Greek Helmets With Scales

[Iphitos]

There are some things you'll need to make the helmet:

1. Some large pieces of cardstock (not cardboard). Get several pieces of the large 36 inch square ones. A light color is best (light blue is ideal). You'll need to use this material to make a mock up of the helmet basis (the leather shell you will sew the scales on). You will also make the models (patterns) for your scales from it, and later the face and backplate for your scaled Corinthian.
2. Scissors
3. Pencil and eraser
4. A ruler and ideally a flexible cloth or plastic ruler.
5. A small awl (about 1/8 inch diameter) (you'll use this to repeatedly jab yourself when sewing on scales!)
6. Needle-nosed pliers or other small pliers (you'll use this to grab the end of the needle and pull it through when you are sewing scales on.
7. Some tapestry needles --large enough to get waxed linen cord through, but not too large to get through the holes on the scales when threaded. Beware the bad needles made from brittle metal that will shatter. You'll have to experiment to find the right size, and then buy a number of them. You might want to get a couple of curved glove sewing needles too.
8. Some twelve-ply Irish waxed linen cord (one spool), natural color (expensive):
http://www.royalwoodltd.com/cat14-17aw.htm you'll use this to sew the scales on. Don't think you can use a lighter ply or hemp cord, or something that frays! Beware! I'd also order a spool of the four-ply light rust cord too.
9. A Whitney punch, to hand punch the holes in the metal scales. You might get away with creating a jig and drilling holes in a number at once. I have done all of mine by hand.
10. A center punch (if you want a boss on each scale)(sand the sharp point down slightly), like the lowest one seen in this picture: http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/w...rpunch.jpg Or a chisel to strike a short longitudinal ridge in each scale as seen in the vase painting. You would then ideally cut a shalllow groove into some hardwood and create a jig, and strike the ridge into the scale over the groove. You might get away with doing it on a thick piece of leather or lead instead. Experiment.
11. Ball-peen hammer to use with chisels to emboss scales or dish or curve them si they fit better, as needed.
12. Some 10 or 11 oz vegetable tanned leather (for the cap [basis]):Ideally you would want to visit a leather store with your paper template to choose specific scraps or pieces, as there can be variations in thickness in a larger piece of leather:http://d31snyb1jsf9xb.cloudfront.net/servi...ersion.png-600x
(has to be vegetable tanned "veg tanned"): you can figure out how much you'll need one you have the cardstock mock up of the leather cap (basis) done.
13. 20 gauge rich low brass sheet, or 20 gauge commercial bronze sheet. Both can be found at Metalliferous:
http://www.metalliferous.com/mobile/Rich...ents/3144/
http://www.metalliferous.com/mobile/20-G...ucts/1980/
Don't mix the two metals, they look a bit different. The rich low brass would be preferred.
14. Some heavy natural linen (a yard or so), to create a one-layer liner to go under the leather basis that the scale cord will also go through. You could use a double liner, if you want to.

Posted by Todd Feinman. I put them here for easy access.