Shield boss tutorial for essays section.
Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2002 11:49 am
Ok well it keeps getting lost and asked for here's my shield boss tutorial for submission to the archive essays section.
Feel free to edit it. A link to my site would be nice.
You'll need a dishing hammer and a dishing stump. Here's how to make em.
Dishing hammer. I use a modified 4 pound mini sledge. This is a pretty heavy
hammer to swing for extended periods of time and has made me into a mutant.
My right bicep is a full 1" bigger then my left.
Modify this hammer by grinding one face into a dome with a diameter of about 3"
the other face leave about half of the face flat and grind the edges down into a
smooth curve.
Once you've done your grinding it's a really good idea to polish your hammer.
You'll get much better results if you do. Polish the face by sanding by hand with
gradually finer grits of sandpaper. I start with 60 and go up to 1500 grit.
Now that you've got a dishing hammer you need something to dish into. I use a
cedar stump (note the harder the wood the better and any coniferous wood isn't
great because of the sap but it does work.) the stump is about 1' diameter and
the height is determined by where my knuckles are when I hang my arm down in a
relaxed position. You don't have to have something as big as this but it makes it
easier. You can basically use anything wood that's big enough for the dish. If
you use something smaller then attach it to something heavy.
Make a depression in your stump that is approximately 3" across and 1" deep.
You can make this depression by beating your stump with the more rounded end
of your dishing hammer.
On to the actual dishing. Hold the blank in your left hand lightly. It's a good idea
to wear some kind of glove to reduce the shock to your hand. Ear protection is
also a good idea. Those little earplugs work so do the big earmuff ones I'm assuming a boss with an overall diameter of 8" with a 1" flange and made from 14gauge mild steel. You could use 16 gauge but it will end up very thin and you run the risk of tearing a hole through it while dishing.
Beat the metal into the depression and move the disk so that you dish the shape of
your boss. Don't dish the area where your flange will be. The flange area might
wrinkle a little and it will dish out a bit on it's own. I usually beat the wrinkles out
as they appear with the flat end of my dishing hammer. Don't worry about pretty
right now. Oops you use the flatter end of the dishing hammer to dish. Striking
with the edge close to you after the first pass moves the metal faster but makes
things lumpy. Hammer from the outside to the inside in a gradual spiral pattern in
several passes untill you get to the depth you want. Allow for the flattening of the
flange in your depth. A 1" flange usually takes 1/2-3/4" away from the overall
depth. Obviously a smaller flange takes away less.
Now that you've got your depth strike with the flatter face of your hammer hitting
with the flat part in the same spiral pattern. This will get rid of a lot of the
lumpyness.
So you've now got something a little prettier. But it doesn't really have a flange.
Hold your boss so that the depression is pointing downwards and put the edge
against the edge of your stump. Not the edge of the steel let it hang over a little.
It's best to put the boss on the side of the stump opposite of you and with the
boss on the outside of the stump and a little hanging over the edge of the stump.
Start hammering the flange down over the edge of the stump using the flat surface
on your dishing hammer. Start with a blow that hits the edge of the stump at a 45
degree angle and then a couple more blows untill your striking flat on the top.
You have to hold the boss so that the soon to be flange is raised from the stump
and sitting on the edge. Move to the side of the area you've just hammered and
repeat untill you've gone full circle. You should now have about a 1/4" or a little
less flange. Repeat this process concentrating on the 45 degree blow untill you
have the flange size you want.
Some other hints. Holding the boss lightly is important. If you grip it hard you'll
hurt your thumb just hold tightly enough so that it doesn't go bouncing across the
room.
It's important to try to support the metal on at least 3 places on the wood when
you dish. If you don't you won't wreck the boss but it'll kick and your thumb will
feel it.
Don't be afraid to hit the metal. You won't hurt it.
You can polish it up with any kind of abrasive you want. A wire wheel will work
well since your boss will likely have some small lumps and sandpaper just makes
these more evident. I use two wire wheels. A new one at first that removes more
material faster and then a very old one. This doesn't remove much but gives a
much shinier finish. I highly recommend you don't use a brass wire wheel. use the
steel ones. They're not as harsh and the metal won't rust as fast. You can make
your own very old wire wheel quickly by using it on concrete and pressing a lot.
You want the bristles worn down and bent over.
Additional things you could do to make your boss prettier.
Boughing. Boughing is the process of striking the metal with a soft hammer
against a hard surface. I use a 12 pound shotput on a steak and an ironwood
mallet for this. This process is for getting rid of the big lumps.
Planishing: Planishing is the process of pinching the metal by striking it with a hard
hammer onto a hard surface. I use the same shotput and a lightweight autobody
planishing hammer for this. Basically you know you've finished planishing when
the entire boss is covered with tiny facets. This gets rid of all the small lumps.
The only thing left to do is drill some holes in the flange and rivit or bolt your boss
onto a wooden shield blank.
