Hat tricks.

OK, I didn't post last night because, well....I didn't feel like it.  (Just being honest :)  Tonight however, I begin a series of posts on what can seem like one of the most daunting tasks for the beginning to intermediate armorer; helmet making!  (At least, it was a pretty big deal for me starting out).

So, next, I'll present to you the way that I make a helmet.  I'm not saying this is the only way or even the right way, just my way...YMMV.  The kind of helmets I use this method for are constructed of multiple pieces, including the cranium, and riveted together.  All of the helmets I've pictured so far in this blog have been made using this method.

The first thing I do is take some measurements.  These are:
A. Head circumference
B. Head diameter, front to back
C. Head diameter, side to side
D. Distance from top of head to bottom of chin
E. Distance from point of nose to back of the head
F. Distance from top of head to the eye line

Right, so here are the pieces of information we need but, how do we get them?  Enter the cloth tape measure and caliper.

The metal pincer thingy is a caliper.  This one is probably an old, outside transfer caliper.  You can sometimes find these at a flea market or garage sale.  If push comes to shove, you could make one out some fairly thin plywood or sheet metal.  Thick plastic sheet would also work, if you just happen to have some handy.

The coiled up thing in the middle is a regular old cloth tape measure that you can pick up at Wally World for a couple of bucks.

To get the head circumference, simply wrap the cloth tape around the head, at what looks to be the widest part.  This is usually just above the eye brows.

Now we use the caliper to measure the front to back diameter (distance) and the side to side distance.  To these measurements, I add approximately 1" to 1-1/2" to allow for padding material.  I don't add any to the circumference measurement but simply use that measure as a target to let me know if I'm in the right range.

The last measurement I usually take is from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin, once again, with the caliper.  This will give us a target for how tall the helmet needs to be.  Lately, I found E and F to be optional measurements but getting the distance form the point of the nose to the back of the head can be fairly important, especially if we don't want our client's helmet to come smashing into their nose when they get hit.  Ouch.

I almost forgot, measure your calipered distances, lay your caliper on a ruler and measure the distance between the points.  This may be obvious to almost everyone but I've known myself to overlook things like that quite frequently and then have one of those "Well, duh!" moments.

This next bit is where my method will seem to take a flying leap from the path of logic.  I have a pattern piece that I start with for the helmet top and size down appropriately.  I've found that this works fairly well to fit most folks, unless they would have an exceptionally large melon.  Here's what my pattern for half of a helmet top looks like:

I label one side "A" and the other, as you may have guessed "Fred."  Just kidding, the other side is in fact "B."  Although this pattern may look symmetrical, I can assure that it is not.  When I trace the side marked "A", I write an "A" on the tracing I've just done on the steel.  I do the same thing with the "B" side and once the pieces are cut out, I dish them with the letters facing me.  This lets me know that I am making two different sides for my helmet top instead of two of the same.

Tomorrow, I'll go into more detail about the pattern piece and the dishing process.  G'night, folks!