In this part of the tutorial we assemble the parts of the helmet together using nuts and bolts.

Ok, those holes we made in the top piece need to have corresponding holes in the helmet top half. That way we can bolt and rivet these two parts together.

So, lay the top down with the tabs up and put the helmet piece right in its proper location as if the helmet were assembled. Then use a marker to go through those holes, marking the helmet. Do that for all the tabs.

Hit all those marks with a center punch. This is important so the drill doesn't float around. This way the drill sits and stays in the exact spot because there is a divet there.

Go ahead and drill those holes out. Use a drill size that is appropriate for your rivets or bolts. I am using a 3/16 drill.

Take a break before you continue. This blacksmithing/metalworking is some hard stuff!

Now go ahead and put nuts and bolts through those hole pairs. This assembles the two pieces of the helmet together. You will have to tinker with the steel a little bit, depending on how evenly you shaped the curves. I am using 10-32 bolts that are 3/4 inch long.

Now we assemble the bottom half to the top half. We do it the same way. Drill a series of holes around the top half, transfer those hole locations with a marker and drill out the holes in the bottom half.

And just as before we bolt the two halves together. One thing to note is that you are going to have to tweak and move the metal halves a bit. To facilitate this you might want to drill one set of holes at a time. Bolting each hole pair as you go.

There you go! It is all bolted together. It is assembled and it looks great. But there is more work to be done.

Let's continue with the tutorial

Free Public Domain Books about Armour

These books, (mostly pdf's) are expired past their copyright and now in the public domain. But seeing as they are about medieval armor they are still very relevant and useful. Some neat stuff here and a great look at the past that is looking at the even further past! Check them out right here: Books on Armour

Blacksmithing, Whaling, and Ship Building

I took a trip to a local marine museum. The centerpiece is all the various types of ships there have been over the past few centuries. But we often don't think of how important the blacksmith's role was when it came to these sailing ships of the past. See some pics and read more about it here: Blacksmithing, Whaling, and Ship Building

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