------------------
The budding mid 14th century German Transitional guy.
Mad Matt's Armory
Feel free to edit it. A link to my site would be nice.
You'll need a dishing hammer and a dishing stump. Here's how to make em.
Dishing hammer. I use a modified 4 pound mini sledge. This is a pretty heavy
hammer to swing for extended periods of time and has made me into a mutant.
My right bicep is a full 1" bigger then my left.
Modify this hammer by grinding one face into a dome with a diameter of about 3"
the other face leave about half of the face flat and grind the edges down into a
smooth curve.
Once you've done your grinding it's a really good idea to polish your hammer.
You'll get much better results if you do. Polish the face by sanding by hand with
gradually finer grits of sandpaper. I start with 60 and go up to 1500 grit.
Now that you've got a dishing hammer you need something to dish into. I use a
cedar stump (note the harder the wood the better and any coniferous wood isn't
great because of the sap but it does work.) the stump is about 1' diameter and
the height is determined by where my knuckles are when I hang my arm down in a
relaxed position. You don't have to have something as big as this but it makes it
easier. You can basically use anything wood that's big enough for the dish. If
you use something smaller then attach it to something heavy.
Make a depression in your stump that is approximately 3" across and 1" deep.
You can make this depression by beating your stump with the more rounded end
of your dishing hammer.
On to the actual dishing. Hold the blank in your left hand lightly. It's a good idea
to wear some kind of glove to reduce the shock to your hand. Ear protection is
also a good idea. Those little earplugs work so do the big earmuff ones I'm assuming a boss with an overall diameter of 8" with a 1" flange and made from 14gauge mild steel. You could use 16 gauge but it will end up very thin and you run the risk of tearing a hole through it while dishing.
Beat the metal into the depression and move the disk so that you dish the shape of
your boss. Don't dish the area where your flange will be. The flange area might
wrinkle a little and it will dish out a bit on it's own. I usually beat the wrinkles out
as they appear with the flat end of my dishing hammer. Don't worry about pretty
right now. Oops you use the flatter end of the dishing hammer to dish. Striking
with the edge close to you after the first pass moves the metal faster but makes
things lumpy. Hammer from the outside to the inside in a gradual spiral pattern in
several passes untill you get to the depth you want. Allow for the flattening of the
flange in your depth. A 1" flange usually takes 1/2-3/4" away from the overall
depth. Obviously a smaller flange takes away less.
Now that you've got your depth strike with the flatter face of your hammer hitting
with the flat part in the same spiral pattern. This will get rid of a lot of the
lumpyness.
So you've now got something a little prettier. But it doesn't really have a flange.
Hold your boss so that the depression is pointing downwards and put the edge
against the edge of your stump. Not the edge of the steel let it hang over a little.
It's best to put the boss on the side of the stump opposite of you and with the
boss on the outside of the stump and a little hanging over the edge of the stump.
Start hammering the flange down over the edge of the stump using the flat surface
on your dishing hammer. Start with a blow that hits the edge of the stump at a 45
degree angle and then a couple more blows untill your striking flat on the top.
You have to hold the boss so that the soon to be flange is raised from the stump
and sitting on the edge. Move to the side of the area you've just hammered and
repeat untill you've gone full circle. You should now have about a 1/4" or a little
less flange. Repeat this process concentrating on the 45 degree blow untill you
have the flange size you want.
Some other hints. Holding the boss lightly is important. If you grip it hard you'll
hurt your thumb just hold tightly enough so that it doesn't go bouncing across the
room.
It's important to try to support the metal on at least 3 places on the wood when
you dish. If you don't you won't wreck the boss but it'll kick and your thumb will
feel it.
Don't be afraid to hit the metal. You won't hurt it.
You can polish it up with any kind of abrasive you want. A wire wheel will work
well since your boss will likely have some small lumps and sandpaper just makes
these more evident. I use two wire wheels. A new one at first that removes more
material faster and then a very old one. This doesn't remove much but gives a
much shinier finish. I highly recommend you don't use a brass wire wheel. use the
steel ones. They're not as harsh and the metal won't rust as fast. You can make
your own very old wire wheel quickly by using it on concrete and pressing a lot.
You want the bristles worn down and bent over.
Additional things you could do to make your boss prettier.
Boughing. Boughing is the process of striking the metal with a soft hammer
against a hard surface. I use a 12 pound shotput on a steak and an ironwood
mallet for this. This process is for getting rid of the big lumps.
Planishing: Planishing is the process of pinching the metal by striking it with a hard
hammer onto a hard surface. I use the same shotput and a lightweight autobody
planishing hammer for this. Basically you know you've finished planishing when
the entire boss is covered with tiny facets. This gets rid of all the small lumps.
The only thing left to do is drill some holes in the flange and rivit or bolt your boss
onto a wooden shield blank.
------------------
The budding mid 14th century German Transitional guy.
Mad Matt's Armory