So, since i could not find a suitable Pauldron pattern anywhere on the interwebz, i had to make my own. Unfortunately, this process ate up allot of my time. Not only do you have to focus on how the finished product is going to look, but also how it will
function. The biggest concern was making sure i can still move my shoulder. I found a pretty simple design for attaching the pieces which still leaves me with some mobility without over complicating the design. Originally i wanted to have the three pieces Pivot, so that when i moved it moved with me. Unfortunately that required very precise design and that i did not have time for. So instead the design is very simple. The three pieces will be attached by a straight piece of leather that will allow some flexibility in my shoulder.
Shown above is the finished pattern which has two "lames" and a "cop". A lamé is a solid piece of sheet metal used as a component of a larger section of plate armor. Multiple lamés are riveted together or connected by leather straps to form an articulated piece of armor that provides flexible protection. The cop is the larger piece that will be rounded and shaped to fit comfortably over the majority of my shoulder.
I traced the pattern onto my sheet metal, trying to conserve as much space as possible. I figure, any scraps i have i will try to use for the fingers of the gloves.
Then i just started to cut away the pattern with the Aviation shears. At first i was a little nervous using just the shears, as most people said that they would not work. Fortunately, it was very easy, it just took a little elbow grease. The only real trick was making use of the three different flavors.
There is a green one which is for sharp right turns.
The red one for sharp left turns.
And the yellow one for the straight aways.
Once i got that down, it was no problem.
For the next few days, i chipped away at it little by little. I don't know if it was me or the cheap shears, but as the days went by it seemed to be much harder on my hands to cut the metal. But i am NOT going to use an electric tool to do this and i certainly cannot afford a Beverly shear. So for now, ill just call it a work out.
Finally, all of the pieces are cut out and they look great! What i like about the shears is that i can take my time and be very precise with each cut. I don't need to move at the pace of a rotating blade. The next step will be to trim all of the little steel slivers around the edges and then start DISHING!
