New barbuta

[Tableau]

So I finished my first attempt at building the barbuta I was asking about in this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=155336

It doesn't look too bad, but overall, I'm fairly disappointed. The curves of the skull and the neck are too generalized, and I had a hell of a time trying to get the edges of the skull and neck to be flush for welding. I wasn't as patient with it as I should have been. I'm also a little out of practice at welding oxy/acety, and these things combined resulted in a lot of touching up areas, rewelding then regrinding and thinning out the material too much. You can see an example on this in the side view of the helm. On a positive note, I think the edge roll around the face came out nicely. That was a pain in the ass.

Next time I'm thinking I should either a) tack the neck to the skull before shaping so it doesn't move around so much or b) make the neck piece smaller, so that before shaping there's a gap between the skull and neck at the back of the helm, since the top of the neck will flair out during shaping to meet the skull.

Some progress pictures:
http://imgur.com/a/du1so

Photos of the finished piece, along side photos of the original.
http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 5728_n.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/ ... eb2011.jpg

http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 6711_n.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61926062@N05/8121437892/

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-a ... 3627_n.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/ ... 93dc3c.jpg

I'm going to add a liner and chin strap, so all the rivets will be there to complete the look. One thing I'm not sure about though. What are the two holes right above the rolled edge at the back for?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v499/ ... 60ab1c.jpg

[Tableau]

Any comments? I could use some criticism or advice if anyone has any.

[Pitbull Armory]

Hi, Nice job getting the shape on the back of the helm that is a tuffie, I see you used heat, what hammers and techniques did you use>? Keep up the good work.


Take care

Pitbull

[Signo]

I don't think you should be disappointed, how many helmets have you made? Each one of them will always teach you something, have some flaws, and disappoint you for something. I think you catched the spirit of the original, sure, maybe you could do better, but I don't think this should disappoint you.

[wcallen]

I have made a few barbutes and some similar helmets from 3 pieces.
I always welded the base plate to the upper before raising the base plate. It does keep it in place and (if you have a smooth weld on the inside) means you can blend over the weld if you need to to get the right shape.

Overall this is a very credible interpretation. I have seen many, many worse. I have made worse.

Stare at yours and the original side by side (at least in pictures) at the same angle and see what you can see. That is often very helpful and often works better after you have finished (when you can't really fix anything, but the piece is complete).

The roll around the bottom and face is fun, isn't it?

This is the last one that was vaguely similar that I did:
http://www.allenantiques.com/R-23.html

I wasn't copying a particular one so I could get away with more. It looks like I don't have a nice side shot showing off the shape in the back. I will have to rectify that someday.

Wade

[Tableau]

Thanks guys,

Pitbull, I dished the top section, and raised the bottom section.

Signo, I'm mostly disappointed my welding/grinding failure. I was going to use this for SCA combat, but I think I thinned out the material a bit too much for that. So now it's just a costume helm. u_u

Wade, good to know welding the lower plate on before raising is a workable approach. I will probably try that on my next one. I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and looking at pictures, and I think I could make my next one look and fit better. Yours looks really good!