An exercise in basic hammerwork, finishing, and assembly
by Eric Slyter
Page 3 of 8
You now have all your pieces cut out and de-burred. It is time to start the forming process.
Curling the Lames
Lames (I pronounce it "la-mayz," others pronouce it "layms," either is probably correct) are the segments that go down the arm. Demonstrated here is a very simple way to curl them, ie, how to take a flat piece of steel and make it round. This is almost certainly a shortcut that was not done in the middle ages, and falls short of the subtle shapes that were accomplished in period even in a reasonably simple project such as this. However, it brings the project within very easy means, and the aspiring armourer can advance their skills accordingly.
Clamp an appropriate diameter pipe in your vice with a 2x4, and insert one end of the lame between them as seen in Figure 7.
Figure 7
Then, simply bend it halfway around the pipe as seen in Figure 8.
Figure 8
At this point, I like to add a twist to the ends. Otherwise, when done curling, the points on the ends tip inwards and the fit of the lames within one another will gap. Figures 9 and 10 show the before and after of how I simply fix this problem.
Figure 9
Figure 10
Then the other side of the lame is done in the same manner as in Figure 11.
Figure 11
In the case of the straight-topped lames, they can be curled without the additional twist. Once the lames are all curled, they can be set aside until after the next step.
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