Easy inexpensive plate armor

[Outis]

I came across a bunch of construction ties and decided to make them into armor.




(the inside, yeah I know i need to take the stickers off)

It's still a work in progress but I'm happy with the results so far. I want to replace the shoulder straps with belts and maybe put some padding in the spaulders. I have some leather armor that covers my kidneys and back that I will wear under the plate.

I've worn it around the house and it is reasonably flexible and comfortable. The plates are fairly easy to bend individually but when they are layered, they seem strong enough to take a good hit. I haven't had a chance to try it out on the field yet since I'm still on the injured list for a few more weeks.

The plates are Simpson Strong Ties (LSTA9). They are 20 gauge steel with pre-drilled holes. I used 48 plates for the whole thing. I think they sell at home depot for 50 cents each but I got mine for free. I penny rounded the edges with bench grinder and then wove them together with rope.

It only took a few hours worth of work. Other than a bench grinder, I didn't need any tools. I shaped the plates by hand and wove them together. It was surprisingly quick and simple.

It isn't the best armor, but it's inexpensive, easy to make, and looks reasonably good from a few feet away. Another guy in my realm has already made some greaves and bracers from similar ties.

[Mercer]

How big are those holes? If they're large enough to catch a finger, the armor may not pass.

[To'Gur]

very nice, good job!

[Winfang]

Very nice. It's got an oriental feel to it.

I wouldn't worry about the holes in it. If someone is dumb enough to grapple someone in armour then they deserve any injury they get.

[Outis]

Mercer,
The largest holes are 1/2 inch diameter. I can't fit my fingers in there. I'm not sure about someone with really small fingers, but I don't think it's a big problem. It passed in my realm. It'll be a while before I can go to an event to see if it'll pass there.


Wingfang
thank you. My design was heavily influenced by samurai armor. I considered looking up traditional armor weaves but in the end I just made up something to go with the pattern of the pre-drilled holes.

[Vak]

Thats really dope armor! The blue rope kinda throws me a little but other than that, Good find and Good job.

[Enderonimus]

Very nicely done! Very original and clever use of resources to make a truly nice piece!
Next,maybe invest some time into reseach on lamella styles, mainly mongol and hun styles, and fine tune the lacing.ie:

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~chrisand ... ellar.html

All in all, I really like it and would give it an A+.
If you have time, I know the guys here would love a walk-through on construction and building, for all us armor enthusiasts!
Well done, hats off to you!

[Dacian]

wow. i've worked with those things a million times and never thought about making them into armour.

great job!

[Outis]

Ender,

thank you, that is a great compliment, especially coming from you. You've posted some amazing work.

One potential problem with the traditional lamellar designs I have seen is they tend to use smaller vertical plates while the construction straps seem better suited to horizontal layering, as shown. Do you know of a historical equivalent?

My design need some fine tuning before I can write a walk through, but I'd be happy to do so if there is interest. In the meantime, I'm happy to give pointers to anyone who wants to try something similar. It's really very easy.

[Enderonimus]

Actually, I know exactly what you are reffering to, it's called a Turkish/Medieval Russian armor known as a "yushman". It consists of longer, horizontal plate lamellar that was used primarily by light calvary, due to its expansion movement would be vertical as opposed to the traditional hoizontal expansion of plates useful for footsoldiers swinging weapons. The vertical expansion of plates, ie:

was fundamental for mounted troops who had to contend with the natural jolting of their steeds.
This armor is very unique and was widespread used acrossed the plains of Russia,mongolia, even into China and the Middle East, made famous by the most famous Mongol warrior of all time, Attila the Hun.
Here are some examples of Yushman:











Here is a website with a wealth of knowledge on middle eastern and central asian armors. http://www.geocities.com/normlaw/page9.html
Good luck with the piece,Outis! Keep on investing into your work here!

[Vak]

Hurm, I have an electric like hand sander, like for walls and wood and stuff. Would I be able to use that? (I have a Dremel Tool too) I really like the look of this armor a lot and I want to make a set.

[Big King Jimmy]

Armor like that totally reminds me of Collosus from the Xmen.

[Outis]

Ender,

Thanks again, that information is really helpful. If I decide to re-lace my armor I might try one of those weaves.


