Learn to Dish by building a Buckler

Dishing is an essential skill for building armour. It's used to some extent in almost every piece of plate armour you'll ever build. Whether for knuckle gadlings on gauntlets, panels for a spangen helm, a breastplate or elbow and knee cops, dishing is used everywhere.

The main part of this project will be dishing the Boss on the buckler

Step 1 Tools and supplys

For this project you will need:

-sheet metal
I recommend 16 gauge, that's 1/16" thick for you Americans, and 1.5mm for most everyone else.
-a jigsaw with metal and wood blades
-A dishing hammer
-dishing form(s)
-files or a grinder or something to de-burr your edges.
-1/2"plywood
-a 14" steel drum lid and clamp (or other edging material)
-assorted clamps
not necessary but REALLY helpful
-a drill and 1/8 or 9/64 drill bit
-riveting supplies
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-peen-a-rivet/ i dont remember how else to link this.
-safety equipment(glasses, gloves and hearing protection)

Comments

[_Scratch_]

Ahh the ball peen hammer.... Anything it touches becomes a sack of marbles...

[armourkris]

does it ever, good if your going for that post apocalyptic feel though

[_Scratch_]

agreed

[Aklash, The hunchback]

Great shield but you really should paint it or something

[skimmo]

i was lucky enough to find a press at tafe that was about the same size

[lazemaple]

 The work is beautiful, I did become alarmed at mention of melting down tire weights to make the dish forms! Wheel weights are made of lead and both lead and zinc are highly toxic even when melted outside one must be very careful when dealing with those elements. Inside the melting lead produces oxides that then become dust particles which are breathed into the lungs. These heavy metals are not eliminated by our bodies and when working with the forms - wear Gloves to protect  against transference through the skin.  In days past Hatters were referred to 'as mad as a hatter' because of lead transference [think insulin and nicotine patches] through the skin and ingested from the lead hat forms they used.  It wouldn't hurt to get a blood test done to see if there are toxic levels of lead in your system.  Having had some close encounters with both lead and zinc, I take the matter seriously and hope you do too.
As mentioned before, beautiful work.
Aurora

[lazemaple]

 You know what; you are quite right it was mercury... I just looked it up on Wiki .  So much for believing what I'd been told for decades without verifying for myself.  My sister was a stained glass artist and was found to have high levels of lead in her blood from not using gloves when working. 
Lead poisoning is toxic to the heart, bones, kidneys and messes with the nervous system and its development.  She did die 4 years ago at a relatively young age.  We can never be too careful working with this stuff.

I'm going to try bouging some sheet metal :-) I usually work in copper and silver, however your tut has inspired me!
Happy holidays everyone!

[armourkris]

I;ve never worked in anything but steel, and a bit of aluminum myself, but my understanding is that most modern armouring techniques are actually adapted from silversmithing.

Anyways, I'd love to see a pic of whatever you end up hammering out if your willing to show it off.

[armourkris]

I;m glad you enjoyed the instructable.
I was under the impression that it was mercury that made hatters go mad, though to be honest i don't really see where you'd use either mercury or lead to make a hat.
but yes, i agree both lead and zink do need to be treated with the apropriate safety measures, gloves, respirator, ventelation ectera

[lazemaple]

 Mercury was used in the felting process - to mat the wool so tightly.  Kind of makes one wonder about those wearing the hats afterward as the tiniest amounts of mercury are extremely toxic.

[Pryo Chain]

 Yeah lol, that's actually where the term "mad as a hatter" comes from.  Hatters would use mercury as a kind of starch for their hides and leathers, and of course, cloth, to give it more form...  and through the prolonged contact, they would often get brain damage from the mercury.

[red-king]

 it evaporates in warmer temperatures though... there might be some left behind... but i doubt it would be left for very long...

[cowscankill]

Awesome. Got a picture of a damaged suit too? The shield looks so cool!

[SasquatchKid]

Nooo you killed Boromir lord of Gonder  with your orcs for his shield

[skimmo]

this is great ive had a heard time looking for real sheilds but roughly how big is the end product?

[armourkris]

These bucklers are both 14" but you can make it any size or shape you really want.

[the_burrito_master]

Do you mean back yard as you can dig a hole in the ground and hit the metal just like you said?

[armourkris]

you don't even need to dig the hole. just lay your metal on the grass and away you go. the ground will compress where you strike while supporting the rest of the metal. it takes a little more work than with a proper dish, but not much.

[sonicfreak04]

this would go nice with a viking costume if it was bigger

[bowmaster]

Flippin awesome.

[NickoftheRead]

How did you cut out the inner circle?

[armourkris]

i did it a needlessly difficult way. Looking back on it, i would mark out the circle i want to cut out, drill a hole a little inside of it, then use the hole as a starting point and cut it out with a jigsaw.

[NickoftheRead]

ok thanks, thats a good way...but it may not be very accurate. I suppose it doesn't matter as much after sanding, since its on the inside anyways. I was thinking about using a router, but that takes a lot of set up for the jig, and the hole is an awkward size. Would http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000DCZK7?smid=A2LM8ZC59IT9RX&tag=nextag-tools-tier4-delta-20&linkCode=asn (an adjustable circle cutter) be a worthy investment? or does using a jig work just as well

I'm inexperienced at this so i'm finding the best ways so i can make a few

Many thanks

[armourkris]

Personally, i wouldn't bother with a circle cutter. i find the jog saw is accurate enough for 99% of the things i cut. if i need a cut to be perfect then i just cut it a little small with the jigsaw and clean it up with files untill it is where i want it.

[NickoftheRead]

great thanks, I ended up just using the jig saw and was very pleased with the results

[and7barton]

I made a buckler using an old car hubcap - same size - but ready-dished.

[armourkris]

Nice, I've actually been looking for a good hubcap to do that with. I want to use it with a suit of post apocalyptic armour i've been working on.

[and7barton]

If you Email me on [e-mail] I can send you some photos of my hubcap buckler. Richard

[brookswift]

nicely done. however dishing is not the only way to create two dimensional curves. many armourers also raise pieces. it's a subtle difference, but quite profound. raising thicken the material you're working with. dishing thins the material. Also, raised pieces are able to attain much deeper curves without welding, so many of the highest quality helmets are actually raised from a single piece.

[Spookiefish]

I wish there was an option to give you 6 stars, only able to give you 5 :( 1 of the best Ive ever seen

[armourkris]

I made it for SCA Cut and Thrust fighting. and I'm working on an instructable on tools right now.

[mynameisjonas]

I really think that this should be featured! five stars and faved!

[rimar2000]

Excellent! COngratulations.

[8bit]

How to make a dishing form?

[discontinuuity]

Pretty cool. What do you use it for? SCA or LARP events?

[CarpetGnome]

B-E-A-Utiful! I've always wondered how to do that without busting the bank. Thanks much!

[uguy]

Nicely done. Great ible. Thanks for sharing.