Home Page

Stefan's Florilegium

Armor-Stand-art



This document is also available in: text or Word formats.

Armor-Stand-art - 8/8/18

 

"The Good German Armor Stand: How to Make a Portable, Folding Wood Armor Stand in Less Than Three Hours" by Lord Gregor Reinhardt von Holstein and Baroness Genoveva von Lübeck.

 

NOTE: See also the files: armor-stands-msg, armor-msg, arm-rpair-kt-msg, armor-chklst-msg, BB-Wdn-Shelds-art, helm-padding-msg, Lite-Lg-Hrnss-art.

 

************************************************************************

NOTICE -

 

This article was submitted to me by the author for inclusion in this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium.

 

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author or translator.

 

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

 

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous

stefan at florilegium.org

************************************************************************

 

You can find more work by these authors at: http://honorbeforevictory.com/

 

The Good German Armor Stand: How to Make a Portable, Folding Wood Armor Stand in Less Than Three Hours

 

by Lord Gregor Reinhardt von Holstein

and Baroness Genoveva von Lübeck

 

rmorStandTitle

 

At our first Pennsic four years ago, we attempted our first armor stand. It was a bunch of 2x4s screwed into the semblance of an armor stand on site. Sadly, it couldn't hold the full plate armor Gregor had brought with him and it had a tendency to fall over.

 

The next year at Pennsic, Gregor noticed Baron Jasen Irenfest's gorgeous (and functional) armor stand and asked how he made it. It turns out Jasen's armor stand was based on a 1990 article that appeared in Tournament Illuminated, "A Barbarian Armor Stand," by Sir Timoch of Nordhem. So, armed with the plans and materials, we set out to make a Barbarian Armor Stand. We found Sir Timoch's general design to be good, but made our own improvements to key design details, as well as corrected the material list and modified some instructions. We updated the original plans to our liking and present them here with steps and photos. Many thanks to Sir Timoch, wherever he may be, for the original idea!

 

Notes: These plans will produce a custom armor stand that will fold down for easy transport. It can be setup inside or outside, and optional stakes can be inserted in the base when used outside for windy conditions. The stand will support most parts of your armor, and, so far, is quite sturdy and stable. We've used the armor stand at Pennsic for two years, as well as at various events around the Middle Kingdom. It's continuing to work great!

 

MG_7036

 

Armor Stand Materials:

 

 

Armor Stand Tools:

 

 

Armor Stand Instructions:

 

Step 1. Take the measurements of the person whose armor will hang on the stand. You need three measurements:

 

 

Step 2. Cut your 2x4s down to the following dimensions:

 

 

 

<a href=http://honorbeforevictory.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/armor-stand-diagram2-598x1024.jpg">

MG_7038

 

Tip: If you intend to sand, stain, and/seal your armor stand, you may wish to do this now before you begin assembling it. It will be easier and the finished stand will look better if you complete sanding, staining, and/or sealing before assembly.

 

Good German Option: We recently bought a table saw with the ability to do angled cuts, so when Gregor made a second version of this armor stand recently he made fancy beveled edges. It looks sweet. If you want to do this, do it now, before assembly!

 

ullSizeBevelled

 

Step 3. Take board A, find the exact center of the board lengthwise, and drill a hole all the way through the board using the 1/2″ bit. On one side of this board, use the 11/2" spade bit to create a recess about 3/4" deep around the hole you just drilled. (This will accommodate your washer and wing nut.)

MG_7041

 

Step 4. Take board B, find the exact center of the board lengthwise, and drill a hole all the way through the board using the 1/2″ bit. On one side of this board, use the 11/2" spade bit to create a shallow recess (deep enough to accommodate your bolt tip and the other washer) around the hole you just drilled.

MG_7043

 

Step 5. Attach board A to board B using the bolt, washers, and wing-nut. Note: You can choose to put the bolt downward or upward through the holes — what's important is that hardware be recessed into the bottom of board B so that it can sit flat on the ground.

 

MG_7045

Bolt recessed into the bottom of board B.

MG_7046

Top of board A, with bolt and wingnut accessible.

 

Step 6. Apply wood glue to the underside of the two C boards and attach them to the ends of the A board, making sure that you can swivel and rotate the attached B board without hitting the C boards. Clamp and nail (or screw) C to A. These are now the feet of your armor stand.

 

MG_7047

MG_7049

 

Step 7: Attach a hinge between the end of board A and the end of one of your D boards. You'll want to position the plates so that the hinge itself sits just beyond the edge of the boards — this allows you to fold it more compactly.

 

MG_7057

 

Step 8: Remove the pin from another hinge (insert a nail into the bottom hole of the hinge and hammer it down a bit to release the pin). Put the pin back into the hinge loosely, then repeat step 7 by attaching the hinge between the other end of board A and the second board D.

MG_7054

Removing the hinge pin

 

MG_7056

Hinge with pin removed

 

Step 9: Remove the pin again from the same hinge as in step 7 and tie a piece of string around the pin, then attach the string to board A. This ensures you never loose that pin. Re-insert the pin for now and set this assembly aside.

 

Step 10: Now that you have the base and two legs assembled, lay them flat on the ground and place board E (the torso board) in between at the top, flanked on either side by the H boards (joint boards). Lay them in a position relative to the legs as though it were all set up. Do not mount or attach hinges to boards E or H yet, but check their placement to insure no other screws will block the pre-drilled holes in the hinge plates. Now mark on the H joint boards the appropriate angle where the legs meet the H boards. A typical angle is 24°, but yours may vary if you significantly changed the measurements of your boards or with the placement of your hinges.

 

MG_7059MG_7060MG_7061

 

Step 11: Cut the joint boards (H) at the angle you determined in step 10 and attach them to the bottom of board (E).

 

MG_7067

 

Step 12: Attach the hinges to the joint boards (H). Make sure that when everything comes together that it fits snugly — if it is too loose, your armor stand will have a tendency to sway. Do not yet attach the other side of those hinges to your leg boards — it'll be easier if you do that at the end.

 

MG_7068

 

Step 13: Attach the hinges between the hip boards (F) and the torso board (E), making sure to test fit them first. Leave about a 1/4″ between the F hip board and the H joint board, allowing the F board to fold down without being obstructed.

 

MG_7073

 

Step 14: Attach the hinges between the shoulder boards (G) and the torso board (E).

MG_7078

 

Step 15: Now finally attach the hinges at the joint boards (H) to the leg boards (E).

 

MG_7086

 

Step 16: Fold down your armor stand to make sure it folds neatly. If the bolt gets in the way of folding, as shown in the photo below, you may wish to drill a small recess in one of the leg boards so it folds flatter.

MG_7089MG_7091

MG_7092

 

Voila! You have an armor stand.

 

MG_7088

Gregor's armor stand made in 2012

 

rmorstandbevelled

The armor stand Gregor made for Baron Ermenrich in 2015

 

Optional: Consider putting holes in the baseboards so you can stake it to the ground in windy weather. You may also want to add holes in the hip boards or shoulder boards if you have things you need to need to hang from your stand.

 

------

Copyright 2015 by Genoveva von Lübeck. <genoveva.von.lubeck at gmail.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited.  Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

 

If this article is reprinted in a publication, I would appreciate a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

 

<the end>



Formatting copyright © Mark S. Harris (THLord Stefan li Rous).
All other copyrights are property of the original article and message authors.

Comments to the Editor: stefan at florilegium.org