The Armour Archive

Got rid of my old aluminum shield years ago when I got into LH.
Getting back into SCA fighting I have went thru all my old LH shields and been limited to borrowing other folks shields.

That got old real quick so I started on a new personal shield last week
I glue up the birch planks last week and got the chance this weekend to cut out the new blank.




Here it is with the boss hole cut




and sanded down to 240 grit




Hauled out the sheet of rawhide I bought at Lilies



Cut a couple 2 inch strips



Wetted down the ends of the two strips, sewed them together and am letting them dry.

(Front)


(Back)






Next step is to go buy some canvas and put it on the front tonight.

Im thinking of adding a section of rope on the shield edge (under the rawhide) to absorb the impact force of our weapons.

Ive hear tell of others that do this, anyone have any experience in doing so?

If so does it make a big difference? (ie is it worth the trouble?)

More pics as I finish up the shield

(It may be the pc I am using to create this thread but I just noticed the images look like some weird digitizing/pixilization has occurred, I might need to post better pics)

I've done it both ways (with and without rope under the rawhide edge) and am not seeing a huge difference. On my latest shield I just edged it in rawhide without rope underneath and it is working great. I will add that I used 3/8" Baltic Birch plywood and did not cover the face with linen. It is a very light and responsive shield and I can definitely tell when a sword impacts the edge.

Finnvarthr

Thanks for the input Finnvarthr!

Finnvarthr Finnbogason wrote:I will add that I used 3/8" Baltic Birch plywood and did not cover the face with linen.

Yeah I kinda cheated on this one cause I'm still not convinced that a glued plank shield will stand up to the abuse I want to put this thing thru yet (I'm really trying to hit 2 practices a week and at least 2 events a month)

Its 1/4 marine grade plywood laminated with 1/4 birch planks (you can actually tell it if you look at the close up of the boss hole carefully)

The canvas will conceal this plywood face:)

I plan to make a 'real' plank shield for display sometime and I may make a second to subject to SCA combat too.

Halvgrimr wrote:Its 1/4 marine grade plywood laminated with 1/4 birch planks (you can actually tell it if you look at the close up of the boss hole carefully)

The canvas will conceal this plywood face:)

I plan to make a 'real' plank shield for display sometime and I may make a second to subject to SCA combat too.

A small V gouge and a straight edge can make a convincing joint in plywood. A little creative staining and you can make a plywood shield that looks like a plank shield from a couple feet away.

InsaneIrish wrote:
A small V gouge and a straight edge can make a convincing joint in plywood. A little creative staining and you can make a plywood shield that looks like a plank shield from a couple feet away.

Yeah, Ive done all that before and with my eye I can tell the faked ones
This way is much better looking IMO

This is the first fake one I did years back
I probably could have done a better job with the staining (I used strong tea and coffee as my stains)



Even with the scored lines the grain in the ply stays the same so its sort obvious IMO

I see what he's saying: plywood's countour-lines-on-a-topo-map look still remains.

It's still infinitely preferable to something that says YIEL or STO on the back though. Or even just bare aluminum.

I need to clothe my nekkid aluminum shield back, but I sure like my leather facing. 'Cos I did it all by my widdle self.

That is a lovely looking shield, brother.

I need to let my rattan take a good look at the pictures so it knows what will be blocking it.

Respectfully in service,
Thomas

I've been using burlap instead of canvas. When glued to the shield then coated again when the first coat drys it acts like a fiberglassing. Makes the shield last much longer and I like the textured look when it's done.

C

Yeah I do the multiple coats of Barges cement too.
First coat went on last night.
If I'm not to beat after practice tonight I will add the second tonight.

Cam, does burlap add any significant weight?
All the bags Ive dealt with were much heavier than linen/canvas.

Been a busy week
Had an event to get ready for
Bits of new armour to fidget with before the event.
Today I got the third coat of barges on the face and got the edge and overlaped linen taken care of.

Handle and rawhide up next

Halvgrimr wrote:Yeah I do the multiple coats of Barges cement too.
First coat went on last night.
If I'm not to beat after practice tonight I will add the second tonight.

Cam, does burlap add any significant weight?
All the bags Ive dealt with were much heavier than linen/canvas.

I'm curious. What benefit do you see to multiple coats of a flexible cement?

