GauntletDetail04
Gauntlet finger close up detail shot
Date: 11/30/1999
ooo, shiny!
The cupped individual fingers protects against sword blows resulting in mashing. If the plates were only along the back of the fingers, combat would result in the gauntlets becoming armored salsa bags.
The cupped individual fingers protects against sword blows resulting in mashing. If the plates were only along the back of the fingers, combat would result in the gauntlets becoming armored salsa bags.
GauntletDetail03
Gauntlet wrist close up detail shot
Date: 11/30/1999
This wrist gave me the most trouble of the whole project. In the original design there was only one wrist plate (bah!). Added to the thick leather strips and rivets, plus an under-estimation in the size of the bell (the part at the arm end), the extra plates made the wrist section un-navigable by my hand. Expanding the bell, re-working the wrist plates, and some improvised brass staples seem to have solved the problem.
Or have they?
Or have they?
GauntletDetail02
Gauntlet finger articulation close up
Date: 11/30/1999
Yes that's right! If you make your own plate gauntlets, you too can manually display the number three in both safety and ease!
GauntletDetail01
Another gauntlet finger articulation close up
Date: 11/30/1999
The razor eyed observer can espy under the index finger, the leather which holds the whole gauntlet together. These strips were riveted to the plates, and then sewn to the gloves. The aforementioned observer may also note that the leather seems too thick. Next time, I'll use something a bit more flexible, and less cramp inducing.
GauntletFinished01
Finished plate gauntlets
Date: 11/30/1999
The only picture of the finished gauntlets not on my hands. What can I say...
GauntletFinished02
Glad they are done
Date: 11/30/1999
At this point I am really glad that the gauntlets are finished. You can see the individual articulation at work here in these useful hand gestures.
GauntletFinished03
Time to punch something
Date: 11/30/1999
Ideally, I would be weilding a sword at this point. Ideally there would be something to weild a sword at. When a sword and plate gauntlets are combined, the set bonuses require slaughter. That is a risk I can not, in good concience, take.
GauntletOverview2
Overview shot
Date: 11/30/1999
Here is all I should need to complete the gauntlets. Everything but the metal was bought from McMaster Carr, the candyland of engineers. On the right is the leather to hold it all together, next to that are some rivets and a rivet setting tool. In the middle are the gloves, technically "mig welding gloves" but they are padded on the back, and made of sturdy deerskin, and should do nicely. I'm going to have to let out the seam in the left thumb a bit though, as it fits too tight. On the far left are some washers and rings, for the rivets and hand straps respectively.
GauntletOverview
Overview, metal
Date: 11/30/1999
At this point I have spent 20 hours in three days staying late after work, cutting and forming the metal pieces. I haven't tried them out very thoroughly, but I think they will work.
GauntletSideview
Side view
Date: 11/30/1999
a close up of the metal pieces. I'm surprised at how well it's come out so far, but even so it looks better from a few feet away than it does up close. It also looks better in the picture than it does in real life (IMHO).
GauntletHandplate
Detail, Hand Plate
Date: 11/30/1999
Here is the back of the hand plate. This is about what all the pieces looked like untill I buffed them out.
