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.