The pattern I'm using is from http://www.larp.com/legioxx/lorica.html. This website has been very helpful. I will be attempting the Corbridge Type A pattern. I've
read that it is best made with poster board first to make sure that it
will fit. It is easier to make any adjustments (and less expensive)
with paper than it is with metal, so this is where I'm starting. I
printed out the patterns onto card stock paper and started making the
hinges. This was a little tricky because the patterns are just images.
Luckily the patterns have a scale on them. I just copied the images
into a Word document and resized the picture until the scale on the
pattern matched the scale in Word.
You need 8 hinges for this pattern. The hinges are made of 3 pieces: the two halves (shown above) and a 1/8" bar that serves as a pin. To make the pin, I just rolled a piece of paper that was approximately 1/8" in diameter and taped it. The two different halves are similar, however 8 of the halves will have 3 "bars" connecting the two sides (as shown in the ones already cut above) and the other 8 halves will have only 2 "bars". Each half is bent around the 1/8" pin. When each half is bent the pin is threaded through the "bars" connecting the two sides. This was also a little tricky. I am glad I am doing this with poster board first. The half with the 2 "connecting bars" has to fit between the spaces between the half with the 3 "connecting bars". I had to trim the pieces slightly in order for them to fit.
It was pretty time consuming but here are the finished hinges. They don't completely bend all the way but they do enough for their purpose.
Tools
1 - Bench Vice ($20-$300) (Necessary for hinge)
Bench Vices are pretty easy to find. For this particular project, you could get by with a smaller one. But if you are going do any more armor (which I plan on doing) you'll need something a little beefier. You want it to be able to swivel from side to side. I've seen some that have a quick release which would be nice (mine doesn't have that feature) but that's not necessary. Another nice feature is one that has and anvil on it (mine has one, just below the #1 in the photo). If you can find some soft jaws for the vice, usually made of plastic with magnets on the back, for your vice that would be ideal. I didn't have any so I cut some scrap pieces of wood to make my own. You don't want to use the metal "grips" that are most likely on the vice you have. It really marks up the brass plates of the hinges. I didn't put them on the vice for my first hinge and the hinge ended up looking pretty bad. I didn't even use that hinge.
2 - Jeweler's Saw ($16.75 from JewelrySupply.com) and Saw Blades ($3.75 for a dozen from JewelrySupply.com) (Necessary for hinge)
A jeweler's saw is similar to a coping saw. The main differences are that the jeweler's saw is made from two pieces (as opposed to one for the coping saw) which allows for some adjustment of blade length and the jeweler's saw has clamps that hold the saw blade in place. The teeth on the jeweler's saw blade are also a lot closer together, where the coping saw blade teeth are coarser. The one that I bought was the Deluxe Saw Frame 4" from JewelrySupply.com.
The saw blades I used were the #5's, also from JewelrySupply.com. I actually bought a dozen #2 and #3 blades but when I started cutting the hinges out I was breaking blades left and right. I broke less of the #5 blades so I kept using those. Now that I have a little more practice with the saw the smaller sizes would probably be easier to make the corners. I would probably buy 2 dozen, just in case you end up breaking all 12. There not that expensive.
3 - Modified Chisel (I had an old one but you can get one for $5-$20 from Home Depot) or something similar (Necessary for hinge)
I had an old, dull wood chisel that I used a belt sander to round the tip. You use this to pinch the brass plate around the brass rod. You want a round edge so that you don't mark the plate much. I probably should have rounded the tip more because I still marked the brass plate a little but I'm not too worried about it. You don't need a belt sander to round an edge, you could do it with a hand file. If I were to buy a chisel to modify I would probably get a masonry chisel. You don't even really need a chisel if you have a piece of metal bar that you can round the tip.
4 - Sharpie Marker (~$1) or something to mark your pattern onto the metal (Necessary for all pieces)
You need something to draw you're pattern onto the metal with. I just used a fine point sharpie. When you file down the edges you don't see the marks on the final product. I actually had to mark the brass hinge up a couple of times because my fingers wore it off.
5 - Set of Metal Files ($10 from Home Depot) (Somewhat necessary, see description)
When you buy a set of files you want to make sure you have some smaller ones for the hinges. You use these to round the edges of the cut metal and correct any mistakes you make with the jeweler's saw. You can always use a belt sander or something similar to round the edges of the larger steel pieces but you'll need at least a small file for the hinges.
6 - V-block (made from a piece of scrap wood) (Optional)
At least, I think its called a V-block. Its just a piece of scrap wood (I used a 1x2) with a V cut into it. To make this, you'd obviously need at least a hand saw. This is not a necessary "tool" but I found it did make cutting out the hinges a little easier. The deeper the V the better for the hinges.
7 -Side Cutting Pliers ($30 from Home Depot) or something similar (Necessary for cutting rivets)
I bought the High-Leverage Side-Cutting Pliers for Heavy-Duty Cutting (Klein Tools) from Home Depot. Its used to cut the rivets and the 1/8" brass rod for the hinges. You don't necessarily need "side" cutters. You could get a pair of End Nippers. I just decided to go with these.
8 - Scrap Wood (Necessary for hinges)
I screwed two pieces of 2x4's together, as shown in the picture above. I used this hold the hinge in place when using the chisel on it to pinch the plate around the 1/8" rod. It made it a lot easier and it was a cheap solution.
9 - Hammers (Necessary)
I used two hammers, one where I didn't care what the face of the hammer looked like. It gets scratched up when hammering the rivets and 1/8" rod for the hinges. The other one for forming the metal. This one you want the face smooth so that you don't mark up the metal.
Throatless Shear (~$150 from Harbor Freight) (Optional)
From what I've read, the shear to get is a Beverly Shear but they're around $500. I think the main difference is that a Beverly Shear can cut thicker metal. This one cuts up to 16 gauge which will work for this project. This is optional. I've seen people use a jig saw to cut out the sheet metal and even hand shears.
Brass Hinges
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