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Hi, I've got a fairly decent Deepeeka scutum, but of course it needs tiding up. The grip needs a bit of work, and the brass-topped screws that hold the umbo on need replacing. Is it a big no-no to use iron rivets for this job? I can't get hold of brass carriage bolts easily - but iron ones are easy to pick up.
Thanks!
~ Paul Elliott
The Last Legionary
This book details the lives of Late Roman legionaries garrisoned in Britain in 400AD. It covers everything from battle to rations, camp duties to clothing.
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I'd say go for it. No reason at all to think that the boss and rivets have to be the same metal. Someone will probably mention the problem of electro-something corrosion, but in 15 years of Roman reenacting I've never seen that cause any significant damage.
Vale,
Matthew
Matthew Amt (Quintus)
Legio XX, USA
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.larp.com/legioxx/">http://www.larp.com/legioxx/
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I don't see why iron bolts shouldn't be used. The only problem is that they are much harder to peen than copper or brass ones.
Vale
Jef Pinceel
a.k.a.
Marcvs Mvmmivs Falco
LEG XI CPF vzw
>Q SER FEST
www.LEGIOXI.be
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When you consider that things may have been re-used, bits replaced, etc. over the years, there's every reason to believe somewhere, sometime iron rivets secured a copper alloy umbo to someone's scutum. Just as an example, I have a small copper alloy buckle that has what appear to be several new holes in the plate for replacement rivets- the final one, which is still in place, is iron.
Matt
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