flute) Propane or MAPP gas torch, to heat certain alloys with lots of memory. You will find over time that you prefer to use some things over others, and may alter some things to fit you needs. I have found that instead of the common/traditional Dishing hammers, I use a 3lbs sledge hammer with an 4 1/2" industrial ball baring wielded to one end. It's about $50 or more cheaper to make then to buy a traditional dishing hammer which start at around $80, and I think it works better, IMO. You can make the stakes and chisels to save on cost. like for a ball stake get an industrial ball baring of the size you want for the stake from about 3" and up to like 6" depending on your needs , and wield it to some heavy bar stock. You can also you just about every hammer, avail stake, etc.. that is used for Auto body work. where do you think the design for these tools came from? But you will want to re-face/polish most of it, but you will most likely have to re-face and polish just about any hammer you get. For the buffer you want 3/4ths horse power and both cotton and muslin wheels. With rouge grit ranging from 300 up to like 650( I use 350,450,550,650. and ebony rouge when I need more of abrasion) . Blending rouge, and polishing compound. I like the stuff you "paint" on and let dry, less mess and goes farther but cost more. The stick type is less expensive, but messy and needs to be refrigerated or it gets hard and can't use it. Ummmm that's all I got for the moment, don't forget to check http://www.armourarchive.org/ for tips, patterns, etc.. Also check with your local SCA group and at SCA event's and find a local to you armourer and try and get with them and learn!
  10. Francis Cole : In regards to armour made in stainless steel it's more about what the what customers want. Right now the demand is for Stainless Steel because of the ease of maintenance. About 4 or so yeas ago the demand was mainly for stuff in mild steels because of the cheaper price, but in the last 5 years or so the demand has become almost totally for stainless steel produces, people have realized that even though it has a higher initial cost it's worth it in the long term for ease and cost of maintenance. About 4-5 years ago there was a high demand for armour made of spring steel, while still in demand that demand has declined since its cost is much higher that that of the same product in stainless due to the cost of the spring steel and the extra work needed, i.e. it needs to be worked "hot" and needs to be re-tempered after the final shaping is done. Spc.Savant : That seems like quite an extended amount of time for Lorica Segmentata? When I still worked in Alan Baldree's (AB Hammer on Armor Archive) shop we did a Lorica Segmentata in 3 and a half days with dished and planished(sp?) lames in 14ga, as well as brass rosettas and fittings for the lacing. Making, polishing, and fitting all the brass pieces took most of the time. If it was not for the brass work it would have only taken about 2 - 2 1/2 days. Sesshoumaru didn't mention that a lot of the dishing is done on wooden dishing stumps. I know this is an old thread. I'm willing to share any knowledge I have on armouring, limited as it may be. I did a 6 year apprenticeship under Alan Baldree and worked with him a total of 8 years, until he moved from Kentucky to Louisiana.
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