Ultimate Picklehaube/Hat stand

[Chris Boonzaier]

Having been offered a number of Spiked Helmets or hats that have suffered from bad storage/display I decided to look for a good method to display then,keeping their shape...

On ebay there were special "stands" for EUR20-25 which look to have been thrown together with Home Depot parts... but did not really turn my wheel...

I would rather spend a few bucks more and have the "king of stands" (or "Kaiser of stands") made....

You know how the hats look....

[Chris Boonzaier]

So with the help of a local carpenter... This was the first test...

Hole at the bottom incase a stand needs to be added...

[Chris Boonzaier]

Then, using no glue, double sided sticky tape, staples etc... a pure linen cover is hand fitted and sewn...

[Chris Boonzaier]

The only commercialy made parts are the felt feet... I am thinking of asking for a different solution, maybe wooden leggies...

[Chris Boonzaier]

Giving a stand that allows you to display a hat without deforming the top...

[Chris Boonzaier]

Display a haube, keeping its shape and proctecting the visors...

[Chris Boonzaier]

Lightly inclined forwards really makes a really nice display, showing "all the good stuff"

[Chris Boonzaier]

Another...

[Chris Boonzaier]

What do you guys think?

I had the wooden blocks done 14cm high... which gives enough space to put a plaque or label on it, even pin badges or things on it...

Another possibility would be only 8cm... and have a stand added.

Both seem to have possibilities...

The Cream linen cloth seems best, but fieldgrey, rough silk, sacking material etc. are all possible...

[Les]

Chris,

I like the idea. One suggestion is to seal the wood with shellac/varnish or some other sealer. If the wood has any sap residue, it could bleed into and through the cloth and then into the headgear. Sealer and a light food grade sealer plastic, and a cloth cover that could be removed so it can be washed and put back (with velcro closures?) on the block would be the ideal way to go.

A practical way to make them adjustable instead of making numerous different sizes would be really great.

[Stuart Bates]

Chris,

I tried glass heads in the beginning but found them to be more often than not too large for the headgear. I switched to perspex tubes 210mm tall, depending on the particular item, covered with black cotton socks and topped with a white linen/cotton cushion. The cushion alleviates the pressure of the tube distorting the headgear and I can size them to suit each item.

I attach a photo of how it looks. This is an old photo and I initially used black women's stockings (no jokes please x 2) but they were not heavy enough.

Stuart

Edited May 20, 2011 by Stuart Bates

[Brian Wolfe]

Hi Chris,

I'm blessed with an abundance of scrap hardwood so I've made my stands in my own shop.

For the police headgear I've used 1/4 sawn white oak with a pine top to support the forage caps. The pine block is cut in an oblong shape in the correct size for the cap it will support. Front to back measurements for the block happens to be the same as the hat size (7 1/8 size cap = 7 1/8 inches for the block. At first I was making this out of one piece of wood but that became a bit too much work so now I cut the block out of pine and attach a thin piece of plywood to the bottom for the cap's edge to rest on. The reason I am fussy about the size is that the peek of the cap will not wrap to the correct shape if the block is too small. I don't make the block as wide as a natural head to allow air to circulate inside the cap through the spaces at the cap's sides. The block is finished with a couple of coats of black enamel paint to seal the wood and to hide the plywood cap edge support from view. The oak is finshed with several coats of clear coat. All of the pieces are dowelled together (I hate screws and nails) with 1/2 inch hardwood dowels. To imitate the top of the head I use felt pillows filled with sand. When a forage cap is worn the top of the head causes a bump, without this the top may sag on the display stand and not look "right".

I'll show the helmet stands in the next post.

Regards

Brian

[Brian Wolfe]

For police helmets I use 1/4 sawn white oak, the same as the police forage caps, but for my military headgear I use red oak. This decision is only because I like both white and red oak but didn't want to mix the two woods in my collection so it's white oak for police and red for military. God, I am so anal.

The only difference between the police and military helmet stands is in the top piece which I use hard maple. This particular maple is "spalted" (a natural stain which can be used decoratively in cabinet work). I use maple as oak has tannic acid and I don't want that in contact with the headgear. The top is finished with several coats of clear. One could pad or cover this sipport but I don't, at least for now.

I like what you have done Chris. I just preferred to have the headgear on pedestal-style stands and besides I like to make things.

Regards

Brian

[Robin Lumsden]

Chris.

IMHO, you should go to these guys ..............

http://www.just-in-case.biz/

Their head stands are ideally suited to pickelhauben.

[Robin Lumsden]

........

[Robin Lumsden]

Their stands suit all types of headgear and they do the acrylic covers, as well.

Prices and service are first rate.

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

thanks for the feedback guys

Stuart, fantastic display !!!!!

I am thinking of getting the cloth covered bits to 7cm instead of 14cm and having stands made like Brian and Roben have, although tending towards the solid wood ones as I try to keep modern materials out of the war room.

When i get back from ethipia I will see about it.

Best

Chris

[JimZ]

Watching out not to use "fresh" wood. Its not only the possibility of leaking sap and oils but also the smell which these contain that may leave an odour on the display items. Also, and this is a given, make sure that fresh wood is properly treated as the last thing you would want to do is transport an army of unwanted visitors into your war rooms!!! Other than that I love the various solutions diplayed.

Before I sold off my collection of helmets, I used to use industrial cardboard thread reels from a textile factory with a circule of foam as padding at the top. These reels are just like normal sewing thread reels only some 35 cms high tapered, thus giving a wider base for more stability. Similar to Stuart, I'd use off cuts of black material from the same factory which I would pin to the reel. The idea of sewing them neatly had never occurred to me - so much neater that way!! Well its too for that now!!!

[peter monahan]

Watching out not to use "fresh" wood. Its not only the possibility of leaking sap and oils but also the smell which these contain that may leave an odour on the display items. Also, and this is a given, make sure that fresh wood is properly treated as the last thing you would want to do is transport an army of unwanted visitors into your war rooms!!!

Historically, museums and other institutions are/were very found of oak cases. Unfortunately, as Brian pointed out, oak has a very high acid content and tests suggest that a closed oak cabinet needs a full year of sitting empty to make sure any harmful vapours have dissipated before artifacts are introduced. Equally problematic are any 'made up' woods - plywood or veneered woods - as the various adhesives give off solvent fumes for some time.

[As an aside, this results in poor air quality of many new homes, at least in Canada: much of the millwork and even walls are glued rather than nailed or screwed together.]

I'm not sure what the effect of sealing the various woods would be, in terms of preventing bleed-through of moisture, sap or gases, but once the sealant itself has stabilized I suspect it should be ok.

[Brian Wolfe]

I agree Peter, many composite woods do "off gass" and this has caused a lot of breathing problems especially now that we are making our houses tighter and tighter to conserve energy and there for homeowner's money. We are, in a way, living in sealed bottles relying on mechanical ventilation to keep the air as pure as possible.

As far as sealing the wood, I think if one uses enough coats of clear coat there should be little problem. I think we, as collectors, tend to either go to one extreme or another. Either do nothing or resort to over-kill, if one can over-do conservation. The worse thing you can do, of course, is nothing. Who would have thought that being engaged in collecting would lead to conservationism?

Regards

Brian

[davidw]

I have been using tall drinking glasses, upside down, for helmet stands. The bottom of the glass sits nicely onto the base plate at the top of the helmet without damaging the liner. I presume glass is OK. If you select a suitable height glass it is barely visible underneath the helmet.

Regards,

David