How
to Make an Shield, As done by Caladin Ironhearth.
(UNDER
CONSTRUCTION)
This
is a page about how to make a shield I lovingly call the ABAS (Ansteorran Big
Ass Shield) but it also shows the techniques on how to make any flat shield,
using things you can buy and use yourself making the lightest best most durable
WOODEN shield possible. (Curved shields and Aluminum shields are addressed
elsewhere and I might
Write
a page about it, if I get to make
another one and try out some new ideas I have :))
What
you will need:
Materials:
2’x4’ ½’ thick plywood,
3/4'” or larger Flexible PVC water pipe (also called
roll pipe or Black pipe)
2 - ½” inner measurement Aluminum U – channel 5’-8’ lengths
1/4'” or smaller Nylon rope.
Shield Basket (see my page on making a simple Shield basket)
Arm Strap
5 - ¼’ diameter, 1” long Carriage bolts, with
locking washers and nuts to fit (if you hardware is different, your bolt length
may change)
Duct tape, 1 roll or less.
Tools:
Jig saw with wood cutting blade.
Hand drill
Drill Bits (one slightly larger than rope, one
slightly larger than bolts
Selecting
the Wood.
Go
to the hardware store and find a piece of plywood the size of the shield you
want. Most hardware stores sell quarter sheets of Plywood that are 2 feet by 4
feet pre cut.
What I do is go through the stack of sheets, picking out the 2 or
three lightest ones weighing by hand. I’ve always wanted to get a fish scale
and a clamp and test I that way, but I’ve never found a scale to use and
remembered to buy it at the same time (Note: I finally did this, and on my inaccurate scale a good piece of BC plywood is 12.5 lbs and a good piece of Birch is 11.5lbs) J
After
you’re found the lightest ones, look at the edges of each piece of wood, you’re
looking to be sure there are not any voids along the edge of the piece. This
means there all of the layers of the plywood are there along all of the edges
and make sure that there are no loose pieces just barely hanging on. Void will
cause the wood to e weak and the edge of the shield to break before its time.
Next tap the wood with a knuckle to see if there are any obvious voids in the
center of the wood, especially if you are cutting a non-rectangular shield. Pay
special attention to the area you are planning to cut, in my case a straight
line about 1 foot from one end of the wood. A void will sound slightly deeper
and hollow when you tap on it.. If you can’t tell the difference, gamble on the
lightest piece of wood, and hope for the best.
Ab
or bc grade is fine, some people use marine grade. It’s more expensive, harder
to find and heavier.. But it holds up much better… especially if you let your
shield get wet (something I avoid, because wet shields are very heavy :) ). If you can find it, Birch plywood is about 1 lb lighter per 2'*4' piece and is stronger besides.
Mostly
you want to be sure there are not obvious blemishes or knots on the side of the
shield you want to put out. Also be sure the wood is straight, or that you like
any curves that might be in it…
Since
I’m making a rectangular shield, all I have to do is measure one foot down from
the end of the shield and draw a straight line across it (Squares are very
handy for this, but a Yard stick works fine, you just have to measure and mark
at 1 foot on both sides, and then line the stick up to match both marks exactly
before drawing the line.
<drawing
Marking a straight line on shield>
If
you are Making a different shaped shield use either a Flexible yardstick (for a
heater) or a String and Nail
(for a Circle) to mark your lines.
Now
Plug in the Jig saw (or whatever saw you are using) and cut along the line.
Note
that a Finer toothed blade will leave a stronger cleaner edge to the wood, but
will cut slower.
You
should now have a 2’x3’ rectangular shield blank. Or whatever shape it is that
you are using.
Drill
the Holes:
You
are going to need to drill holes to put the rope through to hold the edging in
place.
Before
you can drill the holes you need to decide on your lacing pattern. If you want
to just go around and around, like sewing. Only one piece of rope will go
through each hole so you need a bit 1 – 2 sizes bigger than the diameter of the
rope.
