Hi everyone,
So i am new to this whole thing but i wanted to see if you could help me understand how i could make a rounded metal helmet. I do know of the English wheel method but do not know if we have that. Also awhile a go i made a bowl by beating a metal sheet into a form.
So for this project i would like to make the face mask of iron man mark 1.
How do you think i should make the top rounded portion also the slight round on the face and keep it looking smooth. It dose not have to be an exact replica. I just want to make it in to a welding helmet so i will use thin (still need to weld on it) sheet steal.
spun tops are made by placing a round metal disk into a lathe pressure fitting and replacing a cutting tool with a ball or disk joint and pushing it into the disk to force it into the shape of a bowl. I know the theory but haven’t seen it done. Another way is to get a stump - hollow it out - and take a hammer to the disk to dish it out, but that’s very messy. This would give you the domed top.
We do not, but thank you for fueling David’s ( @Photomancer ) fetish…
This link shows working something along these lines. I’m thinking what you probably already know:
break it down into constituent parts (based on that photo, top front, top back, lower front, lower back, at least) form those pieces (bag or stump & hammer, planishing), then join together (weld) and finish (more planishing, sanding, polishing).
As far as I know (zero successful experience, to be honest) planishing is the key to smooth.
Please post back what works! (or maybe just as important, if you discover something which doesn’t)
There are a few ways. I don’t really think we have any of these ways in the space. English wheel, planishing hammer with a hammer bag. I’m sure there are other ways.
wow that was fast! Thank you all for your feed back. It looks like the most practical way would be to break the top section into 4 parts and hammer it into a routed wood mold. I would like to use the press ,then may be I could use aluminum, but i would rather not spend money on tooling.
How could i make it have a smooth finish if i beat it with a hammer into a mold? The one i made in awhile ago in boy-scouts looked pretty bad.
I also have a metal WW2 helmet that i got for the sole purpose of maybe using it to beat the sheet metal around it? I am not very good at free form metal working so i am very hesitant to work on it.
I think for a smooth finish you’ll need either an english wheel, a planishing hammer, or a belt grinder. (And you’ll need pretty thick metal for the latter.). Another option might be a hammer and dolly, but you better have patience.
A shot bag might be quicker for you to make the basic shape. But you would still need to use a planishing hammer or English wheel to smooth. Ideally the planishing hammer would would be better. I guess if you had enough patience you could smooth it out with a hammer & dolly. Now I have a cheap planishing hammer that I might consider loaning to the metal shop but the chair would have to approve. At a bare minimum the hoses would have to be replaced.
Sounds like you may have the same Harbor Freight planishing hammer that I have, the hose on mine has fallen apart also. I can replace the hose and would be happy to loan it to the space too, but it will need to be mounted to something, as I do not have the base for it. I can already hear the future noise complaints…
