Making a helmet model, inspired from ancient Greece - woodturning

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Chuck kit

Drill chuck

Flat rasp

Flat file

Wood Carving Detail Knife

Forstner bit set

Rotary tool

Airbrush kit

Vallejo colors (I like to use the model air series)

The Corinthian type of helmet is the most common type of ancient Greek helmet. I used spruce and beech wood to make a similar mini helmet on the lathe.

I begun by turning the spruce piece true and making a tenon to fit my chuck. 

I then drilled a starting hole on my piece. This also determined my depth.

Then using the hook tool I hollowed my piece. The hook tool, works really well on endgrain. At this point I also drilled the hole for the finial of the helmet. 

I then designed the nose and the eyes of my helmet. I drilled the eye holes with a forstner bit. With a small saw I cut the straight parts off. I shaped the nose with a small carving knife. 

Then I used a spindle gouge to shape the rest of the head.  I parted the piece off using the skew chisel. 

At this point I decided my head was too tall. So I cut a piece off on the table saw. Then I used a flat rasp and a flat file to re-shape it to my likeness.

I used the carving knife again to chamfer the edges a little bit.

I made the finial out of beech. This was mostly spindle turning work. 

To make the head’s top I used a round piece of beech. I first drilled a pilot hole and then I used the skew chuck to mount it on the lathe. I used the bowl gouge to turn it true and flatten it. Then I did most of the shaping with parting tools. 

I flipped the piece over on my bowl bottom cleaning jaws and did the back side. 

Then I cut the shape I needed on the bandsaw. I used the first cut off piece as a template for the other side. Using a rotary tool I cleaned the bandsaw marks. 

Then I glued all the parts of my helmet together. 

I used the airbrush to paint my piece. I applied a coat of white as primer. I then Lightly sanded.

At this point I used knives, rasps, screws and whatever I could to make the piece look beat up. I did that after priming because I did not want the paint to cover the marks.

Next I covered the piece with metallic grey paint. Then I added a few light spots of other colors to make it look more real and rusty. At this point I sealed the colors with a coat of clear. 

I made a black wash by thinning some paint. I applied the wash and then wiped off the excess. I repeated the process a few times until I was happy with the result. Finally I did some dry brushing with white paint to highlight the edges. I sealed the paint job with a coat of clear. 

And that was it. I am really happy with the result. It was a really interesting project. But that was it. See you soon with a new project video.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Wood carving and painting of a Saint

Tools and materials I propose:

No4 hand plane

V carving chisels

Sweep carving gouges

Deeper sweep carving gouges

Wood Carving Detail Knife

Chisel set

Forstner bit set

6mm dowels

Rotary tool

Rotary tool accessories kit

In this project I create an icon of Agios Paisios, the Greek Orthodox saint of our age. I made it out of basswood and I painted it with latex paints.

I begun by planing my wood flat with a hand plane. I first planed perpendicular to the grain to remove material fast. Then I went with the grain with shallower cuts as a finishing pass.

To transfer my design on the wood I first filled the back of my design with graphite. I used graphite from a 2mm mechanical pencil. Then I pressed the design with a bamboo stick and this left a trace on my wood. 

I divided my image into three basic layers of height. The deeper area was my background, then came the light circle and finally the figure.

I begun with a V carving chisel. I carved outside my line. Then I used a gouge to remove material perpendicular to the grain.

Then I tried to cut on the line of my design. I tried to match the curves of the design with the curves of the gouges. Once I did my stop cuts I removed material with the gouges. 

Next I repeated the same process to carve the light circle behind the head.  

Next I started working on the figure. The head and one arm are my highest regions. So I removed material around them. In a few tight spots I used a skew chisel and a carving knife to remove the material. 

On the face the highest spot is the nose, so I removed material around it. 

Basically the whole process was determining the highest spots and trying to carve around them.

Once I was happy with the overall carving I did some fine tunings and I sanded the piece.

I then added a coat of clear to act as a sealer. This also raised the grain so I lightly sanded the piece. 

Then I painted my icon with latex paints. Basically I added three tones of color in each area of the design. I then marked the guides for my typography and painted the letters. 

I finished the piece with a coat of clear.

And that was it. I hope we all have the blessings of Agios Paisios. I also hope that you liked this project, because that was it. See you soon with a new project video.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

How to make a rubber band hand canon toy - woodturning

Tools and materials I propose:

Lathe

Wood turning tools set

Chuck kit

Caliper set

Wire Burning Kit

Drill Chuck

Forstner bit set

6mm dowels

Rotary tool

Rotary tool accessories kit

Table saw

I made this wooden toy out of basswood. This toy canon uses 6mm dowels as ammo. I think it is a fun woodturning project. 

First of all I created two blanks on my table saw.

I then mounted them between centres on the lathe. I used the roughing gouge to turn them true. I also created a dovetailed tenon with the skew, so I could mount them on my chuck. 

From the first blank I created the body of the canon and the pocket.

To make the pocket, I hollowed the front with my hook tool which works really nicely on end grain. I then shaped it with the spindle gouge. With the skew I created two grooves and then I used the metal wire to burn two black lines in place. On the lathe I also drilled a 6mm hole on it’s front. Finally I parted the pocket free with the skew. 

To make the barrel  I first drilled the hole. Then I cleaned the end grain with the spindle gouge. At this point I drilled the hole for the handle using a forstner bit. Then I created the rough cone with the roughing gouge. With the skew I removed the gouge’s marks. I finished the barrel’s shaping with the spindle and the skew. I burned the marks here as well. I then cut the piece of with a saw.  Using a threaded rod I mounted the piece between centres to sand  the saw marks. 

Finally I shaped the handle. This was mostly spindle work with the skew and a gouge.

I glued the handle with the barrel. I also glued a 6mm dowel in the pocket. I then used the rotary tool to predrill the holes for the metal hooks. I also used a cutting disc to to cut an opening on the hooks.This way I can pass the rubber bands easily in place. 

Finally I installed the rubber bands. You can replace them with springs if you want.

I am really happy with my little toy canon. I hope you liked it too, because that was it. See you soon with a new project video.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Quick DIY fix for my broken metal vise

Tools and materials:

Stick welder

Air Pneumatic rotary tool

Double Cut Carbide Rotary Burr Set

Angle grinder

Flap Sanding Disc

Air compressor, nail and staple gun kit

My cast iron metal vise broke up. Due to corona virus lockdown I couldn't just go out to buy a new one. So I tried to temporarily fix it with the tools I already had in my shop. Basically a stick welder and an angle grinder. Hopefully it will last for a while if I treat it gently!

The idea was to create a chamfer around the braking points so I could fill it with my stick welder. This particular cast iron seemed pretty bad quality so a fix like can’t really restore the tool to it’s original strength. 

On the first try I used my pneumatic rotary tool with a carbide bit to create the chamfer. 

Then I clamped the broken pieces together and stick welded them. I cleaned my welding using the angle grinder and a flap sanding disc. 

Unfortunately this broke almost at once. 

I decided to try once more. This time I used the grinder to create a more aggressive chamfer. I again stick welded the pieces. 

When the first time the weld broke it seemed that the weld was pretty nicely connected to the cast iron. So the second time It seemed that I welded the melted metals from the sticks together. And it actually holds much better.

Ofcoure I can’t rely on that temporary fix. But hopefully this will get me through the lockdown days.

But that was it see you soon with a new project video. 

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.