I've been an aluminum shield user for many years, and want to try playing with wood. My own experiments thus far have not been as durable as I'd hoped, though maybe my expectations are too high.
What kind of wood, glue and general construction approaches work well for you?
Shields: what wood and glue do you use?
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Gaston de Clermont
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For a pavise, i glue using cascamite/extramite glue, it holds very well when mixed nice and thickly (consistency of really thick wallpaper paste). I used douglas fir which i ound held very well against arrows and a socking great leaf bladed sword 
Covered with thick canvas and glued with the same glue, splintering is minimal and any slpinters are short due to the fact that the canvas holds everything down. i sort of acts as a rip stop type material for the wood.
Covered with thick canvas and glued with the same glue, splintering is minimal and any slpinters are short due to the fact that the canvas holds everything down. i sort of acts as a rip stop type material for the wood.
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Konstantin the Red
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Quarter-inch exterior-grade plywood, good one side, two or three layers. If you want something between half an inch and three-quarters, skin the face with 1/8" luan.
Durability seems to be most enhanced by concentrating reinforcement across the chief of the shield, as the greater part of the hits land on the swordside upper corner. General reinforcement seems to mean facing it with cloth front and back, well glued down. Good ole automotive hose, perhaps backed with something resilient, and the shield's edge rimmed with aluminum flat stock are pretty much the finish of the reinforcement repertoire.
Wooden shields are expendable, though. Expect a couple seasons, but if you get a whole calendar year, you've either gotten lucky or haven't been fighting a huge big lot.
Durability seems to be most enhanced by concentrating reinforcement across the chief of the shield, as the greater part of the hits land on the swordside upper corner. General reinforcement seems to mean facing it with cloth front and back, well glued down. Good ole automotive hose, perhaps backed with something resilient, and the shield's edge rimmed with aluminum flat stock are pretty much the finish of the reinforcement repertoire.
Wooden shields are expendable, though. Expect a couple seasons, but if you get a whole calendar year, you've either gotten lucky or haven't been fighting a huge big lot.
"The Minstrel Boy to the war is gone..."
2 layers of 1/4in birch ply wood glued with water proof elmers. Cut to shape. Use GOOP to glue on a 3/8in nylon rope to the edge to act as padding. Then layer on a run of canvas strip that has been saturated in more wood glue. This only covers like an inch on either side just folded around the edge. Then cover the face and an inch or so around the edge and on to the back in more canvas saturated in wood glue. Let it dry and paint to taste. Strap and tap. NO there is no edging other than the canvas. Never had it not pass inspection but YMMV. Oh and i use a center grip oval so i don't know how well your leading corner will fare with heavy beatings but it would be easy to reinforce if needed and wood shields are expendable.... 
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Magnus The Black
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This is my method:
2 pieces of 1/4 birch glued together with gorrilla glue. Put in the press and let dry over night. The next morning cut it out. Then screw in 3/4" aluminum L shaped edging on the back all the way around. (lowes, Homes depot ect.) with some small screws around the edge of the shield. No seams on the cheilf or leading edge though! Make cuts where needed to bend on the side that gets screwed doen NOT on the side that will be bent over. Then place on anvil and fold eding all the way around the shield over the edge. This forms and edge with no sharp corners (sword safe) and is very flat against the wood. Then over the edge with 1 layer of canvas. (2 if the back wont be covered). The cover the back with canvas and then the front. The back will lap over the edge to the front & vice-versa. To attach the canvas. Mix 2 parts elmers white glue to 1 part water paint the shield and both sides of the canvas so its soaked through. Place on shield and clamp all the way around. Let dry till morning. After the shield is throughly dry and covered with canvas cheep acrilic paint works wells for painting on the shield. Intriicate devices can be carbon transfered to the white canvas and then painted in. This is the method used for my heater, my war shield & my buckler (except the buckler is not laminated its solid plywood since its flat). mine works well and easily passes inspection. It also doesn;t have that nasty hose look going on. Ask his grace Cuan about the shield I had at Gulf Wars this past year. Oh btw the shield on the lef has galvanized bolts to hold on the hardware & the one on the left has zinc plated. As you can see the galvanized holds the paint alot better. I dont fight as much as I like but my shields last a while. YMMV.
