Many thanks to Steve ( @outofthefire ) for selling me these lovely Lignum Vitae mallets. The big one is about 740 grams and the middle one about 520. They look far too nice to use but I had to have a go with them. I kept away from the edges of the steel as that would mark them up. The big one got used, on and off, for about 40 minutes and the only damage to the face is a bit of rubbing. It's picked up a couple of steel particles too. Very impressive. They are great for stretching the middle out. I've caught the handle on the pattern edges a few times mind. Can't be helped as they curl up so much.
The demo I did of stretching and shrinking that piece of ally in the post above reminded me what I should be doing with the helmet halves. The heavier mallet is great for stretching the centre and creating creases, which allows me to shrink the edges more. The new dishing stump is holding up well. It got a proper battering and still looks fine. The smaller circumference is better for creating a dish and stretching the metal in the centre. Bigger isn't always better. I did keep going to the bigger stump to flatten and shrink the creases at the pattern edges, using it like an anvil. The plastic hammer is used on the edges as I don't mind if the face gets cut up as much, it resists cutting quite well anyway. My original dishing stump will get employed more often now I've seen how well the smaller, steeper dishing stumps work.
I'm slowly getting it into my head how these things work. I know I've been told on here in posts above and elsewhere already but I need to experience it myself to really take it all in and comprehend.
This helmet looks monstrously too big now. Overdid it when I reprinted the pattern oversize. Will carry on some more and probably give it a good trim to shrink the dimensions down some. I want to try and get more shrinking and stretching in first. Trimming it straight and level seems hard. I've seen people use tape to create a straight cutting line along the curves. Something else to cock up at the first attempt.
I'm off to google wrist supports...
This is after a lot of hammering. There's a bit of evident rubbing but not much else.
The demo I did of stretching and shrinking that piece of ally in the post above reminded me what I should be doing with the helmet halves. The heavier mallet is great for stretching the centre and creating creases, which allows me to shrink the edges more. The new dishing stump is holding up well. It got a proper battering and still looks fine. The smaller circumference is better for creating a dish and stretching the metal in the centre. Bigger isn't always better. I did keep going to the bigger stump to flatten and shrink the creases at the pattern edges, using it like an anvil. The plastic hammer is used on the edges as I don't mind if the face gets cut up as much, it resists cutting quite well anyway. My original dishing stump will get employed more often now I've seen how well the smaller, steeper dishing stumps work.
I'm slowly getting it into my head how these things work. I know I've been told on here in posts above and elsewhere already but I need to experience it myself to really take it all in and comprehend.
This helmet looks monstrously too big now. Overdid it when I reprinted the pattern oversize. Will carry on some more and probably give it a good trim to shrink the dimensions down some. I want to try and get more shrinking and stretching in first. Trimming it straight and level seems hard. I've seen people use tape to create a straight cutting line along the curves. Something else to cock up at the first attempt.
I'm off to google wrist supports...
This is after a lot of hammering. There's a bit of evident rubbing but not much else.