M1 Helmet Stand

[Harlan (Deceased)]

I've been collecting US M1 helmets for years and decided I wanted to display some of them on my book shelves.
I used to collect helmets of all kinds but decided the field was to too wide so I specialized on American helmets.

I've seen helmet stands advertised on ebay but they look a little flimsy, so I built some myself last weekend using a 1 & 1/16 dowel as the support. I stained these with some ebony stain just because I had some already, but I think I'll use oak stain next time so the wood grain shows up better. These were just a first incarnation to see how they worked.



All generations of M1 helmets through modern times have a round loop in the suspension and I wanted a solid support that would fit through the loop so the weight would rest firmly on the inside and not stress the suspension.



After I made a few of the stands I took out an asortment of helmets to represent the designs through the years. I think they look better on stands than just sitting flat on a shelf.



I may make some that are about an inch taller for the deeper helmets from WWII onward.
Haven't decided yet, and I think I'll use oak stain. Do y'all think the ebony stain looks OK, or would oak probably look better? I already have enough wood stock to make another 20 or so stands.



Here's a closer shot of the last three. Starting from left is a 1943 vintage fixed bale, a 1967 M1 helmet from Vietnam era, and lastly a modern K-pot or 'Fritz' as our young soldiers nicknamed it because it looks a little like a vintage German helmet.

I also thought of painting the stands OD green instead of oak stain. Any opinions of what might look best? The ebony (black) I used just because I happened to have some is kind of growing on me, and since it's so dark it kind of disappears in the shadow and doesn't take away from the subject.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.