I've recently made myself a nice dishing stump, details here.
My next project to keep me occupied during the cold, dark winter evenings is to make something with it.
I have absolutely no imagination, I'm no good at drawing, planning or designing anything, so I have bought a pattern instead of making something original. It's just a means to an end to develop a new skill, get some experience and keep me entertained. The Corinthian helmet always looked pretty to my eye so it's something I'd like to make. I've been watching a lot of tin bashing videos and there are a few armourers amongst them. The first dishing stump I made was inspired from an armourer's how to video. I thought it would be a good projct to try as I have a bit of leeway with measurements. Nothing needs to be exact as long as it is close. I'm not making this to fit me. It's not something I'd wear. It would be nice if the finished article looked OK and in proportion though.
This is the video I've got the pattern from.
The video doesn't actually show a Corninthian helmet but they do share the same basic pattern. The PDF covers five different helmet types, including the Greek one I want to make.
The PDF pattern cost me £4.60 at current exchange rates. I think it's a very good deal. The pattern is not the greatest I expect, but it's good enough for a beginner. I noticed that the helmet top half pattern was very similar to a shape that other Youtubers were using to make helmets, consequently it appears to be a good generic pattern I could make use of in future. Anyway, it was convenient and cheap, so it got bought. The same fella has some free patterns for other items if you want to sample them yourself without spending any money.
I'm not following the instructions to the letter. The video is aimed at making the helmet using fairly basic tools. The guide shows the helmet riveted together with joining plates which isn't a classic look. This is a welding forum so I want to weld the thing into one piece. This is also a transferable skill similar to body work on cars and the like.
I'm not shy of showing my mistakes and I might have bitten off more than I can chew. There's enough material on hand for a few do overs if needs be. I have a couple of hammers on order to assist with this. I thought this might make a decent read and be good for discussion even if the end result isn't great. The pattern should get me somewhere close though. It's the only way to learn by having a go.
This is what I've done tonight.
First, made a bit of floor space. I had bought a couple of steel sheets last summer when the prices were a bit cheaper than they are now. They were cut in half for easier handling and laid up against the garage wall behind a lathe. I hadn't actually got round to doing anything with them in the interim.
Patterns were printed off and cut out. Fridge magnets borrowed from the kitchen were employed to hold them down.
Permanent marker used to mark out. I will use thicker paper next time.
Cut out with shears. They were good at cutting the amalgamated piece out, but I struggled later on trying to trim the individual bits with the same tool. I think I need to experiment more with setting the gap between the blades.
Dimensions in the pic in case you were wondering how much material was needed. The steel is 1.6mm/16 gauge. It seems a bit thick to me but that's what was used in the video.
I mentioned that the electric shears weren't very easy to use, and the material was also a bit too thick for aviation snips and the like, so I settled on using a Clarke 6" x4.5" bandsaw set in the horizontal position to trim the individual pieces fairly close. I was a little concerned during cutting as I thought I'd taken a bit too much off in some places, however the thick black marker was outside the original pattern shape, so I got away with it. A cordless grinder and flap disc was used to smooth off the edges and get the final shape. This worked nicely but the heat from the flap disc made the marker evaporate which wasn't helpful. A die grinder and carbide burr was also used where I couldn't get the flap disc to fit. After tidying up and smoothing the pieces I was pleasantly surprised how close they were to the patterns.
This is where I have got to tonight. Just got the fiddly cuts to do for the eyes. Helmets often look a bit daft to me as the eye spacings never look right. Anyone wearing a helmet like this invariably looks like a cross-eyed Adam West from 60's Batman with his mask on. The eyeholes are usually wrong for the face. I noticed in the Youtube video that the eyes on the finished helmet were blacked out. That might be to make it look sinister but I have my own suspicions as to why.
Dishing stump, second go.
