Products & Services

DESCO Corporation manufactures equipment for the commercial diving industry. We also sell products which are complementary to our own. DESCO is a importing distributor for Hunter Dry Suits, Composite Beat Engel DeepSea Lightweight Helmets, and Broco wet welding rods. DESCO also sells a line of jewelry, accessories, and apparel with a diving theme. We offer classic style helmet repair for all vintage helmets, regardless of manufacturer. Let our team of craftsmen restore your vintage helmet.

If you would like to learn more about DESCO's product line please go to our online catalog at: www.divedesco.com

You can contact DESCO Corporation at:

240 N. Milwaukee Street

Milwaukee, WI 53202

414-272-2371

414-272-2373 FAX

diveq@execpc.com

Office/shop hours are Monday to Friday 6am to 2:15pm Central Time.

Products

We offer a full range of classic style breastplated helmets and the DESCO Air Hat. All of our helmets are surface supplied free flow type. Every helmet we build is fully functional. In addition to helmets we manufacture weighted shoes, weightbelts, air fittings, and the USN Divers Knife. DESCO has on three occasions produced limited edition helmets for the Historical Diving Society. We can supply presentation helmets with engraved tags. We have also issued our own limited editions in the USN Divers Knife.

DESCO manufactures our own equipment in our Milwaukee shop. You may not think of a inland city as a hub of diving activity but Milwaukee has a long tradition in hyperbaric and diving science. The history is covered in detail on our company history page. Milwaukee was known as the "Beer Capitol" but during the war we also were known as "The Nation's Machine Shop". Virtually all the metal components of our equipment are fabricated in Wisconsin. DESCO has long standing relationships with many local suppliers.

In addition to the DESCO Air Hat we offer 14 different classic style diving helmets made by us.

These include:

1. U.S. Navy Mark V

2. U.S. Navy Helium (old style and double exhaust style)

3. Commercial 3 Light

4. Commercial 4 Light

5. Commercial Nuclear

6. Commercial Fisheries

7. Sponge

8. Abalone

9. Agar

10. Browne Commercial

11. Lightweight Fisheries

12. Shallow Water

13. 4 Light Shallow Water

14. Browne Utility

DESCO also sells products from these companies:

Trelleborg Viking, Inc.

290 Forbes Boulevard

Mansfield, MA 02048

Phone: 774-719-1444

Toll Free: 800-344-4458

FAX: 508-261-1449

E-Mail: tvi.usa@trelleborg.com

Website: http://www.trelleborg.com/vikingdiving

Composite Beat Engel

Bubenbergstr. 36A - 2502

Bienne - Suisse

*41 (0) 32 322 46 36

*41 (0) 32 322 46 40 FAX

Website: www.composite-be.com

Broco Inc.

10868 Bell Court

Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730

    909.483.3222
    909.483.3233 FAX
    Website: http://www.strongweldingproducts.com

Desmond Stephan Mfg. Company

P.O. Box 30, Urbana, Ohio 43078

(937) 653-7181

(937) 653-5511 FAX

Website: http://www.desmond-stephan.com/index.php/swirl-off

Services

Custom Helmet Manufacture and Retrofitting

DESCO can build custom diving helmets by combining off the shelf parts from our classic helmet line. We can also adapt our parts to other helmets to suit the customer's needs. Our shop can mix & match helmet windows, exhaust valves, lock mechanisms, and communications to achieve a distinctive helmet. Our abilities also include customizing existing helmets. In the past we have installed Mark V helmet windows, Browne Commercial air block, and Mark V elbows to Chinese TF 12 helmets.

We can make special pieces and have produced one off non divable helmets for customers using parts they have sent us. More examples of our projects are available on the Gallery page.

TF 12 with TF 12 with Non diveable helmet made from binnacle

BC windows and Mk V side & top housing and portholes.

air control valve windows and

Commercial Door

Helmet Maintenance and Inspection

We can repair and inspect you DESCO helmet and provide you a detailed report. The comprehensive inspection will satisfy the ADC equipment inspection requirements. A record of the inspection is maintained by DESCO. Customers will often make upgrades while the helmet is at DESCO. The helmet will be evaluated upon receipt and recommendations of needed work will be noted. Also any advantageous part replacements or upgrades will be suggested. Once a repair plan is agreed upon the work will be conducted in a timely manner. Emergency and expedited repairs and inspections are possible. See the DESCO Air Hat page for more information.

Repair

DESCO is well known in the collector market for our ability to repair and restore diving helmets. Our expertise enables us to return damaged helmets or one missing parts to the best state they can be. Well used helmets will have dents and scratches. We can remove dents and buff out most shallow defects. The shell of the helmet is Copper which is a relatively soft metal. Deep scratches usually cannot be fully removed as too much Copper would be lost. Repaired helmets can be polished or retinned. In some cases we will recommend just buffing the helmet instead of polishing. This is especially true if the customer wishes the helmet to patina. Farther down the page we'll give some guidelines contacting us about repairing a helmet.

Before After Before After Before After

Siebe Gorman Three Light Schrader Mark V Miller Demand Hat repair for a collector

Guidelines for repair estimates and helmet shipping.

Evaluating a helmet for repair.

E-mailing DESCO.

If you would like DESCO to evaluate your helmet the easiest and least expensive method is to e-mail us photos of the helmet. Shoot the photos in a well lit area on medium resolution. Make sure to take several photos from different angles of damaged places. Take shots of the tag and any markings or numbers. Try and cover the entire helmet so we can judge its overall condition. Please provide any observations of damage or problems with the helmet. A bent part may not be obvious in a photo. Also include things that can't be relayed in photos like whether or not the top will unscrew from the breastplate. Take time to make a list of missing parts and note those you wish to replace. Copies of this information should be sent with the helmet.

Sending the helmet to DESCO.

The most accurate method for evaluating a helmet and providing an accurate cost estimate is for us to have the helmet in our shop. Breastplated helmets should never be shipped assembled together. The helmet should be well packed and shipped with the top and breastplate separated. If the helmet is shipped as a unit the top can compress the breastplate and cause extensive and expensive damage. In the long run is is more cost effective to ship the helmet with the top and breastplate boxed separately than have to repair them. The top and breastplate can be individually boxed then placed together in one larger box as long as the individual boxes are sufficiently strong or reinforced to prevent one from crushing the other. Please include a letter indicating what work you want performed on your helmet. Providing a list of requested work will prevent additional calls or e-mails.

Upon receipt of the helmet we will thoroughly inspect it and provide a firm estimate and time frame for repair. Often we will find additional issues which will be brought to the customer's attention. Many times photos will not show a hidden missing part or a flaw or crack. Customers who don't possess a intimate knowledge of diving helmets may not realize a piece is missing. The customer will need to decide to what level they wish the helmet's condition returned to.

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