[Loch-soilleir] Armouring and Fiber Arts

[Donald Halter]

Due to scheduling conflicts this event has been moved to Saturday 2/23/2013 
 2:00pm-6:00pm  We will not be meeting on Sunday this week

Persons interested in armouring should email Krag with what they are interested 
in (krag at kragaxe.com) and he can put together a list of items needed if your not 
sure. In general, persons need their own consumables (drill bits, rivets, 
sandpaper, steel, etc.). You will also need eye/ear protection. If your not sure 
what you want to do we have lots of books you can look through. A listing of 
supplies you may need and where you can get them is at the bottom of this 
message.

Bring your sewing, spinning, weaving, bobbin lace, or what ever other project 
you are working on. If you are sewing you don't need your own machine as I have 
several but are welcome to bring your own.

If you don't have a project but are interested in learning or just want to watch 
come on out. Experience is not necessary.

3711 Lonniewood Drive 
Houston Tx, 77059


Here's a list of basic items you'll need for making your own armour.
Steel - Obviously, you need steel if you're going to make steel armour. I have 
some scrap material that can be used for small items when available. You'll need 
to get your own material, though. There are several options for this. For 
everything but a helm, 16 gauge mild steel is the common choice. If you go with 
a stainless you MAY be able to use a slightly thinner size. For helms, you'll 
want 14 gauge for the top and 16 for the remainder. You'll also need 1/4" 
diameter round bar for any grill-work.
High-carbon heat-treatable steel is the latest craze. I have heat treating 
equipment, as does Sir Alexis. When using this steel in a hardened statem you 
can generally use material less than half as thick as it's mild steel 
counterpart, thus saving a LOT of weight. The trade off is price. This steel is 
not cheap. Texas Motor Sports is where most are getting it in the Houston area. 
You'll want 4130 sheet steel in 0.032" thickness. I seem to recall hearing that 
this runs about $75 for a 2' x 3' sheet.
I buy mine in bulk from www.Admiralsteel.com. I use both 1050 and 4130 steels. 
If several people are interested in getting this type steel, we can look into a 
bulk purchase.
There is a really nice ACE hardware in Navasota that I buy my round rod and 
other steels from. I don't know what their prices are on mild sheet steel. A 4' 
x 8' sheet of 16 ga used to be $28. I think these are up around $60 or $70 now. 
A single sheet is enough for three complete sets of basic armour (arms, legs, 
helm sides, shoulders). If you want a breastplate/backplate, you'll need a half 
sheet. I suggest two people go in together on a sheet.
Leather - I use 6 oz oil-tanned upholstry leather for my backings and straps. 
There's a wide variety of leather and what you need will depend on what you plan 
on doing with it. Tandy Leather has stores in the houston area.
Rivets - I hate two-piece rivets, but still use them for leatherwork sometimes. 
These will NOT work for metal to metal attachments. You will need solid rivets. 
I buy these from www.RJLeahy.com online. One box lasts quite a bit. The most 
common size is 1/8" x 3/8". If you are doing thick leather to steel, you'll need 
1/8"  x 1/2". If you want larger domed rivets for decoration, get the 3/16" 
rivets.
Consumables - You will need to bring your own drill bits, sandpaper, foam pads, 
dremmel bits, etc. I use special bits for most of my work and I don't loan those 
out. My "general pool" of bits are typically so dull they have to wear a hole 
through whatever you are drilling...so will be much better off just buying a few 
drill bits in the size you need. This is typically 1/8" and 3/16". If you are 
working in stainless, you'll need to get cobalt bits (bits will be labeled HSS, 
HSS-Black Oxide, ZrN-Coated, or Cobalt).
Sandpaper is used to clean up the surface finish. You'll want silicon carbide, 
wet/dry paper. Get the multipack (220-320-400-600) as well as some 1000 grit 
(automotive stores carry the 1000 grit).
There is an ACE harware convieniently located a couple minutes down the street 
from us.