I'm working on a project for an old friend. Â He's a career C-130 Navigator who just took over a position leading an ROTC detachment. Â One of his main duties as the Detachment Commander is to motivate the cadets and help them choose the career field that best suits them. Â To that end, he wants to be able to display his flight helmet from his navigating days so that the cadets can check it out and begin a conversation about a career in flying.
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I had a nice chunk of poplar lying around that I thought would do the trick.

This is a piece of 6/4 poplar that's about 11 inches wide. Â Remember, the thickness of a rough-cut piece of lumber is measured in quarters of an inch, so 6/4 (said "six quarters") is an inch and a half thick. Â Just right for this project.
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Here it is after being run across the jointer and through the planer (which was out of commission for a few days with a shredded belt).

I cut this piece into three pieces: a base, a support rod and a helmet mount. Â
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Base with the support beam above:

The base was cut on the table saw and the band saw. Â Notice that the front of the base has a beveled edge large enough to mount a plaque with my friend's name on it. Â The support beam is just a square cross-section piece that will connect the base with the helmet mount.
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The helmet mount was a little bit tricky, but a fun challenge. Â Cutting straight lines in a woodworking shop is pretty much the norm. Â Cutting circles and curves is a bit more art than science. Â
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To cut the helmet mount (this is a large puck), I first traced out a circle using a compass. Â I then brought the piece to the band saw and cut just outside the line (about 1/32 of an inch). Â The bandsaw leaves a slightly rough edge, so leaving a bit of material gives me something to smooth out. Â I took this rough puck to the disc sander to smooth out the edges.
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I don't want just a flat puck to mount the helmet on, it should be flat on the bottom and curved on top, so I broke out the chisels. Â

Working around the edges and taking off a bit at a time, I rounded the edges of the top of the puck. Â Above you see it after just a few bits had been taken off. Â Here's what it looked like after chiseling and before sanding.

I hope my friend isn't hoping for a machine-made looking display piece. Â If he were, I don't suppose he would have asked me to do it. Â This piece is hand made and has some carved elements, so it will certainly look hand-made. Â I'm also planning on carving the support beam.
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After the carving, I started drilling holes to insert the support beam into. Â This will be a mortise and tenon joint. Â It's EXTREMELY strong.

When I get back to work on this, the hole will be cut into a square to fit the support beam. Â The same will be done on the hole in the helmet support piece. Â
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The helmet support piece's mortise and tenon joint will be quite visible when the helmet is removed from the stand. Â I plan to make this a wedged tenon. Â I will make two longitudinal cuts in the end of the support beam (on each end). Â Into those cuts I will drive wedges made of walnut to make the joint extremely strong. Â It will also look wicked awesome.Â
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Thanks for checking the project out and I'll post more as it progresses.
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