For the last few weeks I have been working on a paper prototype version of my gauntlet. Making a prototype out of paper first came to mind when I realized that the design for the gauntlet could be a different size than that of my arm. This would be a serious issue for my project because first, if the parts are not the right sizes, then there will be lock-ups (when joints don’t move because they are obstructed) because the pieces will be getting in the way of the other pieces when one tries to move with the gauntlet on, and second, I would have to fix the lock-ups by manually sanding down each individual piece of metal to the right size. This can all be avoided
by making the gauntlet with paper first because paper is exponentially easier to form and shape compared to metal, allowing me to easily fit the pieces to my arm specifically. I am currently finishing the final touches of the prototype so that I can continue to the metal. I plan on starting to sketch the designs onto the metal this weekend, and then continue to cut out the metal next week.
Last week I printed out the design I am using on thick paper and cut them out. I then poked holes through the paper in the general area they needed to be in so that with rivets, I could connect the different pieces together. Next I started to put together the different pieces; however, the finger pieces I did not put together because they needed strips of leather to put them together. This week however, I have used substitute strips made from scraps of paper so that I could continue to build the prototype made of paper. With a substitute to leather, I was able to start putting the finger pieces together. When starting this I found that the fingers are much more difficult to fit to the glove than the other parts. This is because there are a lot of little pieces, and there needs to be a lot of free movement for the fingers. All the pieces have to fit perfectly or else one would not be able to move their fingers properly.
This week for my project I decided that I would start the actual building of my gauntlet. To do this I first needed to print out my design on paper thicker than normal paper to make it easier to trace the design onto metal sheets. To get the paper printed on, I went to the nearest postal store where I got the design printed. After printing out the design I started to cut out the pieces of paper. Before tracing the paper onto the metal, however, I decided to first try to build the gauntlet out of the paper pieces. This would allow me to fit the individual parts to my hand on a easily changeable substance like paper instead of metal. At the moment I have all the paper pieces cut out, and I tried fitting them together as shown in the picture. I left out the rest of the finger plates because they require leather strips that I do not have yet.
Problems always arise during a project, and my project has proven this to be true many times. Over winter break I was meaning to start and hopefully finish the build of my arm after purchasing all the materials; however, a situation raised when purchasing the materials. The store that I was going to buy sheets of metal from closed for the entire break, and to fix this issue I had to order metal online. Because it was ordered online, the metal took until just this Wednesday to arrive. With this delay, however, I am still moving forward in my project. I now have the metal needed, a set of tools, and the design ready to be traced onto the metal for me to cut and then shape into the desired shapes. This weekend I hope to start tracing the design onto the metal and to start cutting the pieces out for shaping.
