Main > The Armoury

Armor stands

(1/4) > >>

scott2978:
I'm thinking about making or buying an armor stand. What have you used, what works and doesn't, and what's historical? I'm interested in your experiences.

Scott

Ian:
I made one from PVC once... it didn't work very well.  It was too flexible under the weight of everything.  It stayed put, but it could easily be knocked over.  I smashed it with a pole hammer after a while.  That was a lot of fun... :)

Sir Matthew:
The guys I reenact with use simple wooden crosses with a wooden x base for stability. They aren't historical, I'm not aware of any historically accurate armor stands, but for display and educational purposes they look the part and are very helpfull.

Sir Rodney:
I made one from wood, black iron pipe, and PVC that works well.  It’s in this thread:

Armour Stand

Sir James A:
Posted mine on the Book of Faces last month:


--- Quote ---Armor stand that I use for my suit of armor. Made out of 2x4s and plywood - almost anybody can make this!

* The plywood base is roughly 18" square.
* The side pieces are 1 1/2" less than shoulder height.
* The lower horizontal piece is about belt height.
* The upper horizontal piece is as wide as shoulders from side to side.
* The upper vertical piece is height of shoulders to top of head.

The laces are just staple-gunned to the frame; shoulders towards the "head" piece, arms closer to the edge, legs a bit above the lower horizontal piece. Cheap shoe laces from Wal-Mart, cut in half. I twist some simple thin black wire from JoAnn fabrics around the cut ends to keep it from fraying that I had left over from a wire wrapped sword re-grip I did a few years ago.

I use 4" screws to attach the base (probably overkill; I tend to err on over-engineered). The other 2x4s are just pre-drilled and held in place with counter-sunk 2 1/2" wood screws. You could use nails and it would probably work just as well.

Can be made without any fancy tools. A hand saw, a hammer, nails and a few staples (you could hammer them even without a staple gun) and you're good to go. I use a compound mitre saw, drill press, electric drill to drive the screws, staple gun, and a carpenter's square - but it's not needed.

Black paint is just $1 cans from Home Depot, a couple coats, and doesn't even need a primer base. Takes about 1 1/2 cans, I've done 2 stands with only 3 cans.

Goes on the stand just like it would in a standard arming sequence; feet, lower legs, upper legs, neck, body, shoulders, arms, helmet.

I've debated on making a raised base to it (like they have in museums) and putting an engraved plate on the front with the description of the armor. I have a few pieces of brass and a stamping set, though I haven't tried it yet. The raised base would simply be either 1x4s or 1x6s in a box frame added to the bottom of the plywood base.

With the armor on the stand, almost none of the stand is visible except the base. I used to build an arm to go along with it, but didn't like the way you could see the frame through the armpit and elbow openings, so I removed them. It hangs reasonably natural just by being suspended by the laces.

A mannequin would look nice, but they're expensive ($150+) and I'm not confident in their ability to hold the weight of a 75 pound suit of armor. The 2x4s hold it without any trouble. Plus, some people may have half (or more) of the materials laying around, like I did. It's a great-for-the-cost do-it-yourself option.
--- End quote ---













edit: completely un-historical. i'm not aware of any historical stands. storage in a chest would be more likely, and would double as transporting it, too

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page