Greathelm Construction

[Cytic]

I'm thinking about trying to build a greathelm for one of my first armouring projects. The only project i've worked on before is a Roman scutum with a 16 guage steel boss. When connecting the different plates for a greathelm do you need to weld the seams or will rivets be strong enough? Do hardware stores sell rivets or would I need to order them froma website?
Thank you for the advice.

[Otto]

Rivetting is fine (I use 3/16 dia. steel rivets)

You can get them from RJ Leahy www.rjleahy.com

They have a very wide selection and are generally cheaper than you'll find locally. You can usually find sickle rivets at farm supply stores, but unless you're in a BIG hurry, I'd wait the few days it'll take RJ Leahy to deliver. You'll be much happier with what you get.

[Sean Powell]

Historicly speaking, the panels of a great helm were riveted together and a safe helm can be made for the SCA and most Larps without welding.

Rivets can be purchased from Mcmaster-carr, R.J.Leahy and several industrial supply houses including some farm equipement suppliers. They come in mild, stainless, brass and other material; round, dome, flat and pan headed depending on your personal preference. 8 penny and 10 penny nails can make a cheep substitute for practice armoring. Nails are actually harder than store bought rivets (although not as nice looking)

Off the top of my head SCA helms should be constructed with at least 3/16" rivets spaced no more than 2" appart. That is from memory, please check your local kindom regulations and/or the rules of your LARP or LH group.

I suggest AGAINST using metals softer than steel for use in a combat helm despite the fact that they look very pretty. YMMV.

Happy hammering, please post pics when you are done.
Sean

[Magnus The Black]

I suggest AGAINST using metals softer than steel for use in a combat helm despite the fact that they look very pretty. YMMV.

Happy hammering, please post pics when you are done.
Sean

Does this include for decorative trim? I always thought a early period helm would look really cool copper plated. It also shouldn't be too hard as that is one of the 1st steps in the chroming process so most bumper repair shops should be able to copper dip a helm.

[Sean Powell]

I suggest AGAINST using metals softer than steel for use in a combat helm despite the fact that they look very pretty. YMMV.

Happy hammering, please post pics when you are done.
Sean

Does this include for decorative trim? I always thought a early period helm would look really cool copper plated. It also shouldn't be too hard as that is one of the 1st steps in the chroming process so most bumper repair shops should be able to copper dip a helm.

My bad. That should probably read "...metals softer than steel FOR STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS OF a combat helm..."

Thats what I get for typing quickly at work.

Well done brass and copper trim can be a beautiful addition to functional armor. Its also a nice way to dress up a piece of munition grade that you have bought for yourself.

Hot dip copper cladding I know almost nothing about and what little I know about chrome plating is that it is expensive and not many businesses do it because of dealing with the waste material and the EPA regulations. I do suspect that copper will wear off but probably not chip off. Be sure to seal it promptly as the galvanic reaction will probably tarnish the copper while you look at it.

... but this is thread hyjacking. I now return you to your regular discussion about great helms.
Sean

[Konstantin the Red]

Cytic, welcome. Your first barrel/great helm will be a rewarding project, though your learning curve will be steep as you go at it.

First, you conical-curve the forehead plate and the occiputal plate. Arrange these plates and their conical curves so that their bottom edges are horizontal, and their ends, which make up the upper portion of the side seams, are vertical, not sloping in any direction, but straight up, when viewed from either side. This means these pieces will be somewhat curved in the pattern rather than just straight. Dish these plates just a little and rivet them together, forehead plate overlapping.

Next, you trace the shape of the top cap using the piece you just assembled. Trace around it again, but 3/4" outwards from the first outline you traced -- that will be the flange with which you rivet the top cap down. Cut out around this outermost line, dish the top cap somewhat, and hammer-bend the flange down. This is the fussiest part of the whole project -- take it slow, just a little bit by a little bit. You can start the bending down with a Vise-Grip if you like. It will get wavy, though the easier you take it, the less waviness you'll get. Flatten out waves as they occur, then go back to tapping it down. The point of an anvil is a good tool to hammer this kind of thing down over. When you've got the flange bent, then you can rivet it on, which is also fiddly: bend in (if necessary) to touch at four place, drill and attach three of the bent drilled spots with nuts and bolts and rivet the fourth in, then go across the top cap to the hole that's opposite and rivet that one shut, and so on. Now you've got it riveted in four spots, so go between each and bend in and rivet four more places between, continuing to flatten the parts that bulge out until it's all pounded smooth. It tends to take tinkering and time.

Now you can set about bending and attaching the face and the nape plates. You may need to bend the bottom edge of the occiputal plate inwards first to make a smooth join with the nape plate. Rivet the nape plate on first. The face plate usually defines the ocularia, or sights. The face plate rivets on with a rivet or three on a central nasal that rises between the sights, more riveting overlapping the bottom edge of the forehead plate and the left and right edges of the nape plate. The upward-lapping layout of this plate may seem counterintuitive, but it makes sense when you recall a greathelm is designed to shed lance points, and relative to the head, lance attacks come either horizontally or from slightly below, and the plate overlaps reflect this. Even the top cap might be set inside the forehead and occiput plates rather than over them, by starting the flange bend a little farther in, so it would fit.

If you are bending your face-plate in air, you'd be well advised to bend first and drill your breaths later, as the metal will otherwise tend to bend right along the dotted line the breath-holes define, because it's weakened right there. If you're bending with a roller, you can drill beforehand.

For wear, you can make an arming-coif with a stuffed "doughnut" crowning your head so as to fill the gap between your skull and the corners of the top plate. Another option is a suspension harness of a brow band, crownlike fingers extending up from this and lacing together at the top. A four-point two-strap chin strap is among the best chinstraps; its anchor points are four: two points right and left at the top of the ears and slightly ahead, and two lower points just ahead of either earlobe, the straps crossing over each other on either side of the chin, so that the upper strap dips below the point of the chin and the lower strap crosses between chin and lower lip, the two straps outlining the area of a chin cup. One side of this can be made into a single strap and buckle for convenience.

[garrett du bouclier noir]

the barrel helm pattern on this site is simple to use, just cut it out and go, and comes out looking something like this