Sheet metal forge build.

[Divided he ad]

Looking good 

Not too sure about mixing that stuff with bare hands mind!   Bound to have some form of lime in it isn't it?


Love the jigsaw sound... Like an angry wasp 





Looking forward to seeing where this goes 






Ralph.

[doubleboost]

Coming on fine
I splashed some of that refractory in my eyes 
Not a good idea
John

[micktoon]

 Another good video  , As mentioned if that stuff is like normal cement, the less skin contact is better ......I learnt this by my mate concreting with boots not wellies and ending up in hospital with chemical burns around his calfs above where his boots ended  .........so it does happen.
  Looks like the project is coming on well though , what type of helmets do you want to make ? will they just be for show or will you do re enactments ?.
  Cheers Mick.

[S. Heslop]

Not too sure about mixing that stuff with bare hands mind!   Bound to have some form of lime in it isn't it?

I've got a bucket of blue nitrile gloves that I keep forgetting about in moments like that. I think you can see it in a few shots during the video.

It did dry my hands out a bit though and a couple cuticles detatched, but i've got dry hands to begin with so it's nothing im not used to. Dry hands are hell when turning pages or trying to open a plastic carrier bag at a checkout while everyone's waiting.

[S. Heslop]

ending up in hospital with chemical burns around his calfs above where his boots ended

Yikes! It's lucky I didn't have much to mix I suppose. I'll take more precautions when I get around to making that metal melting forge.

Helmet wise I like the look of the Milanese armet like this one. It might be a little complicated though, but we'll see.

As to what i'd do with a suit of armour... i've really got no idea. I'm more excited about the thought of making it than what i'd do once it's complete.

[micktoon]

That looks like a nice helmet  , A few years back there was a guy with a few step by step web pages about making similar helmets , I will have a look and see if I can find them again , it was years back so maybe not on the net now mind.
  Looks like you have got away with the cement incident anyway but worth wearing them gloves next time, probably even more so if you have dry hands to start with.
    :beer:Cheers Mick.

I think this is the links I mentioned http://nadler.us/armour.html   He has good photos and patterns 

[S. Heslop]

That looks like a nice helmet  , A few years back there was a guy with a few step by step web pages about making similar helmets , I will have a look and see if I can find them again , it was years back so maybe not on the net now mind.
  Looks like you have got away with the cement incident anyway but worth wearing them gloves next time, probably even more so if you have dry hands to start with.
    :beer:Cheers Mick.

I think this is the links I mentioned http://nadler.us/armour.html   He has good photos and patterns 

Thanks for the link. The patterns will definitely help with figuring out how big to make the blanks when I get to that stage.

I felt pretty lucky finding this series of videos, since he makes pretty much the exact style of armour i'm interested in. I've watched his videos alot and even went as far as to keep notes on each step and the tools used. My next video might be about making a stake, similar to one he uses, while I wait for the refractory to dry.

I'm trying to take most of this a step at a time now though. If I got carried away thinking about later steps i'd probably get burned out on the idea before I even got so far.

[micktoon]

 I have just had a quick look but those videos seem really  good.....I will have a better look later on, there is a really good book an making armour too by Brian Price , its expensive but you can order it for a small charge from the libary ( if you can find one still open ) this is a link to Amazon anyway http://www.amazon.co.uk/Techniques-Medieval-Armour-Reproduction-Century/dp/1581600984
  I have got some good stuff from the scrap yard before for stake type tools , god knows what they were off in the first place but all you need is a big lump of metal roughly what shape you need.
  Cheers Mick.

[Divided he ad]

I've got a bucket of blue nitrile gloves that I keep forgetting about in moments like that.

Well at least you're prepared 


Having now watched the video (and part 8) I think I'm going to like where this is going 





Ralph. 

[S. Heslop]

Finally got around to making part the fourth. I suppose that's the forge complete but i've still got a few other things to do before I can start using it to try and make anything.

I've got about 2 more videos ready to edit but I haven't had alot of free time in the last couple of weeks. Even this video was kind of rushed in a few spots.


Also thanks for the offer of the microphone John, but my old one packed in half way through recording this video and I ended up just rushing out and getting a new one since it was probably the only day I was gonna have free for a while.

[Divided he ad]

Certainly looks like it's a success       

I get it now, to heat up sheet metal so you can work it. 


I know you want to sort out ventilation. But when are you going to start on your armour? 






Ralph.

[micktoon]

Another really good video  , It looks like it should do the job , I hope the ventilation does not turn into too big a job, its a pity you could not just create an area where it would be covered from rain  and sheltered from wind but be outside the main workshop so you not need the ventilation.

  I look forward to seeing the forge in use 

 Cheers Mick.

[Fredbare]

Great videos, thanks for sharing.

John

[S. Heslop]

I know you want to sort out ventilation. But when are you going to start on your armour? 
Ralph.

Yeah I'm really making a meal of this whole thing. I'm sort of taking the opportunity to sort out the bottom half of the garage at the same time. Like better ventillation would also be great for clearing paint fumes, welding smoke, and all kinds of other deadly vapours.

It's sods law that the moment my holidays end and i've already got less free time that everything around me starts falling apart and needs repairing. Which also includes my internet connection. It's disconnecting so much I can only really get online for about a minute at a time, which definitely isn't long enough to upload a video. I've spent the last few days trying to solve it but now the company is just gonna send an engineer out in a couple of days.

So it might be a couple of weeks before I can start trying to raise any metal. And maybe longer before I manage to do anything worth making a video about. So sorry to keep you waiting.