Uargvak,

The Dremel tool should work fine for penny rounding the edges. Just make sure you're using a grinding bit that's designed for grinding steel (the reddish ones). I'd suggest clamping the tool down and moving the plates. If you're planning to do a full chest plate and spaulders, I'd expect to go through a few bits and it'll take a while. Ask around if anyone you know has a bench grinder first. It'll save you a lot of time.

You *might* be able to use a hand sander if you get heavy duty sand paper that's designed for use on metal. (Aluminum Oxide 40-80 grit paper might work). It kinda depends on what kind of sander you have. I'd just use the Dremel.

You don't really need to take off much metal to get them penny round so either way could work.

[Vak]

Awesome, thanks a ton. I prolly will have more questions as I work on it. I mean 24 bucks for this isn't bad at all. Prolly less I'm not really a big guy so it should be perfect.

Again great find. I can really see this beefing up metal armor in the game.

[Enderonimus]

Don't forget your lacing with this, Vak. Those holes in the construction ties will eat right through any normal commercial bought lace.
Found a great supplier of military parachute cord. This stuff is made to hold 450 lbs of weight and has to be sawed with a jigsaw! Perfect and real cheap from this supplier!



http://www.armysurplusworld.com/display ... |954691562

Good luck and would definetly love to see more metal armors on the field! Think you may have stumbled on a gem here, Outis!

[Kyrian]

If I may make a suggestion, perhaps you could look at edging the armor with some thin leather, something like this:

http://www.pbase.com/darter02/image/33455096

I also love the helm and gauntlets in this picture.

[Vak]

Oh wow, that looks really cool, Once I get the suit done I will try and line it like that.

[xiao]

ruuuugggged!!!

[Enderonimus]

Very nice and great find,kyrian!
I love those style "face helms". I used to make a variety out of steel similar to "Hammered Wombat" used to make,ie:


Some other nice ones:




Back on topic though, leather edging does make a piece really elegant and nice, but can be a task drilling all those extra holes, but the payout is worth it![/img]

[BlackWolf]

I found those plates at Home Depot in 18 and 16 ga for $.67 a piece. That stuff will stand up to a beating better than the 20 ga those are made of.

[Dr. Kazi]

(Attila the Hun was a Hun, not a Mongol . . . very nice armor, carry on.)

[Enderonimus]

The "Huns" were a tribe of mongols,and the ancestors of the latter Mongol empire.
therefore, Huns = Mongols.

[To'Gur]

Ender is correct, Kazi loses

[Enderonimus]

No offense intended, Kazi, if that came off as too short or a bit rude,I apologize. I can see how that would be confusing.

[warwell]

I was not aware that Mongols and Huns were the same. Can you recommend any good sources on the history of these tribes?

Kevin

[Spork]

They aren't the "same" the Huns were just the predecessors to the Mongols, being that they both came from present-day Mongolia and Huns came first.

[Enderonimus]

yeh, the huns were basically the migratory raiding tribe of the mongol region. Both originated from the same region.
But, I don't want to hijack Outis' thread any further, the best place to discuss this is probably the Historical Forum.
Sorry about that Outis. Again, very nice armor and truly clever design. Recommended for any beginner who wants to armor up on a budget!

[Atari]

[quote="Outis"]Mercer,
The largest holes are 1/2 inch diameter. I can't fit my fingers in there. I'm not sure about someone with really small fingers, but I don't think it's a big problem. It passed in my realm. It'll be a while before I can go to an event to see if it'll pass there.

Umm, Outis, if i can fit my fingers through mine, does that mean it fails?
If it does, i can easily duct tape them.

[Dr. Kazi]

Yeah, no offense, for sure. I'm just saying that Attila was operating in the mid 400s AD, and the Mongol Empire didn't get going until the 1200s. That is almost 800 years difference! And before Genghis united the tribes and got them all calling themselves Mongols, I'm pretty sure "Mongol" was just another tribe. If you called Attila a Mongol he would have disagreed, if he even knew what a Mongol was. The Huns had been migrating west for years by the time they hit Europe and appeared in our history books. I doubt Attila had ever spent time in what we call Mongolia.

Dude rides a horse, comes from Central Asia, makes him a steppe nomad. Maybe a Hun, Turk, Scythian, not necessarily a Mongol.

[Enderonimus]

Very well put and explained. you win, friend Kazi! I conceed!