Magnus
2 pieces of 1/4 birch glued together with gorrilla glue. Put in the press and let dry over night. The next morning cut it out. Then screw in 3/4" aluminum L shaped edging on the back all the way around. (lowes, Homes depot ect.) with some small screws around the edge of the shield. No seams on the cheilf or leading edge though! Make cuts where needed to bend on the side that gets screwed doen NOT on the side that will be bent over. Then place on anvil and fold eding all the way around the shield over the edge. This forms and edge with no sharp corners (sword safe) and is very flat against the wood. Then over the edge with 1 layer of canvas. (2 if the back wont be covered). The cover the back with canvas and then the front. The back will lap over the edge to the front & vice-versa. To attach the canvas. Mix 2 parts elmers white glue to 1 part water paint the shield and both sides of the canvas so its soaked through. Place on shield and clamp all the way around. Let dry till morning. After the shield is throughly dry and covered with canvas cheep acrilic paint works wells for painting on the shield. Intriicate devices can be carbon transfered to the white canvas and then painted in. This is the method used for my heater, my war shield & my buckler (except the buckler is not laminated its solid plywood since its flat). mine works well and easily passes inspection. It also doesn;t have that nasty hose look going on. Ask his grace Cuan about the shield I had at Gulf Wars this past year. Oh btw the shield on the lef has galvanized bolts to hold on the hardware & the one on the left has zinc plated. As you can see the galvanized holds the paint alot better. I dont fight as much as I like but my shields last a while. YMMV.
Magnus
Psalm 1:6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
1/4" high quality plywood. I get the 2'x4' pre-sanded sheets that Home Depot or Lowes sell. Then 1/4" birch. Luan seems to get scratched up too fast.
Then I use gorilla glue. I'm not certain if gorilla glue is the best though now. It expands if it has room, which might cause problems if one's press doesn't make good contact all through the 2 pieces of wood. On the otherhand, maybe the expanding glue fills in the gaps, rather than making gaps. I really don't know. It's taken me 5 years of experimenting to get a feel for hardening leather, I'm not ready to start the experiments to figure out the best glue to use for shields when my gorilla-glue shield lasted for 2 years.
Then I use gorilla glue. I'm not certain if gorilla glue is the best though now. It expands if it has room, which might cause problems if one's press doesn't make good contact all through the 2 pieces of wood. On the otherhand, maybe the expanding glue fills in the gaps, rather than making gaps. I really don't know. It's taken me 5 years of experimenting to get a feel for hardening leather, I'm not ready to start the experiments to figure out the best glue to use for shields when my gorilla-glue shield lasted for 2 years.
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william
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Hi!
Here are the construction basics for mine:
Wood: 3 layers of 4mm birch ply for curved heaters, 1 layer of 12mm birch ply for rounds.
Glue: Ponal 3 waterproof PVA. Have used Titebond II during my time in the states.
Curving: I use 5-6 ratchet straps and put steel "U" profiles on the edges of the board to get an even curve.
Edging: Thin steel band around the critical areas (i.e. leading corner of a heater). Rawhide nailed over that.
Decoration: Shield fronts are covered in canvas (again with the use of waterproof PVA). I use Acrylics for the paintjob.
Cheers,
William
Here are the construction basics for mine:
Wood: 3 layers of 4mm birch ply for curved heaters, 1 layer of 12mm birch ply for rounds.
Glue: Ponal 3 waterproof PVA. Have used Titebond II during my time in the states.
Curving: I use 5-6 ratchet straps and put steel "U" profiles on the edges of the board to get an even curve.
Edging: Thin steel band around the critical areas (i.e. leading corner of a heater). Rawhide nailed over that.
Decoration: Shield fronts are covered in canvas (again with the use of waterproof PVA). I use Acrylics for the paintjob.
Cheers,
William
+ Noli fortius me ferire +
Ld. William Gifford
Shire of Two Seas, Drachenwald, SCA
Ld. William Gifford
Shire of Two Seas, Drachenwald, SCA
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Gaston de Clermont
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So there are a few glues here to discuss:
Gorilla glue
Elmer's Wood glue (water proof and otherwise)
Ponal 3 waterproof PVA
Titebond II
cascamite/extramite
GOOP
I haven't heard of the last 4 on the list. Are they available at regular hardware stores? Does anyone have any opinions or tips on them they'd like to share?
Maybe there was something going on with the wood in my experiment, but when I tried gorilla glue the final result was surpisingly brittle. The instructions say to dampen the wood with water first, which I did. Do you have to really hose the wood down and get it dripping wet?
Magnus, I really like the "no hose" look of your shields. I'd love to have a shield that doesn't look like a sheet of aluminum with a car part strapped to it. Do you have any problems with the canvas wearing through?
A number of folks are using nails and screws in their designs. Do you have any issues with them causing cracks, or coming out? Are the nails cinched over and covered?
William's method for curving shields seems pretty clear. How do other folks make shield presses?
I'm waffling a bit on metal reinforcement- I don't want to have to build a new shield every month, but the surviving period shields didn't have any steel reinforcement. (Well, some of the Viking era ones had metal reinforcement, but I'm not sure that applies so well to a heater). Any thoughts on this?
Gorilla glue
Elmer's Wood glue (water proof and otherwise)
Ponal 3 waterproof PVA
Titebond II
cascamite/extramite
GOOP
I haven't heard of the last 4 on the list. Are they available at regular hardware stores? Does anyone have any opinions or tips on them they'd like to share?
Maybe there was something going on with the wood in my experiment, but when I tried gorilla glue the final result was surpisingly brittle. The instructions say to dampen the wood with water first, which I did. Do you have to really hose the wood down and get it dripping wet?
Magnus, I really like the "no hose" look of your shields. I'd love to have a shield that doesn't look like a sheet of aluminum with a car part strapped to it. Do you have any problems with the canvas wearing through?
A number of folks are using nails and screws in their designs. Do you have any issues with them causing cracks, or coming out? Are the nails cinched over and covered?
William's method for curving shields seems pretty clear. How do other folks make shield presses?
I'm waffling a bit on metal reinforcement- I don't want to have to build a new shield every month, but the surviving period shields didn't have any steel reinforcement. (Well, some of the Viking era ones had metal reinforcement, but I'm not sure that applies so well to a heater). Any thoughts on this?
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Magnus The Black
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I live in a humid area. I never add water to the shield. I just spread it on REALLY thin and clamp in a press. I use Brandr's press its a fairly simple of a frame made of 2x4's that are curves on the edges and a curved 2x4 in the center. That 2x4 is on 2 long bolts you tighten the bolts and it puts in a bend. Perhaps he can post the plans for it. I'll email him. As for wearing through it happens some expecialy on the leading edge Often you can cut a patch and glue it in place. Once painted you cant tell its there until up too close. When it gets to ratty just rip it off and make a new one. Canvas is cheap. I usually by the cotton duck @ Wal-mart fot this. Thats another reason to use 3 layers of canvas on the edge 1 reason is that it helps cushion the blow a wee bit but mainly it keeps it from wearing through so fast. The screws have never caused an issue just dont have the metal join at the leading edge. As far as edging. Well you dont have to have a metal rim but you you'll need to sand the edged of the plywood then and your shield may not last 2 practices with out it. A guy in our group made one with a soft leather edge it only lasted 2 practices.
Psalm 1:6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.
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william
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Hi!
Ponal 3 is a wood glue produced by the German Henkel company. It is sold in several European countries, but not in the states.
Titebond II should be pretty common in the states. You can find out more at http://www.titebond.com
About the nails: I use rectangular nails about 1 1/2" long w/ pre-drilled holes to attach the rawhide edge as well as the shield hardware. The nails are hammered in from the front side. Then about 1/2 of the part that sticks out on the back is bent over - a little bit more than 90 degrees. I then carefully drive this part into the wood by hammering the nail over. This is a very secure attachment; I have not yet encountered any problems with wood splintering. My nails are not covered.
Metal edging: It might not be documentable, but if we consider that we rather play more and repair less and if it is concealed I think it's something one can live with.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
William
Ponal 3 is a wood glue produced by the German Henkel company. It is sold in several European countries, but not in the states.
Titebond II should be pretty common in the states. You can find out more at http://www.titebond.com
About the nails: I use rectangular nails about 1 1/2" long w/ pre-drilled holes to attach the rawhide edge as well as the shield hardware. The nails are hammered in from the front side. Then about 1/2 of the part that sticks out on the back is bent over - a little bit more than 90 degrees. I then carefully drive this part into the wood by hammering the nail over. This is a very secure attachment; I have not yet encountered any problems with wood splintering. My nails are not covered.
Metal edging: It might not be documentable, but if we consider that we rather play more and repair less and if it is concealed I think it's something one can live with.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
William
+ Noli fortius me ferire +
Ld. William Gifford
Shire of Two Seas, Drachenwald, SCA
Ld. William Gifford
Shire of Two Seas, Drachenwald, SCA
Hey Gaston!
I use a flat heater now, but when I used curved ones, I did the following:
Good quality outdoor grade plywood with one good side. Pick through the sheets to find a decent one with no voids, etc.
Put the glue (I use Titebond II) on thick on both pieces of wood. Put them together and press them down well to get rid of any air bubbles. I did this by walking on them. Put them into the press and leave it in there for at least half a week. You want to make sure that the glue is good and dry. I acutally recomend that you glue it up on one weekend and take it out of the press the next weekend. My press has 6 2x6 braces, cut to the curve I wanted, mounted in a frame. There is a threaded rod at each corner to clamp it down. I also orient it so that it is in a U shape rather than a ^ shape so that gravity won't make the glue run out. Don't worry, lots of glue will press out anyways.
When it is good and dry, take it out of the press and cut to shape.
I edge my shields with 1/2" aluminum U-channel around the sides, and the top gets two pieces of 1/8" x 1.5" aluminum bar stock. This ends up sandwiching over the U channel at the corners. The bar stock is riveted onto the top and also has a small rivet going through the U channel at the corners. One thing about the U channel - do *not* notch it to bend around the shield. Force it onto the shield, bending it around the bottom. After it is all the way on and riveted at the top (through the bar stock), then hammer down the sides of it where it puckers out.
To edge it, take a new roll of 3/4" strapping tape and tape it around and around the shield. Use the entire roll. Then take some gaffer tape and put a half dozen or so passes around with that, offsetting it left and right and centered on the taped up channeling. This will hold the tape edge down as well as cover the chanelling. The built up strapping tape pads the edge to protect swords. If the gaffer tape covering gets chewed up, just put another pass on it and it will look new again.
Before putting the edging on, I have been gluing canvas to my shields. I soak the canvas in water first, put a thick layer of glue on the back of the shield and then lay the canvas over it. I rub the canvas onto the shield until the glue foams up through it. Let it dry and trim it to the edge of the shield. Then repeat on the front face, but trim it an inch or two wider than the shield and glue it over the edge and onto the back. The edging is then put over the canvas. You may have to bend the channeling out a bit to get it over the three layers of canvas, but then you can just hammer it back down afterwards. The canvas front & back really help the shield to last longer, and even when it is getting blown apart, you don't throw splinters and it still looks pretty good.
Will you be at Estrella?
- Scott
I use a flat heater now, but when I used curved ones, I did the following:
Good quality outdoor grade plywood with one good side. Pick through the sheets to find a decent one with no voids, etc.
Put the glue (I use Titebond II) on thick on both pieces of wood. Put them together and press them down well to get rid of any air bubbles. I did this by walking on them. Put them into the press and leave it in there for at least half a week. You want to make sure that the glue is good and dry. I acutally recomend that you glue it up on one weekend and take it out of the press the next weekend. My press has 6 2x6 braces, cut to the curve I wanted, mounted in a frame. There is a threaded rod at each corner to clamp it down. I also orient it so that it is in a U shape rather than a ^ shape so that gravity won't make the glue run out. Don't worry, lots of glue will press out anyways.
When it is good and dry, take it out of the press and cut to shape.
I edge my shields with 1/2" aluminum U-channel around the sides, and the top gets two pieces of 1/8" x 1.5" aluminum bar stock. This ends up sandwiching over the U channel at the corners. The bar stock is riveted onto the top and also has a small rivet going through the U channel at the corners. One thing about the U channel - do *not* notch it to bend around the shield. Force it onto the shield, bending it around the bottom. After it is all the way on and riveted at the top (through the bar stock), then hammer down the sides of it where it puckers out.
To edge it, take a new roll of 3/4" strapping tape and tape it around and around the shield. Use the entire roll. Then take some gaffer tape and put a half dozen or so passes around with that, offsetting it left and right and centered on the taped up channeling. This will hold the tape edge down as well as cover the chanelling. The built up strapping tape pads the edge to protect swords. If the gaffer tape covering gets chewed up, just put another pass on it and it will look new again.
Before putting the edging on, I have been gluing canvas to my shields. I soak the canvas in water first, put a thick layer of glue on the back of the shield and then lay the canvas over it. I rub the canvas onto the shield until the glue foams up through it. Let it dry and trim it to the edge of the shield. Then repeat on the front face, but trim it an inch or two wider than the shield and glue it over the edge and onto the back. The edging is then put over the canvas. You may have to bend the channeling out a bit to get it over the three layers of canvas, but then you can just hammer it back down afterwards. The canvas front & back really help the shield to last longer, and even when it is getting blown apart, you don't throw splinters and it still looks pretty good.
Will you be at Estrella?
- Scott
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Sean Powell
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My preference:
2 pieces of 1/4" luan with elmers wood glue. I edge with an alluminum C channel and goop on either 3/4" yellow cheep polly rope or 2" wide nylon webbing as a courtesy for my oponents. Cover with canvas and paint.
Mind you I only do this for my demo shields. My practice shiled is old beat up alluminum with the paint scraping off.
Sean
2 pieces of 1/4" luan with elmers wood glue. I edge with an alluminum C channel and goop on either 3/4" yellow cheep polly rope or 2" wide nylon webbing as a courtesy for my oponents. Cover with canvas and paint.
Mind you I only do this for my demo shields. My practice shiled is old beat up alluminum with the paint scraping off.
Sean
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Gaston de Clermont
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Hi Geoffrey! How long does it take you to make your shields, and how long do they last? You said you use plywood, so is that some kind of pine?
I'm unlikely to make Estrella any time soon. My wife's birthday is on Valentines day, which generally falls during Estrella, so leaving her alone on that day isn't much of an option, and the last time she went she had a miserable time. It was mostly that it can get so cold there at night. Plus now we have a 2 year old to camp with.
Sean- do you have any problem with your rope getting knocked off? Does it just lay parallel to the edge, with a lot of glue and the canvas holding it on?
It seems like Titebond II and Elmer's are popular choices.
I'm unlikely to make Estrella any time soon. My wife's birthday is on Valentines day, which generally falls during Estrella, so leaving her alone on that day isn't much of an option, and the last time she went she had a miserable time. It was mostly that it can get so cold there at night. Plus now we have a 2 year old to camp with.
Sean- do you have any problem with your rope getting knocked off? Does it just lay parallel to the edge, with a lot of glue and the canvas holding it on?
It seems like Titebond II and Elmer's are popular choices.
Gaston,
I'm not sure how long it takes me to make a shield. When I made my current shield, I went ahead and made two at the same time. I'm on the second one now. I think I switched to it for either March Crown or for Prova Dura. The old one had blown apart near the bottom, but it still looked good since it had the canvas on both sides. The plywood was still together on the front but the impacts were knocking it off on the back. Weird. It was all contained by the canvas, but you could definately feel lumps, bulges & voids on the back near the bottom. Oh yeah, the paint sticks to the fabric much better than to wood, so even after it was dying it still looked OK.
I think the first one lasted me around 1.5 years or so. It was retired for 6 months while I was reigning, though. I had made another one without canvas to use during that time. I generally get a bit more than a year out of them, but I did a few things different on this one with the edging, so I am hoping it will last a bit longer. Of course, if you don't block with your shield, it will last indefinately.
When I glued up curved heaters, the plywood I used was 1/4" (well, now I think they sell it as 7/32") thick from Home Depot. I think I used the one good side stuff. I think it is ACX. Since I have been using a flat heater for the past five years or so, I have just been buying 1/2" (15/32?) plywood. I have heard good things about using birch. I'm not sure what the stuff I used is.
Back how long, I remember taking one out of the press too soon and it flattened back out quite a bit and got some voids. I always left them in much longer after that and got no noticable spring back.
After cutting them out and gluing the fabric on, I probably spent about an hour or two edging and strappping each one. When GM came over to edge his (yes, he put down the second sword and used a heater for a while - shoulder problems) it probably took about an hour.
- Scott
I'm not sure how long it takes me to make a shield. When I made my current shield, I went ahead and made two at the same time. I'm on the second one now. I think I switched to it for either March Crown or for Prova Dura. The old one had blown apart near the bottom, but it still looked good since it had the canvas on both sides. The plywood was still together on the front but the impacts were knocking it off on the back. Weird. It was all contained by the canvas, but you could definately feel lumps, bulges & voids on the back near the bottom. Oh yeah, the paint sticks to the fabric much better than to wood, so even after it was dying it still looked OK.
I think the first one lasted me around 1.5 years or so. It was retired for 6 months while I was reigning, though. I had made another one without canvas to use during that time. I generally get a bit more than a year out of them, but I did a few things different on this one with the edging, so I am hoping it will last a bit longer. Of course, if you don't block with your shield, it will last indefinately.
When I glued up curved heaters, the plywood I used was 1/4" (well, now I think they sell it as 7/32") thick from Home Depot. I think I used the one good side stuff. I think it is ACX. Since I have been using a flat heater for the past five years or so, I have just been buying 1/2" (15/32?) plywood. I have heard good things about using birch. I'm not sure what the stuff I used is.
Back how long, I remember taking one out of the press too soon and it flattened back out quite a bit and got some voids. I always left them in much longer after that and got no noticable spring back.
After cutting them out and gluing the fabric on, I probably spent about an hour or two edging and strappping each one. When GM came over to edge his (yes, he put down the second sword and used a heater for a while - shoulder problems) it probably took about an hour.
- Scott