First attempt at a helmet restoration

Excellent job Steve, I love that huge Oldenburg wappen ! You have done a great job annealing that spine, well done. My annealing skills are limited to prongs. đź‘Ť
 
b.loree said:
Excellent job Steve, I love that huge Oldenburg wappen ! You have done a great job annealing that spine, well done. My annealing skills are limited to prongs. đź‘Ť
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Brian:

I don't have any particular background in annealing other than understanding the theory. It was surprising easy to do. I used a small propane torch and heated the area until it was just starting to show a red colour. Then quenched in room temperature water. The brass is then easily bent. The trick with the spines is to not over bend it which can be easily done. As you know if you bend it too much you get a deformation in the tubular channel that creates a projection that then becomes hard to remove.

I was a bit hesitant to do it because it ensures that the prong device will have to be re-installed. I had to re-solder it to the spine twice because the first time I got lazy and tried to use the original solder. Turned out that the solder was pretty heavily oxidized and resulted in a cold joint that gave way when subjected to pressure when installed to the helmet.

Thanks for the positive assessment. Praise from "The Master" means a lot!
 
Thanks for the “how to do” description Steve. I may just work up courage and give it a shot. I have a couple of helmets that are complete except for a fitted spine and visor trim. I have a few spare brass spines which might fit if annealed. The same goes for visor trim and I suppose that a close fit could be annealed into fitting with some heat and force.
 
DoneDoing said:
You did a great job even if it wasn't your first restoration, I'd admire the patience these demand and their repairs people like yourself complete.

Did you consider replicating the crazing within the repaired areas......just a thought.
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Actually, if I knew of a way to "recreate" crazing in a controlled fashion I'd seriously consider it.

I debated just doing the entire helmet to remove the crazing, but dismissed the idea as I think it creates a "obviously restored" look that detracts from the helmet's originality. That said, as it stands now it's fairly clear that some restoration has been done, but in my view the alternative of leaving the helmet "as found" was not a respectful option.

Thanks for the compliment on the finished product.
 
I have thought about the issue of how to create crazing but with no success. I don’t see how it could be done and not look faked.
 
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