The Queen's Round Metal Hat

Intro: The Queen's Round Metal Hat

Every queen needs a round, metal hat, or "crown".  This one is technically a 'coronet' as it does not close in the middle.  The queen is Titania, queen of the faeries, daughter of Titans, and fittingly, her crown is made of titanium.  The parts were designed using Autodesk Inventor and fabricated with a CNC waterjet cutter, in the traditional craftwork of olde.  At TechShop.

STEP 1: Gather Your Implements

Traditionally, faerie crowns are forged in a volcano.  If a volcano is unavailable, you can purchase .035 sheet titanium from a number of online suppliers.  For a 22" circumference head, you will need a sheet 7.5" x 19."  Titanium is not essential to the construction, you can use steel or aluminum.  That is, if you fear not to offend the faerie queen. 

  -Titanium sheet, 7.5"x19"x.035"
  -Blow torch 
  -Welder (TIG or Spot Welder)
  -Work holding equipment
  -Welding gloves
  -Metal Cutter
  -Autodesk Inventor or another 2D vector design program.

STEP 2: Design

The three parts of each side consist of two bezier curves.  These can be rendered in Autodesk Inventor as splines or arcs.  I have added extra thickness to the points where they will be welded that will be ground-off later.  The circumference for this piece will be 23", so each half spans 11.5".  

STEP 3: Cut the Parts

If you do not have access to a CNC cutter or a faerie, the parts can be cut from sheet metal using hand shears or an equivalent stationary shear.  

STEP 4: Join the Parts

Start by laying the separate pieces out in formation and figure the precise angle at which they will be joined.  If you can, make a mock-up crown from cardboard to get the shape right.  
  Some tacks can be made with a spot welder, though for edges this thin, a precision TIG welder is called-for.  Titanium can often be welded without filler if there is enough contact area.  
  All points can be welded at this time except the front center, where the two ends come together.  This must be done after the metal has been bent into roughly the final shape.  Do not weld where the pieces cross in the middle.  The parts need to move freely when being bent and can be tacked afterwords.  

STEP 5: Forging

The parts are flat, and they must be curved.  I cut an oval from oak to achieve a perfectly symmetrical ellipse.  Using a blowtorch, heat the metal until it is bright orange.  At this point, it will hold most of the curve you bend it to.  The bend does not need to be hyper-extended since the curve will be closed in the front.  The unjoined pieces on either side will have to be bent separately. 
 You need only heat those parts and bend them until they don't resist.  Uneven heating will produce an irregular curve, so keep your eyes on the orange metal and keep the flame moving.  

STEP 6: The Last Weld

Now, with a nearly closed ellipse, the front can be clamped together and welded closed.  

STEP 7: Complete

Comments

[Tonyward1469]

Very good presentation and directions I don't have a welder but my 7 year old would love a mock-up for her dress up cloths

[Ben DangerH]

Awesome

[Bully_4_You]

Great project! Very clear and easy to understand. This could also make a beautiful tiara for a fantasy wedding!

[palestinian-warrior]

WOW!! i like it, same as in the hobbit

pretty model btw

[Haus Page]

Love this. Great work.

[twighahn]

i could do this with paper and gold spray thanks

[builderkidj]

Well, Zelda...what do we do now ;)

[EET1982]

Awesome! Great job! Love it!

[Attmos]

Nice work. Looks really good, no, great! Must have been fun to do.

[Penolopy Bulnick]

That is amazing! Wonderful job designing and putting it all together :D

[scoochmaroo]

Stunning!

[Edgar]

Nice work, and of course, this will be used for Byke and Car Ornaments, too... ;)