This was my first one, which I mentioned in the "Today I acquired thread". It's a bit crude but it seems fairly effective. It's just a bit of scrap wood from the woodpile with the middle drilled and routed out. With a little bit of hammering and planishing I can make shapeless blobs like this...
www.mig-welding.co.uk
My next project to keep me occupied during the cold, dark winter evenings is to make something with it.
I have absolutely no imagination, I'm no good at drawing, planning or designing anything, so I have bought a pattern instead of making something original. It's just a means to an end to develop a new skill, get some experience and keep me entertained. The Corinthian helmet always looked pretty to my eye so it's something I'd like to make. I've been watching a lot of tin bashing videos and there are a few armourers amongst them. The first dishing stump I made was inspired from an armourer's how to video. I thought it would be a good projct to try as I have a bit of leeway with measurements. Nothing needs to be exact as long as it is close. I'm not making this to fit me. It's not something I'd wear. It would be nice if the finished article looked OK and in proportion though.
This is the video I've got the pattern from.
The video doesn't actually show a Corninthian helmet but they do share the same basic pattern. The PDF covers five different helmet types, including the Greek one I want to make.
The PDF pattern cost me £4.60 at current exchange rates. I think it's a very good deal. The pattern is not the greatest I expect, but it's good enough for a beginner. I noticed that the helmet top half pattern was very similar to a shape that other Youtubers were using to make helmets, consequently it appears to be a good generic pattern I could make use of in future. Anyway, it was convenient and cheap, so it got bought. The same fella has some free patterns for other items if you want to sample them yourself without spending any money.
I'm not following the instructions to the letter. The video is aimed at making the helmet using fairly basic tools. The guide shows the helmet riveted together with joining plates which isn't a classic look. This is a welding forum so I want to weld the thing into one piece. This is also a transferable skill similar to body work on cars and the like.
I'm not shy of showing my mistakes and I might have bitten off more than I can chew. There's enough material on hand for a few do overs if needs be. I have a couple of hammers on order to assist with this. I thought this might make a decent read and be good for discussion even if the end result isn't great. The pattern should get me somewhere close though. It's the only way to learn by having a go.
This is what I've done tonight.
First, made a bit of floor space. I had bought a couple of steel sheets last summer when the prices were a bit cheaper than they are now. They were cut in half for easier handling and laid up against the garage wall behind a lathe. I hadn't actually got round to doing anything with them in the interim.
Patterns were printed off and cut out. Fridge magnets borrowed from the kitchen were employed to hold them down.
Permanent marker used to mark out. I will use thicker paper next time.
Cut out with shears. They were good at cutting the amalgamated piece out, but I struggled later on trying to trim the individual bits with the same tool. I think I need to experiment more with setting the gap between the blades.
Dimensions in the pic in case you were wondering how much material was needed. The steel is 1.6mm/16 gauge. It seems a bit thick to me but that's what was used in the video.
I mentioned that the electric shears weren't very easy to use, and the material was also a bit too thick for aviation snips and the like, so I settled on using a Clarke 6" x4.5" bandsaw set in the horizontal position to trim the individual pieces fairly close. I was a little concerned during cutting as I thought I'd taken a bit too much off in some places, however the thick black marker was outside the original pattern shape, so I got away with it. A cordless grinder and flap disc was used to smooth off the edges and get the final shape. This worked nicely but the heat from the flap disc made the marker evaporate which wasn't helpful. A die grinder and carbide burr was also used where I couldn't get the flap disc to fit. After tidying up and smoothing the pieces I was pleasantly surprised how close they were to the patterns.
This is where I have got to tonight. Just got the fiddly cuts to do for the eyes. Helmets often look a bit daft to me as the eye spacings never look right. Anyone wearing a helmet like this invariably looks like a cross-eyed Adam West from 60's Batman with his mask on. The eyeholes are usually wrong for the face. I noticed in the Youtube video that the eyes on the finished helmet were blacked out. That might be to make it look sinister but I have my own suspicions as to why.
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