# Helm for my Pirate Ship



## Scary Papa (Jan 31, 2012)

Helm For My Pirate Ship

I wile ago I was needing to build a helm for my pirate ship. Creepy Creatioins has a great tutorial on how to build this prop and I normally look to him for all things piratey. However, I was looking to find something that was a little larger, I could animated, and one I could put together without a lot of skill or work and pretty quickly. I decided to do my own. This is the result. 









It took about three hours and had a total cost of about $50.00 including the motor to animate it. However, some of the materials was scrap that I already had. The measurements for this build are for the size of the wheel I used for the helm. If you make this prop you may need to adjust some of the measurements to fit your project wheel. Also, I didn’t think about doing a tutorial on this until some time after I actually made the helm so you will notice that many of the photos show the prop already assembled.

My helm is animated and will move from side to side about 6 inches on either side of center. This tutorial does not show how to animate the helm only the helm build. However, it is very easy to add a wiper motor to animate this helm.

This build consists of 5 parts.

(1)	The helm
(2)	The helm support front and back
(3)	The helm support bottom 
(4)	The helm base - two sides and back
(5)	The helm axle, spacers, and end caps

What you will need.

Tools:









Pencil
Measuring tape
Exterior wood glue
Drill
7/8” Spade wood bit
Air brad nailer and 2” brads or something similar
Circle saw or other similar cutting tool to cross cut lumber
Saber saw or other similar tool to cut a curve
Miter saw, hand saw or other similar cutting tool

Materials:















1 - piece of 2” X 8” X 6’ lumber
1 - piece of 2” X 6” X 8’ lumber
1 - piece 2” X 4” X 3’ lumber
1 - piece of 1/2 “ PVC pipe at least 12” long
2 - 1/2” PVC end caps
1 - piece of 1” PVC pipe at least 12” long
6 - Pieces of decorative wooden porch rail stiles
1 - Decorative wooden wagon wheel These come in several sizes. For my build I chose a 36” wheel.
1 wiper motor
1 piece of aluminum stock 1” X 2’ 
1 mount for the wiper motor. I use galvanized fence hardware.
Box of 2 1/2” deck screws
2 - 1/4” x 1” bolts, nuts and washers
Paint

PART 1: THE HELM

Step 1: Make the Handles

Lay out the decorative wooden porch rail stiles and mark the cut lines. These will be the handles for the ship helm and for my build I had 12 wheel spokes so I needed 12 handles. Each rail stile makes 2 handles and you should leave about 1 inch at the bottom of each handle to attach it to the wheel.

Using a miter saw, hand saw or another similar cutting tool cut out the handles









Setp 2: Attach the Handles to the Wagon Wheel









Using the Air nailer (or something similar) and glue position the handles on the wheel at the end of the spokes and glue and nail them in place. The helm part is done. Paint it and set the helm aside for now.

PART TWO: THE HELM SUPPORTS FRONT AND BACK









Step 3: 

Mark the cut line and cut the 2” X 8” X 6’ lumber to support the wheel (Helm). You will need 2 pieces each 34” long. Measure your helm from the center hole to the end of a helm handle to make sure the height of the helm support at the axle point will clear the helm support at the bottom and allow the helm to turn freely. You may have to adjust the length of the helm support or axle holes accordingly. Remember to deduce 1 1/2” from your measurement due to the thickness of the wheel support base when it is attached at the bottom of the helm supports









At one end of each helm support mark a 3 1/2” radius from the top of the supports. Using a saber saw or other similar tool cut the radius curve. These cut curves will be at the top of each helm support. 









Step 4: Axle Hole

Next mark and drill a 7/8” hole in the center and abut 4 ½” from the top of both helm supports. This hole is for the helm axle to hold the helm between the helm supports. If the hole in the center of your helm is larger than 1/2” you can make this hole for the axle larger to accommodate a larger PVC axle. 









PART 3: THE HELM SUPPORT BOTTOM









Step 4: Make the helm support base









The 2’ x 6’ x 8’ lumber will be used for the helm support bottom and for the helm base. Mark and cut the 2” x 6” x 8’ lumber 34” long. This will become the bottom for the helm supports will be installed between the two helm supports at the bottom of the helm supports.









PART 4: THE HELM BASE









The helm base consists of two pieces of 2” x 6” lumber and one piece of 2’ x 4” lumber. 

Mark and cut the 2" x 6" lumber into two pieces each 23” long. These will become the side pieces of the helm support base. 









Mark and cut the 2” x 4” lumber at 34” long. This will become the rear of the helm base.









Step 5: Attach the helm supports to the helm support bottom

Using the deck screws and glue attach the helm supports to the helm support bottom. The helm supports should be positioned on each side of 
the helm support bottom and a the center of the helm support bottom. 









Step 6: Attach the helm support bottom to the helm base









Place the helm base under and at the ends of the helm support bottom. There should be about 3 1/2” Sticking out in front of the helm support bottom to give it a little more stability toward the front of the helm. Using deck screws and glue attach the helm support bottom to the helm base. Then using deck screws and glue attach the rear of the helm base to the helm base sides. 









Now the supports and base for the helm are done. Time to make the axle

PART 5; THE AXLE, SPACERS AND END CAPS

Step 7: Make the axle

Install the helm between the two upright helm supports and slide the 1/2" PVC pipe through the support axle holes and the axle hole in the helm. Now mark the 1/2" PVC at a length long enough to allow for it to pass through the helm support and the helm and have enough at each end to allow a 1/2' PVC end cap to be installed on the PVC pipe. This measurement will be about 10 1/2" and will be the axle for the helm. Make sure the helm is centered between the helm supports and measure the distance from the helm to the inside of each helm support. Mark this measurement on the 1" PVC pipe. You will need two pieces of the 1" PVC pipe cut to this length. These will become the spacers that will keep the helm centered between the helm supports.









Now remove the helm from the helm supports and cut the PVC pipe pieces to the lengths marked. Paint the helm supports, base and PVC pieces and set aside to dry.

Step 8: Put it together.

Put a 1/2" PVC end cap on one end of the 1/2" PVC pipe axle. Slide the pipe through one of the helm supports then put one of the 1" PVC pipe spacer pieces on the 1/2" PVC pipe. Slide the 1/2" PVC pipe through the axle hole of the helm then add the second 1" PVC spacer. Finally, slide the 1/2" PVC pipe axle through the second helm support and install the second 1/2" PVC end cap.

That is all there is to it. Very easy and quick and it actually looks pretty good.


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## J-Man (Feb 1, 2011)

Great job sp!


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## Frankie's Girl (Aug 27, 2007)

That looks wonderful! And lovely tutorial too.


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## The5Buccaneers (Sep 30, 2018)

Great tutorial! Thank you for sharing - it's easy to follow. We need a helm and this will put us on the right path for sure.


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## cleanfreak (Jul 20, 2015)

Nice work!


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