Helm update

Got an email from Sir Donngal last night. He tells me that he's getting the art "back" this week (so I take that to mean he is having someone else do the actual drawing). He gave the translated inscription to whomever is doing the artwork for him, and he thinks this person can fit it in.

His plan is to transfer the art to the brass this week. After the plaque is attached, all that's left is attaching the grill and the maille, which should be simple. He also wrote this:

"BTW, this helm is making people who stop by the shop very jealous and they all want to switch to Russian."

To which I say, yer damn right.

Project: GER

Quick update: yesterday we finished sealing all the lumber (rest of the rafters, roof ring, door jamb) and began putting the khana together. Actually, Farthegn and Serena put them together while I stayed inside and entertained the girls.

We have one-half of one khana bolted together. Seemed to go pretty quickly. That means the next time we get together (next Sunday, most likely) we'll probably be able to power through the rest of the khana and actually put one of the gers up.

Then to the fabric.

Project: GER

More progress on the gers.

Farthegn came over on Sunday to help seal all the lumber. I had started on the slats the night before, and busted out 50 or so. Farthegn, who is much more skilled in woodworking that I declared my work up to that point had been sloppy, but serviceable.

Some of the slats drying. We choose a sealer with a little color to it (Behr Premium Weatherproofing Wood Finish #501, "Natural Cedar," in case you're curious) and I love the way it turned out. The pine takes a nice honey-yellow color. It'll look great against the natural cream color of the canvas.


We had high hopes of busting out all the lumber on Sunday, but that didn't happen. The slats took longer than expected. Farthegn did the math and he estimates we finished about a quarter-mile worth of wood in just the slats, so maybe that progress wasn't so bad. I think we could have done more, but Farthegn, the wood guy, had to lovingly caress each piece of wood. I think we could have gotten more done if we just slopped on the stain. Of course, they wouldn't look nearly as good as they do. And they do look fantastic.


But we did finish all the slats! And about six of the rafters. I'm going to try to bust out some more of the rafters throughout the week. Of course, my evening time may be a little limited since I need to make sure my kit is in top shape for Crown Tournament this week.

Then, on Labor Day, we're getting together again to assemble the Khanas. If the rafters aren't all finished by then, we'll have a team working on those as well. Then the door jamb and the roof ring... and that's it for lumber! If everything works out, we may be able to actually assemble the lumber portion of our gers. But that might be over-promising... there's a lot of hardware to install before we get to that point.

Than... the canvas! That's going to be the hard part, I think.

Helmet update -- Russian translation

My new helmet is based, to a large degree, on the so-called "helmet of Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich" (if it was really Yaroslav's helm is apparently up for debate). It's a stunning relic discovered in 1808 by a peasant woman who noticed something shiny in the dirt while out collecting nuts.

It's not clear from the above photo, but only parts of the entire helm were recovered. Most impressive, of course, is the large central plaque:


That's St. Michael (the patron saint of Russia). It's kind of hard to see, but there's an inscription around the outside of the image that reads, "Great archangel Michael, help your servant Fedor."

When Sir Donngal and I first starting talking about this helmet, we both agreed that the plaque was the focal point, and the helm would appear a little bare without it. This has been the part I have been most concerned about... the shape of the dome is critical too, of course, but what people are really going to oh-and-ahh over is the plaque. I'm still nervous about it, honestly, but Sir Donngal has done such good work up to this point that I'm confident that the plaque will be up to the same standards.

Recently we discussed the plaque, and I inquired if he was going to include the inscription. He said he hoped to, if he could fit it in. Then I started thinking about how cool it would be if instead of "Fedor" my helmet had MY name on it. How cool would that be? Answer: extremely.

So I spoke to my Baron, knowing that he works with some Russians and has had things translated for me in the past. He sent the translation to me just this morning:

Великий Архангел Михаил, помоги рабу своему Николаю

"Great Archangel Michael, help your servant Nickolai"

I immediately forwarded it to my armorer. I am super jazzed. Cannot wait to actually get this thing!

