Introduction: Steampunk Gauntlet Suitable for PDA/iPhone
I made this gauntlet for a recent steampunk LARP, and thought that I'd document the process. Tool-wise it's relatively simple.
You will need:
A leather Welding Glove
Several small copper joints (see pic later)
a length of dowel
some imitation leather (approx 20cm x 20cm)
a 2L plastic soft drink bottle
small lengths of garden hose
some wide elastic
Waxed thread/ Sturdy thread suitable for leather
a PDA or iPhone or other phone with a big enough screen
Tools you will need:
Scissors
a stanley knife/scalpel
Hot Glue Gun
Hacksaw
Leatherworking needles
Sewing Machine
You will need:
A leather Welding Glove
Several small copper joints (see pic later)
a length of dowel
some imitation leather (approx 20cm x 20cm)
a 2L plastic soft drink bottle
small lengths of garden hose
some wide elastic
Waxed thread/ Sturdy thread suitable for leather
a PDA or iPhone or other phone with a big enough screen
Tools you will need:
Scissors
a stanley knife/scalpel
Hot Glue Gun
Hacksaw
Leatherworking needles
Sewing Machine
Step 1: Glove and Backing
Picture 1: Take your welding glove and lay it flat. As I'm right-handed, i'm using the left glove.
Picture 2: Measure and cut a section of your leather that is the same shape as the "sleeve" of the glove, leaving a 1-2cm margin on each side.
Picture 3: Take your Plastic bottle and cut off the neck and base using the stanley knife or scissors. This should leave you with the middle cylinder
Picture 4: Cut the cylinder vertically. This should leave you with a plastic sheet.
Picture 2: Measure and cut a section of your leather that is the same shape as the "sleeve" of the glove, leaving a 1-2cm margin on each side.
Picture 3: Take your Plastic bottle and cut off the neck and base using the stanley knife or scissors. This should leave you with the middle cylinder
Picture 4: Cut the cylinder vertically. This should leave you with a plastic sheet.
Step 2: Measuring Out
Picture 1: As your copper lengths may be different, it's important that you have all your components at the start of the process. Get your copper tubing- you will need 4x 90 degree angle pieces and 4x T-joints. you can either use the "fat" joints I have here or thinner ones- the important part is that they need to be able to be glued together.
Picture 2: Dry fit the pipe together. Whilst they won't fit together this way in the final product, this is the best way to measure it out. take the Pipe and your PDA and mark out the places where the pipe sits on the plastic with a texta (marker).
Picture 3: this should leave you with the location of the bases of the tubing. Cut the plastic panel down so that it'll fit between the glove and the leather panel.
Picture 4: use the piping on the underside of the leather to mark out the locations of the pipes.
Step 3: Cutting the Leather and Attaching Elastic
Picture 1: Cut along the marks made for the tube. You should cut each long enough that you can fit the tube through snugly.
Picture 2: Mark out the edges of your PDA/iPhone on the leather using the texta. These lines will be used to attach the elastic.
Picture 3: your elastic should attach underneath where the tubes will go, so that it appears thaat the tubes form the edge of your screen.
Picture 4: using a sewing machine, sew the elastic to the leather along the lines provided. as your phone or PDA is probably quite thin, you may need to stretch the elastic out before sewing
Picture 5: the completed step
Picture 2: Mark out the edges of your PDA/iPhone on the leather using the texta. These lines will be used to attach the elastic.
Picture 3: your elastic should attach underneath where the tubes will go, so that it appears thaat the tubes form the edge of your screen.
Picture 4: using a sewing machine, sew the elastic to the leather along the lines provided. as your phone or PDA is probably quite thin, you may need to stretch the elastic out before sewing
Picture 5: the completed step
Step 4: Sewing the Glove
Picture 1: Sew the leather on to the glove, starting at the wrist end. you should only sew on three sides, leaving the elbow side free so you can insert the plastic and tubes.
Picture 2: A good trick to keep it in place is to use double sided tape.
Picture 3: Once you have sewn the three sides, slide the sheet of plastic between the leather and the glove and insert the tube through the holes. Glue the pipe to the plastic and leather. (Apologies, didn't get any great pictures of this part)
Picture 4: Glue the pipe segments together, leaving a gap in the middle. take two short segments of garden hose and glue them in to the gap between the two "t" sections on each side. Take a length of dowelling (in my case, approx 9 cm) and glue it between both sides, as in the picture.
Picture 2: A good trick to keep it in place is to use double sided tape.
Picture 3: Once you have sewn the three sides, slide the sheet of plastic between the leather and the glove and insert the tube through the holes. Glue the pipe to the plastic and leather. (Apologies, didn't get any great pictures of this part)
Picture 4: Glue the pipe segments together, leaving a gap in the middle. take two short segments of garden hose and glue them in to the gap between the two "t" sections on each side. Take a length of dowelling (in my case, approx 9 cm) and glue it between both sides, as in the picture.
Step 5: Finishing/Decorating
Glue or sew the final edge of your leather panel down. Your gaunlet is now pretty much complete! All that's left to do is decorate (I used rub 'n' buff and some wire) and insert your PDA, which I loaded with some steampunky pictures. You may also wish to use brasso/ silver cleaner to get the tubes looking quite shiny.
Now, get in your time machine and take over the world! For the Queen!
Now, get in your time machine and take over the world! For the Queen!