<diagram,
lacing styles>
If
you are using a style, which will put 2 pieces of rope thru each hole, you need
a drill bit big enough to let that happen. Look at your rope and figure it out.
Try sticking the rope through once after you drill the first hole to be sure it
works. We’ll get back to Lacing the edges on the shield later.
I
use a modified sewing stitch to lace my shield on, and It’s shown above. To do
it my way use the 3/8” bit to drill the holes.
The
holes should be slightly away from the edge of the shield, about 1 and ½ to 2
times as far from the edge of the shield as your edging will go.
(Using
my edging that’s 1”-11/2”)
<drawing
close-up of shield edge>
I
usually drill my holes as follows I start at the center of the top of the
shield and drill a hole. Then drill
both corners. Then I divide each side inhalf and drill one hole at the 1/2
marks to make 5 holes total along the top edge. Then I start the same way with
the sides, but instead of one hole between the corners and the center, I drill
2, dividing it into thirds. The advantage of this is that it measures really quickly
and seems to work fine.
<drawing
the drilled shield>
My
first shield I drew a straight line 2” in from the edge of the shield all the
way around and measured 2” between the marks and made all of my lacing exactly
even. But this is not required.
Although it looks nice, it’s your call. Basically you can lace you edging on
however you want. Mostly it’s a matter of esthetics.
Tips
and Tricks.
Preventing
(minimizing) Splintering on exit holes.
Always
drill from the out side of your shield to the inside (towards you) so that the outside
holes where you paint the shield are the nicest looking.
Put
a piece of plywood (say the piece you just cut off) under the place where you
are going to drill so that the shield blank wood is pressed firmly against it.
Then drill thru the first piece and into the second. This will minimize
splintering as well.
Preventing
Rope wear at the Holes.
If
you take a much larger bit, (say twice the diameter) and go back and slightly
counter sink the edges of the holes slightly the rope will not have a 90degree
corner to wear on and the rope will last longer. The rope usually wears out
where it’s hit anyway, so this is nice, but not required. Basically you are
just rounding off the corners with the bigger bit. In theory if you do this
first, then go back and drill the smaller holes it’ll look nicer, but I always
forget and have to go back and do it, which usually causes some splintering
when the 2nd bit hits the corners. So frankly I don’t know :)
<Drawing,
countersink the edges of the holes>
If
you want to paint your design on the shield before you fight with it, this is
the time to do so. For some reasons I never pain my shield till after I’ve
fought with it a few times to see if I like it. So you can paint it after you
are done as well, but you’re gonna get paint all over the ropes. Once again, it’s
your call :).
To
edge the shield first you want to run a single length of duct tape along the
edge of the wood. This makes the aluminum u-channel fit more snugly and wear
better. Put the tape on one edge at a time, centering the tape on the narrow
flat edge of the wood, and then folding down the edges along the flat side of
the wood. I actually use scissors to cut my duct tape slightly narrower, so it
will not show out from under the shield edging, before I put the tape on. Fold
the corners so they overlap slightly.
<drawing
tape the edge>
Sometimes
aluminum u-channel is hard to find at hardware stores. I’ve found that most
large hardware stores carry it, usually with the pieces of angle iron and
stuff, but occasionally in as strange a place as the paint department. If one
salesman can’t find it, as another, I’ve usually found it, if not try another
store, and then remember where you got it.
Next
you need to cut the U-channel to fit the edges of the wood. The easiest way to
do this is to make a relief cut at each corner. Basically what you do is use
the jig saw to cur out a triangular shape from the sides of the u channel that
will allow it to bend to a 90-degree angle.
Don’t’ cut thru the bottom of the channel, as this is part of your
corner protection.
