Lathing the Bonnet

Having cut off all the excess foam in order to fit the block on to the lathe I began lathing the basic shape. Below is an image showing the process.



It took me about a day and a half to lathe out the bonnet shape. Mostly because I made a miscalculation when cutting off the excess foam. I cut off too much leaving two flat planes on the surface of the curve. To fix this I had to attatch two extra pieces of foam and continue lathing the bonnet.

However, with that now complete I can continue working on the breastplate while I prepare the bonnet for moulding.

Bonnet preparation.

Before I can begin lathing the bonnet I need to preapre the foam so that it will fit sequrely on the lathe. Firstly I glued two pieces of the yellow foam together to make a rectangular block.

I then had to draw the profile curves onto the block to determine where to cut the foam, making it small enough to fit on the lathe.



With the basic shape cut, tomorrows task will be to attach the mdf base which will be used as a contact point to the lathe attatchment. This piece has to be glued on very strongly to ensure that the foam does not move during the lathing process.

Moulding the Breastplate

With the sculpt complete I was able to begin fiberglassing the mould. I spent the afternoon doing this, and left it over night to cure.

Unfortunately, The morning after I was informed that the room in which it was in had been damaged in a fire. I will not be able to retrieve my work for a few days. In the mean time, with the arrival of the foam I required, I shall begin Lathing the bonnet.

With the closing of the workshop until Monday I will be concentrating on the professional intent unit.

Finishing the breastplate Sculpt

IToday I finished the breastplate sculpt. I had to add some finishing "Dings" to the surface. I used a hammer and some silicone to soften the blows and to make them less uniform. The dings represent a helmet that is over 90 years old. With the sculpt now finished I shall begin the fibergassing on monday.

Breast plate continued.

Having returned from work experience I am now able to continue making the breastplate. I have completed making the former by adding a circular hole shape for the neck piece, and began sculpting onto it using normal air dry clay. Using this type of clay has enabled me to form the shape quickly. I hope to finish it by tomorrow

Work Experience.

An opportunity for me to do a weeks work experience at Millennium FX has presented itself recently.
I believe that although the time constraints on my project are tight, it would be too good an opportunity to miss.

The Breast Plate.

I have decided to make the bonnet using the lathe after researching different methods available to me. To do this I need a light weight foam to compensate for a large overhang. While I am waiting for the delivery of the foam I shall begin to make the breastplate.



Above is an image of a breast plate mould for a real diving helmet. As you can see it is a metal former, which is used to form the shape of the breastlate. To make my breastplate I have decided to use clay. To do this I needed to create a plywood former of my own. Using the rhino drawings I cut out the shape of the shoulders in mdf and then pinned plywood to the shape. I can now spend time sculpting the breastplate shape.

Lathing

Since many of the shapes that make up the components of the diving helmet are circular in shape, I have refamiliarised myself with the lathe, and subsequently lathed several of the pieces that make up the helmet. The tranciever Recess, the two viewports on the sides of the helmet, and part of the exhaust valve.

PICTURES

I have begun with these basic shapes but hope to begin to make the bonnet soon. The rhino drawings should help me to create a former which I can use to help me make the bonnet's shape.

Rhino Week

This week, to get my head around how I am going to make the diving helmet, I made a model in rhino from plans I bought from ebay. This model has helped me to break down the helmet into its component parts. This way I can make a clear plan of action with regards to how I will make the helmet, and how long each piece should take.

Introduction

Over the next 14 weeks I shall be making a replica US Navy Mark V Diving Helmet. This blog will document my progress and reveal successes and weaknesses in my work. I have begun this project by researching the Diving helmet itself. All of which can be found in my research folder. From this research I can begin formulating a plan of how to make the helmet. I have looked into materials and processes and before I complete this plan of action I shall spend a week producing testers and samples to confirm the methods I will use. I have spent one day already reaquainting myself with the lathe as I suspect there will be a fair amount of circular and cylindrical work involved in this piece. Below is a picture of the helmet I shall be recreating.