Brian Wolfe Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 DIY Helmet Stand – Tutorial A number of years ago a friend of mine who is a police officer in the UK sent me a Bobby’s helmet as a gift. I did not want to display the helmet with the weight resting fully on the rim and peak so I decided to make a stand to support it in my shop. This worked out so well that as I added more and more helmets, both police and military steel helmets, I continued to make more stands. I was unsure of just how many I had made that when I was writing this piece I was going to take a guess at a couple of dozen. Then I thought that this would probably be an exaggeration and that you deserved to have an accurate number so I counted them. To date I have made 41 stands for my helmets and hat collection. Not really that many if I were a collector of head gear, however quite a few considering I didn’t consider myself as a collector of helmets. Anyway, I thought that I would share with you how I go about making stands for my helmets. Normally I work in hardwoods such as red and white oak, walnut, maple and so on. However I needed four stands for some helmets that were being shown in a display that had been lined with knotty pine. Because of this need the stands I will be showing are made of pine. I made eight altogether and stained the four not going into the display a darker colour using Minwax English Chestnut stain followed by four applications of clear coat. >< The first step is to get some material. I used 1½ inch thick by 6 inch (5½†actual dimension) wide pine for the base and ¾ inch thick by 6 inch wide pine for the helmet support for the top. The column is made of 1¼ inch wide stock but you can use some of the 1½ wide material as well; I just happened to have some 1¼ inch wide material in the shop scrap bin. I have tried to make sure that I didn’t make use of machinery in the shop that most people wouldn’t have at home and when I did I made sure to mention the other tools that you can use that might be more readily at hand. I’ll suggest alternative tools as we progress. The first step is to draw a 4 inch circle on the 1½ inch board, make sure you mark the centre well as you will need this mark to locate the position of the holes that you will be drilling later. I would suggest using a compass to draw the circles as the sharp point of the compass will leave a location hole for the drill. Once you draw the circle cut it out using a band saw or a jig saw. You can use a regular saw and just take several cuts around the circumference. Don’t try to cut on the line, leave a little “waste†which we will sand off later. If you are using a regular straight cut saw you will probably have a little more sanding ahead but this is not a race so take your time. Shop safety tip: Do not go into your shop or start a project if you are upset or tired. No matter what the tool supply companies will tell you a shop is NOT where you go to unwind. They are in the business to make money; you are in the business to keep your fingers where they belong. A word about warping: Wood likes to warp, that is in its nature for several reasons I will not discuss here. When you look at the end of a board you will see growth rings, or a segment of those rings. Most of the time they will appear like the letter “C†or “Uâ€, but not quite that drastic. Always orientate the board with the top of the proposed project as if it were on the top of the letter “Uâ€. The rings always try to “straighten out†as the board starts to “cupâ€. Remember this if you are building a deck or helping a friend on the weekend to build his. If you follow my advice the board, when it cups and it will, will not act like a trough that holds water but like a vaulted roof that sheds water. This is your chance to really impress your brother-in-law. See the example of the end of a board with the rings I’ve highlighted with a pencil line. Next take the disk you have just cut and sand to the circle’s mark. You can use a hand sander or a belt sander held tight in a vise of clamped to a bench for this task. Once this is done you may want to chamfer (bevel) the edges of the disk. I used a router table but it can be done with a belt sander if you are steady enough. Is this even necessary? Not really it just looks better; having said that, if you are making this for a softer helmet such as a Bobby’s helmet you should probably round the edges. This will assure that there are no sharp edges that might cause damage to the helmet over time. There is another alternative that I will cover later regarding the use of small pillows. Remember to bevel, or chamfer, the edge on the surface that is opposite to the surface with the compass mark as that will be the underside of the top and where you will be drilling a hole for assembly later. These steps are shown in the photo below. The base is made using the same steps as noted above. In this case that bevel you cut in the top also needs to be repeated on the base. The difference is that the compass mark needs to be on the surface that will be up in the finished project. The hole in the top is in the underneath surface but the hole in the base is in the top surface. To save money you don’t have to use thicker material for the base you could use the same thickness board for both the top and base, and even for the column if you like. The steps for making the base are shown below. For the column, cut the material to the length at which you like your helmet to be displayed. I have made a short column at four inches for the British style helmets and longer