If
you are making a different shaped shield you will have to cut a series of
smaller relief cuts along the part of the shield, which is curved, instead of
straight. Usually a series of cuts straight into the u-channel about 1 inch
apart will do the trick. But that depends on the radius of the curve you are
trying to fit
<drawing
cut the relief cuts, corner>
<drawing
relief cuts, curve>
Usually
it will take a couple of pieces to cover the whole edge, I buy the 8 foot
pieces of u-channel and that covers from one bottom corner around the top, to
the other corner, then I just cut a small straight piece off the other one to
fit along the bottom.
<drawing
the u-channel on the shield>
I
use ¾” or 1’ roll pipe, although in the past I’ve used as big as 1 ½” Pipe.
I
prefer the ¾” because it fits the wood better. But there is a trick to using
it.
If
you do the standard hose trick of cutting a slit down 1 side, the ¾ inch is
going to kill you trying to get it on the shield. And the 1 “ is going to be
plenty hard as well.
The trick is to cut your pipe with a jig (or band ) saw perpendicular to the edge of the pipe you are cutting off. This leaves a nice wide opening for the wood to fit into, and makes a nice clean profile on the wood. This is really hard to explain in text, but the picture should make it very obvious what I’m talking about.
<drawing
cutting the edge of the pipe to open>
Putting
the Pipe on. You’ll need to cut the pipe to make the corners fold over nicely, usually
cut about 1/3 of the way through at the folding point on both sides. And it’ll
overlap nicely. Also if while you are at it you nip of the corners of the cut
you’ll not snag your clothes and scratch yourself when rubbing against the
shield. Also I overlap the edging slightly on the front upper corner where the
edging will take the most abuse, this way there are two layers at the front
corner.
<drawing
cutting the pipe corners>
<drawing
the pipe put on to show the overlap>
Some
people also make a leather cover to go on the front upper corner, it seems a
good idea, but I’ve never tried it. My shields do usually wind up with a piece
of duct tape here, so it’s probably something I should try :)
<drawing
attached the leather cover>
There
are several styles of lacing, pretty much it’s esthetic choice. Here are
several. First is the way I like it. I do it this way for 2 reasons. 1. I like
the rope going around the edges to be perpendicular to the edging (esthetics)
and it also leaves a bit of rope incase it breaks, and you can unlace it a hole
or two, put in it sewing style and have enough slack to tie your shield edge
back on in a hurry. Basically it’s just lacing, but before you go to the next
hole, you tuck the rope through to make it pull straight.(see the diagram)
<Drawing
E stitching Top , Sewing Bottom>
When
I made my first shield, I stood it up on a box and put my self in my best
stance and marked where my hand was (I drew a line to show where a grip would
be if I had one. Then I outlined the part of my arm where I thought the strap
would go. Then I pretty much lined the box handle up and marked the holes and
then lined the strap up as close to my elbow as I could (leverage)
<drawing,
marking the shield for hardware>
I
had to move the strap out away from the elbow some because it was rubbing on a
tendon and hurt. I’ve pretty much just reused that same placement, with little
tweaks here and there ever since. Next you need to put the holes in and attach
the bolts. Put the lock washer between the nut and the surface of whatever you
are attaching to, this keeps the nuts form coming loose as easily. You can also
put a fender, (a large washer with a small hole) between the lock nut and the strap
to make it hold up better and stay tighter.
<drawing
bolt, washer, etc>
There
are lots of cool clever ideas for making your shield work better, but after
you’ve fought with it a while IMHO you are better off only tweaking it
slightly. Mostly because those muscles are trained to hold the shied and
changing it even slightly can make you wind up using new (weak) muscles,
requiring extensive retraining. Here are some of the ideas I’ve seen a heard
of, so you can try them yourself.
Tipping
the Basket to take weight off the hand
Seemed
to work, but I was used to it the other way and put it back.
Lowering
the strap to take weight of the hand.
Ditto
<drawing
strap and box moved>
Tipping
the handle of the basket to cause the end of the shield to stay closer to the
leg.
Ditto
<drawing
of tipped handle>
There
you Go, it’s a shield, grab your Sword
and go Thwack something!