Thanks though, for clarifying here. Hope to have my Hun helmet finished here while this topic is still hot!
[/img]

[To'Gur]

http://www.chriskaplonski.com/mongolia/history.html


some mongol info

[SmileyX]

i think this is great look armor and i am going to try this for my self today ARMOR FOR THE CHEAP MAN w00t Good Work
ill post picks of it when im done

ALSO
keep in mind that this stuff can easly be made a different color with spray paint

[Outis]

Ender,

no worries about hijacking the thread. I found the discussion interesting and it's good to have some historical background for the armor I'm wearing.


SmileyX & Uargvak,
I can't wait to see what you guys come up with. Glad you like the design.


Atari,
the BOW says:
3.3. Armor must not catch appendages. Fingers should not catch in Armor. This includes articulated plates and large diameter chain.

So my comment was since I can't fit my fingers in the holes it can't catch fingers. Still there's a difference between fitting and catching. As long as there's not a big danger of someone getting their finger in one of the holes during combat or grapling it should be ok. Your armor passed in our realm, so I think it's fine.

Also, if you are worried about it, I would lace rope through the larger holes so a finger can't fit. I did this on my spaulders. It looks better than duct tape. It also keepd the plates from flexing too much.

[Enderonimus]

Thanks again, Outis. If we ever organize any kind of tutorials, we'll definetly have to get something in there about this!
And as far as painting, make sure you use a good primer for your first underlying coat, so the outer coat will last longer and turn up smoother!

[widigo]

This is tight, I plan on seeing what I can do with some red and black rustoleum paint. These are cheep, easy, and with some leather straps, or the string depicted above, i can probably do some * bracers, or grieves. The breastplate is cool, but does not fit my theme, so I may cover it with a leather item, or maybe a cloak like object.

Widigo

[SmileyX]

ok i would like to make a few corrections so please edit your post when you get this there is no way those are LSTA9's those are def LSTA12's lol LSTA9's can be used for braces and greaves but def not for body lol ok there ya go

[Outis]

SmileyX,

well if they aren't LSTA9's someone went through a whole lot of trouble to stamp LSTA9 on each and every one of them and then cut them down to 9 inches long.

Maybe they look longer than they are because they layered three across. There is one on the chest and one on each side.

I believe Atari used LSTA12's. Other strong ties might work even better (thicker gauge or better hole pattern). I just used what I had on hand.

[SmileyX]

hmm interesting oh well yours look alot dif from the ones i have so maybe dif brand i ono

[widigo]

a) Awesome Armor

b) Smiley got powned, don't try to know what you don't. LOL no offense I hope.

c) Has anybody tried painting these?

d) I hope to try this soon.

[savetuba]

c) Has anybody tried painting these?

Don't paint them, powder coat them.

[Phelan]

Interesting, I must get some of these metal plates

Outis your a genius!

But when did you take those pictures? i've never seen you in the armor.

[Spike]

A little over a year ago. Around the same time this thread was active.

[Oisin]

Wow . . . this thread is that old? * . . . time flies.

[Tytus]

If anyone has made bracers or greaves out of these things pictures would be highly appreciated.

[Arrakis]

Dude, look at the post dates. The last several ate indeed from 2008, but they're mostly saying "Quit thread-necroing, old thread is oooollld."

[Kirethorn]

I realise this thread is aged, but I am wondering if that suit would be legal for SCA. I'm investigating it here and the main thing that wiuld stop me in the future is armouring myself.

[Derian]

You would probably have better luck asking that question on an SCA forum, not a Belegarth forum.

[Arrakis]

Derian, those are few and far between in my experience...

Kirethorn, look into armor made out of plastic "pickle barrels". Those big, 55 Gal plastic drums you see used at car washes or for dog houses or just whatever? They make excellent brig, splint, lamellar, and japanese-style stuff.

[Forkbeard]

Of course, then you'd look like a dork, as pickle barrel armor is for sucka's.
You could buy some 1/4" ABS plastic you can form in your oven. It's what many SCA armors use instead of the ol' barrels. But then you'd have to spend money, which you've already said you're against.
Back on topic, I don't know how old this thread is, but the guy who started it is a * genius. Good show. I would paint those plates or the edges will rust.
Also, you should get a nice de-burring tool or a rat tail file and go at your lace hole. If you smoot them out real good, you wont saw through your string as fast.

FB

[Arrakis]

FB: I intend to use pickle barrel for the internal plates on a 15th Cent Italian brig (or maybe a corrizina...). Shouldn't look any worse than a metal version, but I can do it for a fraction of the price in a one-bedroom apartment.