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Written by uncledrax
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Sunday, 30 September 2007 |
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Page 3 of 4
Lets begin!
First, plan your cuts on the tire. This basically means figure out how much of the tire you want to use.
Since you can probably eyeball what you want pretty easily, you don't really have to mark it with a sharpie, but you can if you like.
Now start your cut across the steel belt with your reciprocating saw. You will want to hold the blade at an angle to the tire. Once you get your cut started, reverse the side of the tire you are on (so your saw is on the tread side of the tire), then just lay into it cutting across the belt then up the sidewalls up to the bead cables.
Keep in mind that your blade will heat up quickly from the friction of the rubber. You -will- start to see the rubber part give off some smoke. When you see this, I suggest you go ahead and let the tire and the saw blade cool down a bit. If you have some non-flammable lubricate, you can apply it to help speed things up.
Next you will want to cut the bead cables on each side of the tire.
I recommend a pair of bolt cutters for this job. Even a smaller pair will do what you need it to. Just get them over the bead and cut away. It might take a couple snips to get all the cables, but it'll be a ton easier then trying to saw cut them.
Finally, just repeat the cutting the belt and beads for until you get the parts you want. Remember you can always cut a piece smaller if you have to, but I recommend you avoid it if you can. Measure twice, cut once.
A quick note about vibration: The first cut you do with the saw you won't have to worry about vibration too much, but when you do your 2nd and 3rd cuts, brace yourself and the tire best you can. This is why I recommend heavy work gloves to help minimize the vibration.
Dressing the edges
"What the hell does that mean?!"
Quite simply, you will notice once you have your section of tire cut out that the steel belt is now a loose set of steel wire sticking out of the belt. It's pokey and will stick you while wearing it. Also the bead cables you will note will be pretty sharp edged.
So we gotta do something about that.
For the bead, you can either grind or file down the edges of the cables so they are smoothed out and won't cut you while handling it.
Dressing the steel belt of the tire is a little more complex, but there are a few things you can do.
One way would be to put a covering over it. You could take pieces of thick cloth or bend metal over the edges. This would prevent them loose wires from being exposed totally.
For the thigh armor pieces I did, I was running out of time so I simply covered them in a clear drying all purpose glue. This works pretty well actually. You just have to remember to use alot of it then let it dry. The edge will have a somewhat rubbery feel to it, and it will come across as shiney.
For my shoulder pad, I decided I'd take 14 gauge galvanized steel wire and lace it though. The loops would grant a bit of clearance from the loose wires in the belt.
If you do this, first drill holes all through the edge of the tire where you want the wire to travel through. Make sure you leave enough space between the hole and the edge of the tire, usually 1/4in will do it.
I recommend when you start lacing, you start from the middle and go to one side, then go finish up the other side. If you've ever worked chainmail, you'll know doing this can be hard on your hands. I recommend some light work gloves and a good pair of pliers. Don't worry about making perfectly shaped loops, after all it's supposed to be an ad-hoc armor! If you want to make perfect loops, you could insert a steel rod or wooden dowel under the loops to ensure they are the perfect size and shape. To end it, just pull the end through a few loops, and bend the tip down so it's facing the tire so it doesn't poke you.
There are probably a few other ways you can dress the ends, get creative with it. The goal is to just make the armor wearable without constantly being poked with wires.
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