Project: GER

As jazzed as I am about the new helm, I'm equally excited about another project that's been brewing for a couple years now: a yurt!

(I forget where I heard this, but I've been told that "yurt" is a derogatory term. Russian soldiers first saw the portable Mongolian structures and called them yurts, which I'm told means "hovel." Therefore, I've made a point of calling my new SCA home a "ger," the more respectful Mongolian name.)

My lady, Serena, and I have talked for a long time (years) about improving our camping space. We've used mundane tents only up to this point. She used to use a period pavilion in the distant past, but had problems with it leaking. And that's her thing: she hates leaking tents. I mean, no-one likes leaking tents, but her hatred is of a different caliber altogether. So, if we were going to have a period tent, it best be as leak-resistant as humanly possible.

I don't remember when I got it into my head that I wanted a ger; but once there it was not to be dislodged. I love everything about them: the look, the headroom, the lack of corners, everything. And they're supposed to be damn-near impervious to high wind, so that's a huge plus. And since they're supposed to be very durable in rain storms, Serena was sold.

We looked up plans and kicked around the idea for a long time. Well, at first we were just going to buy one, because--to point it mildly--I'm not handy. At all. While we could possible build our own, it would be a struggle with a lot of swearing. So we started looking around.

Gers aren't cheap, I can tell you that. And rightfully so; I mean, no-one is mass producing them like they do with standard western Europe pavilions. We were all set to pull the trigger... and then I got laid off. That put the ger project on hold. Then, when I finally had another decent job, I contacted the one guy who everyone recommended... only to find out that he was retiring.

We didn't do anything with it for some time (other than lament about our poor timing) until my squire, Farthegn, decided that he was ready to retire his period tent and make something new. And a ger appealed to him.

Here's the thing: Farthegn is handy. Like, super-handy. If he was involved, I was confident that we could build a ger with minimal consternation. It helps that he's a carpenter mundanely, too.

We decided to build two 16' gers, one for him and his lady; one for me and my lady. He got some plans off the Internet, ran some numbers, and came up with a plan. He bought the lumber and has steadily been cutting out the pieces at his workplace (working in a shop with all the big tools helps, too).

Up to this point, I've done nothing to help.

But, finally, this past weekend the project was at a point were I could do something. Farthegn brought over all the pieces and we started sanding them.

First up: the door jamb:


This is about 5' 6" tall, meaning I only have to duck a little to get in. It's also wider than I expected, which will be handy when bringing in tubs and the bed and the like. There are no doors yet; that's one part of the project that has yet to be cut out. It's very low on the list of priorities... so much so that it might not get done this year. We might just have canvas flaps, which will be fine.

The roof ring:


This is a prime example of why Farthegn is steering the bus and not me. I've always heard that this is the most difficult part of the project. And it's easy to see why; you have to get the angles right or your rafters don't sit where they should and there are problems. When I expressed my concerns to Farthegn, he just said, "eh, it's just math. It's not hard."

The wall lattice (Khana)


Here's all the sanded slats that will be put together to make the "baby gate" wall for the ger. The canvas isn't tensioned on this structure, so it won't really rub ever... thus the quick sanding we gave it. Actually, Farthegn's comment was that if these were "bachelor homes" we wouldn't be sanding them all. But, since his lady will be living in one, and my lady will be living in the other... it wouldn't do to have a stray splinter prick their delicate hands. Even though I did manage to get one big sumbitch through the middle finger of my one hand. Hurt like hell, and still does.

The rafters:


At some point I'd love to paint them red and decorate them like I've seen in some fancy gers, but that's way down the line.

Farthegn in his natural habitat:


Me using power tools! Something you don't see very often.


I also burnt the snot out of my neck that day. Only on one side, though, since I stood in the same place for most of the morning.

All the sanded pieces now reside in my garage. Next up: sealing and assembly!