Blaxmyth
Sr Member
After the first pepakura fibreglass and wood helmet, I thought it'd be fun to make one in steel.
The templates were easy, well sort of, I ended up tracing the second pepakura one, then allowing a bit for the inevitable adjustments. The steel sheet is cold rolled mild, 1.2mm thick, or 18 gauge. It's the biggest that I can cut with hand shears, although I wouldn't mind getting some 1.5mm and getting it water jet cut.
The spikes were the first part I tackled. I was able to make a small gas forge and get some 12mm and 1omm rod up to red heat for drawing out to a point on the anvil. The coal forge is too messy, plus I'd been wanting to make a gas forge for ages.
Next was the spiked centre piece. Fortunately I have a sheet metal brake which just handles 1.2 sheet, although I did have to sharpen the bend over some angle iron. The cheek pieces were next, and thanks to YouTube I was able to raise the flutes on the cheek.
Every square inch had to be peened with a small ball hammer to give the sheet some texture. The surface didn't look busy enough when it was plain and shiny.
Next was getting the nose welded, followed by riveting the crown together.
I was able to borrow a sand blasting nozzle and after a quick trip to the local beach, have sand blasted one side. The plan is to blacken the whole helmet over the coal forge with a smoky flame, then use oil and nugget to set the blackening. The sand blaster helps to roughen the surface to make the sooty mesh adhere better.
More to come!
The templates were easy, well sort of, I ended up tracing the second pepakura one, then allowing a bit for the inevitable adjustments. The steel sheet is cold rolled mild, 1.2mm thick, or 18 gauge. It's the biggest that I can cut with hand shears, although I wouldn't mind getting some 1.5mm and getting it water jet cut.
The spikes were the first part I tackled. I was able to make a small gas forge and get some 12mm and 1omm rod up to red heat for drawing out to a point on the anvil. The coal forge is too messy, plus I'd been wanting to make a gas forge for ages.
Next was the spiked centre piece. Fortunately I have a sheet metal brake which just handles 1.2 sheet, although I did have to sharpen the bend over some angle iron. The cheek pieces were next, and thanks to YouTube I was able to raise the flutes on the cheek.
Every square inch had to be peened with a small ball hammer to give the sheet some texture. The surface didn't look busy enough when it was plain and shiny.
Next was getting the nose welded, followed by riveting the crown together.
I was able to borrow a sand blasting nozzle and after a quick trip to the local beach, have sand blasted one side. The plan is to blacken the whole helmet over the coal forge with a smoky flame, then use oil and nugget to set the blackening. The sand blaster helps to roughen the surface to make the sooty mesh adhere better.
More to come!
