Wisby Gauntlets

The following pictures are of a pair of "Wisby" gauntlets I am attempting to make.  This will be the most sophisticated armour I have undertaken in terms of metal sculpture.  This will be a replica, sized to fit my hand, of the Wisby gauntlet #3, from the Wisby excavation in 1905.  The Battle of Wisby was July 27th, 1361.

I was inspired to this project by this example.

The first thing I did was make a leather "beanbag" full of lead shot.  I thought this would be useful in forming the metacarpal plate.  As it turns out, it was not terribly useful.  It did not supply enough support.

Instead, I chiseled a V groove in a block of wood.  I used a bench grinder and a metal file to shape a railroad spike into an appropriate chisel for forming the grooves in the metacarpal plate.

Back in the shop after dinner, and I worked on the thumb assembly for the right hand.  I have never done articulations before so I'm not sure if this is going to work or not.  It looks like the artwork though.

2/4/2010

My first gadling.

I made the by grinding a railroad spike into a rounded pyramid shape, and then pounding this into a block of lead to make a female support.  I formed the crude gadling using the lead block and the spike, and then finished it with a hammer over the spike.

This evening I pounded out 3 more gadlings.

5/30/2010

Got back to playing with these gauntlets again.  I have most of the metal cut out now.  All of the finger lames are done.

I have riveted together the thumb pieces, but the articulation seems poor.