I use 9mm birch plywood when making wooden shield, I put 10mm inner opening aluminum channeling around the outer edge then put some duct padding that I had a roll laying around of on the edges. Then I put rawhide over that. The round shield I made 5.5 years ago is still going strong. I have to replace the rawhide occasionally but the shield itself is still fine. The boss looks like hell.

Any small amount of padding over the channeling is simply to help the rawhide last longer. I also use a hammer on the channeling to "round off" the edges.

Most plywood shields break because of the impacts on the edge. The aluminum channeling protects that.

regards
ThorvaldR

Kel Rekuta wrote:
I'm curious. What benefit do you see to multiple coats of a flexible cement?

In my experience, it keeps the linen from tearing so easily
Of course now that I have said that, the linen will rip to shit after its first practice:)

Thorvaldr Skegglauss wrote:
Most plywood shields break because of the impacts on the edge. The aluminum channeling protects that.

I've thought of trying the channeling
I haven't found it locally though
Admittedly I have only done some casual looking at like Home Depot or Lowes.
Where do you get yours Thorvaldr?

I live in Germany and get it at the local hardware/home improvement store, much like a Lowe's. I remember seeing when I was in the states as well though. Think about the channeling that is used to cover wiring or so. It is usually found in the plumbing section, you can also get L shaped edging and stuff like that. It shouldn't be too hard to find.

For attachement I drill holes every 3-4 inches along the length of it, use a roofing nail to attach one end, sometimes use a clamp as well and then slowly roll the shield down the channeling until your two ends meet. Clamp second end, nail it down all the way around and take a small piece of leather or rawhide to use as a clamp over the two ends because they will want to pull away from the wood. Cover in wet rawide, I just nail straight through with roofing nails and crimp over on the back side back into the wet rawhide and let dry.

regards
T

Roughed out the handle for the shield yesterday at lunch
Didnt get to do much else as my daughter had a volleyball game and then we went out for dinner afterwards

Twas another event weekend so not much progress

-Finalized the shaping of the handle
-Cut, soaked, sewed, and added rawshide 'binding rings' to the ends of the handle (in the past I have seen the thinner ends of the handle spit during the rivetting process so I added these rawhide pieces wet and let then shrink onto the thin ends. I hope this prevents the splitting)
-Drilled the holes to attach the handle and boss.
-Attached it all with bolts/nuts until I get the correct length of rivets I need to attach the boss (I am using copper rivets for most of the handle but want to use steel rivets to attach the boss)

A few new pics of the progress





Next up is the rawhide edging!

What do you make that handle out of? I have a LH viking shield that I have all the pieces for, ready to assemble, except for the handle (which is what has been holding me up). It looks like it's from a piece of 2x2?

Home Depot sells 3 ft long sections of 1x1 (and various other widths)
I have found it in pine and birch
I used birch for this shield

Got the rawhide edging on last night

Let the strips soak all day while I was at work
Stretched it on, using tacks to hold it down
Let it set over night
Trimmed the excess canvas off the back (I will need to do some more sanding to remove some contact cement residue now)








I will remove the tacks tonight and decide if I want to sew this edging down (my original plan) or rivet it down.

Then a coat of paint
Then the begging begins (InsaneIrish is an artist and does some excellent work on shields)

I think I am going to have him paint on the decorations from the Sutton Hoo Shield.



I was going to get some brass and cut the designs on but with my elbow acting up I don't want to add anymore weight to this thing right now:)

This weekend I plan to get the boss and handle riveted down.

Hope to be able to test the shield next week at practice.

You're totally inspiring me to finish mine; I think I know what I'm gonna work on this weekend!

It is gonna be nice........and you suck. lol

C

Sadly I fear it is going to be to heavy to use
My arm screams when I hold it

So I am going to either have to get my elbow fixed or this might have to be purely ornamental:(

Halvgrimr wrote:
Yeah I kinda cheated on this one cause I'm still not convinced that a glued plank shield will stand up to the abuse I want to put this thing thru yet (I'm really trying to hit 2 practices a week and at least 2 events a month)

I made mine of hideglued planks, 0.8cm thick. It held for a year, until the (wooden) handle broke in transport.

Halvgrimr wrote:or this might have to be purely ornamental:(

Nahhh, just send it to me. I'll send German goodies in return.

Haldan