hand hammered visor- let me see if this works! (or visor part III-the return of the upload)

FrankV - Monday, July 9, 2007 - 10:42am

this should work! if it does, there should be an animated .gif included in this post.
this is a test I had starting working on. The final piece is to be a visor for a helmet,specifically a type called a sallet. I liked the way the profile came out but was unhappy with the contours on most of the other views. This was made from a piece of cold rolled 18 ga steel. I used a dishing form and a few stakes to get the shape, the eyeslot was rough cut with an angle grinder, then chiseled a but and then filed to get the round corners a bit neater. On the final, I will actually build the helmet top first then take a pattern off of that to ensure the visor fits well.

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congrats.......you got it.

Bill Roberts (not verified) - Monday, July 9, 2007 - 1:15pm

congrats.......you got it. Nice sheet work Lookin forward to seeing it in the finished form.
animated gif is COOL btw. :)
Bill

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thanks Bill

FrankV - Monday, July 9, 2007 - 1:23pm

thanks a lot Bill. I need to work on my technique a bit, but for a first attempt I am happy. I definitely want to go to a thicker gauge though because the 18 ga. just moves too easy and does not leave much room for finishing and polishing. I figure I will loose a gauge or 2 after sanding and polishing.

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Looks fine to me. I just

Bill Roberts (not verified) - Monday, July 9, 2007 - 4:31pm

Looks fine to me. I just search out an armour forum to get some insight. Great site BTW, http://www.armourarchive.org/

And I found a couple of helmets. One was 12 ga. and the other was 14 ga stainless. Which would be "tuff" stuff. I've made some stainless roses with thinner sheet and it was a "bear" to manipulate compared to the mild.

Can I assume that you dish and work all this by hand? Have you ever seen a Treadle Hammer used to dish sheet metal into a "lead filled" bottom receiver? It sure makes "movin the metal" easier. Just a thought. :)

look forward to seeing your progress.
Bill

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thanks

FrankV - Monday, July 9, 2007 - 4:52pm

I am familiar with the armor archive, that is a good place to look. You really can find ANYTHING on the internet. A buddy of mine has been helping me along, he has been armoring in the SCA for quite a few years now. I would like to push my skills a bit further though and get more into "traditional" forming methods, without having to rely on welding.
Yeah, stainless is a pain to work, but the nice thing is once you are done it will last a while. On thicker stuff it would be nice to have a PullMax!
I did work it all by hand. I started with a cast form as a "reciever" and beat the basic curve in with a rawhide mallet. I tried using a shotbag I purchased from Eastwood automotive but did not find much success on anything thicker than 20 ga. After the rough forming I used a 2" diameter ball stake to start forming the brow area. Then I started working in the sharper curves with a cross peen hammer over a piece of 1/2" x 1" x 12" stainless stock in a vise. The crease in the front was made with a rebated mason's chisel and a piece of wood.
Hopefully I can get working on the final piece soon.

Frank

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visor and uses

visitor - Sunday, September 9, 2007 - 11:05pm

I like the shape and your description of how you got there.
The visor is really there as an practice at getting the shape or possably to as a costume piece. I am concerned with 18 gage and "battle" strength. But if I were walking around for hours on haloween I'd chose less than the "battle" ready weight.

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