Medieval Helmet Repair

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This is one of many current projects in the shop this week.As usual, I forgot to take pictures of the "Before".  However, I did remember to get a picture after I finished tacking the bars and the owner said he would send me a pic from before the project started.  I REALLY need to get a camera for the shop so I can do more/better documentation of the stuff I do.  With any luck, I can get this finished after work tomorrow.This is a repair job that came into the shop.  Broken welds and bent bars on the old grill necessitated a complete rebuild of the grill.  During the process I hammered out all of the dents, shortened the back plate, trimmed the side plates, and re-rolled the bottom of the backplate.  Still need to make a pair of hinged "romanesque" cheek plates and mount them on the bowl.  Since the bars are 1/4" and the helm itself is 14 gauge mild steel, I am using my Chicago Electric Dual Mig on power 3 with wire feed 6.  Plenty of penetration on the round bars to make sure that they don't break the first time this thing gets hit.
Reply:I'm assuming this was a reproduction helm vs a real one. If this was real, you just destroyed the value. From the looks and your description though I seriously doubt it was.Looks nice. Not my personal taste as I like a different style of armor, but to each his own..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:This is a piece for a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA).  This is actually used in combat.To be clear, I would NOT accept any commission to repair or modify a historic piece in ANY way.  I have no desire to destroy a piece of history.
Reply:I sort of figured that's what it was used for..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan