The Armour Archive

Okay- this thing is TOTALLY insane. It's the best wooden shield blank I have ever seen in my life. Light and -so far- seemingly indestructable. If you were to take a blank and cover it with fiberglass cloth and resin, I can't see how you could ever wear it out. Ever.
I am going to do just that. When I am done it will look more historically accurate than 99% of the shields out there, and it will have the feel that I like. I hate the bounce of aluminum shields, and period ones were light, light, light. These blanks are beyond belief. I can't wait to get started on my new shields. I will try to post pics of the process.
My highest rating.

For a wooden shield, birch is the only way to go.

Regards,
Jean Richard
Ansteorra

Is the fiberglass cloth and resin really that much stronger than linen and hide glue?

I use a laminated birch shield and would never go back to pine plywood.

Good Sir Vitus,
Have you done this to wooden shield blanks before? Dose it take paint well? I would like to hear more of this technique as I am close to covering my own shield.

I was kind of wondering if the fiberglass would throw chips with a pretty hard blow?

I have one, and I covered it with canvas and glue; once I get the go ahead from the Dr. to fight I'll tell ya how it worked out.

dammit now i have to buy something else

We did a shield a few years back using marine birch (1/8 inch ply), I had found a reference to canvas/wood layers so what we wound up doing was wood/glue/wet canvas/glue/wood... until we had a sandwich built up of three layers of birch with two sheets of canvas in the press.
when the shield dried in shape (we gave it two weeks) we cut the shield to shape. rivited a metal edge on, and then faced it with a glued on canvas sheet, stretched and nailed in place - the nails were removed later.
since it was being used in the SCA we added a leather edge once the face had dried.
the shield was quite light, gave very good lengthy service,

I have one of these, with the metal edging, and covered with fiberglass cloth, and it is the ultimate.

Jehan de Pelham, esquire and servant of Sir Vitus

I was kind of wondering if the fiberglass would throw chips with a pretty hard blow?

People have a misunderstadnign of fibreglass based upon images of sprayed fibreglass items, usually bathtubs. Fiberglass cloth impregnated with resin is nigh impossible to remove hunks without a kinfe, as the fibers are longer than the sprayed version, and interwoven.

-+G

We've been discusing shield construction over on a Roman board and the conversation has turned to covering the shield with a thin layer of rawhide. People swear by it.

That would get a bit soggy when wet, right?

i make all my shields with rusian/artic birch, and rim them with steel, they are very light, and very strong, wood is the way to go