ones at six inches for the German helmets. You may want the helmet to be displayed at a higher level than I have suggested, it is all a matter of taste. You may also want to take the edges off the column to make it look a little slimmer but that again is just a matter of taste. I have included some photos later on of the different column designs you might want to consider. You can also purchase spindles that are used in railings and cut them for this purpose as well. I have done this when I want a fancier column and photos of those are shown later on. If you want to use wooden dowels to connect everything together as I have you will need to drill holes as shown in the above photos. There is no reason that you can’t use wood screws to achieve the same goal; I just like to glue things together. Now that you have everything cut, shaped and sanded you are ready to assemble the stands that will not be stained. If you have elected to stain your stands, as I have done with half of the number I have made, I suggest that you do your staining of the parts before you try assembly. This gives you a much better finish. Glue or screw the stands together before you apply the clear coats, I used four coats of Minwax Oil Modified Polyurethane. Do yourself a big favour and purchase only low odor and water cleanup finishes. You could also paint your stand if you like, it’s yours so it’s up to you. If you elect to glue your stands together wait at least 12 hours for the glue to set properly before trying to put on the finish coats, regardless of what is written on the side of the glue bottle. Always apply glue into the hole and NOT on the dowel as any glue on the dowel will simply be scraped off as you are trying to insert it into the hole. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-28136500-1421963222.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-33208400-1421963262.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-52190400-1421963294.jpg The final thing you should do is to glue some felt on the bottom of the stand to protect the finish of whatever you sit the stand on. Rare good marital advice: Taking marital advice from me is usually an unsound move but this one is solid. Putting felt on the bottom of the stand keeps the stand from having that “clunk†sound when you might set it on a nice cabinet in the living room. The soft dull thud makes the project seem much classier and since it doesn’t sound like it has caused any damage you might get to leave your helmet displayed somewhere nice. What other military forum can you belong to where you get military history plus marital advice? You have to love the GMIC. Earlier I mentioned the use of “pillows†with the stand to prevent wear on the inside of the police helmet. These are small pillows that I make out of black velvet and fill with fine gravel that is used in aquariums; make sure the gravel is clean and dry. Either do this yourself or have someone help with the sewing. Make a bag out of the velvet with it being inside out. Leave one side open. Next turn it the so the velvet is now on the outside and add the stone. You’ll have to hand sew the last edge. This allows the helmet to rest on a surface that will not mar the inside if the helmet. Another use of these is in the off chance you miscalculate in the length of the column and need the stand to be taller. One of even two of these pillows can be used to adjust the height. A photo of one of these stands with a pillow is shown below. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-74096600-1421962824.jpg Another variation on the helmet stand is the stands I make for hats. The only difference is in the top piece. I make it the same size as the hat size so that the shape of the hat is maintained and even the peak has a natural curve as in normal wear rather than getting flattened out when displayed for a long time on a shelf and the weight is on the peak (similar to the Bobby helmet scenario at the start of the tutorial). You’ll notice in the photo below that I put a bit larger 1/8 inch of hardboard on the underneath of the top to support the rim. This keeps the hat resting nicely and prevents it from sliding down on the wooden “plugâ€. I paint the top, or “plug†black so that it doesn’t “jump out at you†when you view the hat. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-95035000-1421962987.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-64108300-1421963043.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-61216900-1421963080.jpg Below are some random shots of different stands and helmets in the collection. A couple of photos are a bit dodgy, please forgive their poor quality. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-94095300-1421963396.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-21224400-1421963428.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-86749900-1421963466.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-91345400-1421963579.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-09242300-1421963616.jpg http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_01_2015/post-1801-0-80228100-1421963649.jpg If you have any questions about making these please send me a PM or email me at brian.wolfe@bell.net I would like to hear from other members as to how they display their helmets and hats, as I know there are more methods out there than the ones I use. Please feel free to expand on this tutorial. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 I missed a photo and figured since I've put this much work into the post I might as will post the last photo as well. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric K. Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I really like the low profile look. I was wondering what to buy/make as I have a few helmets that need displaying, so I think I'll give these a try. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 Hi Eric, I like the low profile stand as well though I do make some much taller, it just depends on where they will be displayed and if I want to display something else beneath the helmet, a badge for example. The great thing about the low profile is that you can always make some more disk shaped pieces and put them on top of the helmet support piece to give it a higher profile. That is a lot easier than trying to shorten a tall one after is has been built, I know. I have done it. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Brian, Great tutorial and marital advice. I made some stands myself with perspex and a stainless rod connecting the top and bottom although I gave most of them away. They weren't as good as I had hoped and now the headgear I have is all inside a cardboard box or two. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Thanks Tony. The other day I thought that I would "Google" "helmet stand images", which I had never done before, and was surprised at how much mine looks like many on the internet. So much for originality. Too bad your stands are all gone, I would have liked to have seen them. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Brian, I still have a couple, well three to be exact so I've taken some photos. If I had a soft hat on them I placed some old cotton material between the hat and stand however, I must admit that your idea with a bag of gravel is much better. If a steel helmet without liner was used I just placed it on top of the perspex. They were all made with bits from the scrap bin where I used to work, I drilled holes in the perspex, heated up the top piece with a heat gun and fold the corners in a bending brake, then cut a thread in both ends of the rod on the lathe and screwed it together. Obviously not something that can be done at home unless you live in a workshop. The pictures of the stand seem to come out better when sitting on my toolbox. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 Hi Tony, I was afraid you didn't have any left and was really happy to see them featured here today. An excellent job and very creative. Made from the scrap bin? Now that is near and dear to my heart. Regards Brian PS, Just to show you how impressed I was, I NEVER use the icon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jock Auld Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Both styles look very practicle, thanks for the ideas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric K. Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Its way better than the mannequin head. Tony it looks like you know a bit about machining,you're throwing around, I had to use a bending brake,cutting threads on a lathe like it's no big thing..I don't even know what a bending break is LOL. Nice work to the both of you Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 Wall rack – helmet After noticing that the helmet stands I featured above were much like many other such stands on the internet I wanted to make something a little different. Upon looking around the collection room I had the realization that most of us either fill up our wall space or our counter top display first. I must admit that I have little space left on either the walls nor the counter top display areas. That aside, there is usually room in one of the two areas that have not yet been occupied. I have put together two wall mounted helmet stands which might be of interest. They are made of pine and held together by glued dowels, with the exception of the wall mounting bracket which is held on with long screws. I used long screws to install a wall mounting plate which had two “keyhole†slots using a router bit cut in the back for the screws. These fit over screws in the wall affixing the stand without any visible means of attachment. I really like using this method as it not only looks neat it can also keep the uninitiated guessing as to how you achieved the mount without screws; or at least looking like you didn’t use screws. You may wonder why I didn’t simply use the router on the horizontal piece that holds the helmet stand column to the wall. Because of the way the grain runs any use of this method would not be strong enough and the weight of the helmet might just tear the screw heads through the stand support. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2015/post-1801-0-26381700-1424805558.jpg I won’t go through a lot of description of the stand’s construction other than to say I glued up thinner boards; using two ¾ inch pieces to make 1½ inch thick stock. I may have gone a bit too heavy and any other wall mount stands I might attempt will be constructed using thinner stock. The great thing about the round top that the helmet rests on is that you can turn the helmet to allow for the best view. I have done this as the helmets in my display are close to the corner and I wanted their profiles to show as well as possible. http://gmic.co.uk/uploads/monthly_02_2015/post-1801-0-78931600-1424805628.jpg I hope you like my latest shop project and will try this yourself sometime. If you have any questions please feel free to leave it in a reply to this post or contact me directly through email or a PM. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now