Shields: How to?

I did a search but either this has never been explicitly mentioned or my search-fu is weak…

How do you make a shield? I have managed to pick up (or will on Monday) a couple of sheets of 1mx1.5m corflute (not much to work with, but I think enough for a round/oval shield?) and have no idea what to do with it :laughing:

Is there a making shields for dummies anywhere that I can get to it?

Cheers,
Viperion

Try this thread http://www.diatribe.co.nz/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=4139

[quote=“Viperion”]How do you make a shield?

I have managed to pick up (or will on Monday) a couple of sheets of 1mx1.5m corflute (not much to work with, but I think enough for a round/oval shield?) and have no idea what to do with it :laughing:[/quote]

Two sheets is plenty if they’re that big. The thread linked above gives a lot of instructions (basic method: 3-layer corflute sandwich, crossing the grain of the corflute at right angles in each one). So I’ll instead go for the stylistic questions: What type of shield do you want? Round or heater? How big do you want it?

If you’re doing Camelot, you could go for a heater, and paint it in the appropriate coat of arms. If you want something more generically useful, which can be loaned to people regardless of handedness, a roundshield is a pretty good idea.

Things you will need: ADOS (spray is useful for sticking the layers together, but you can use liquid, and you’ll need that for edging it anyway), $2 shop craft knives (for cutting stuff), duct tape (for edging), foam camp mat (for face and edges), cloth (to cover, front and back), paint (to make it look pretty), and either a strip of leather (1 foor by 1 inch) and a $2 shop plastic picnic bowl (for a roundshield), or a pair of $2 shop dog collars and a chunk of an old towel (for a heater).

Timewise, the actual cutting out and assembly bits don’t take long, but you’ll need to allow the sandwich to cure overnight when you stick it all together, and ditto when you stick the edges and face on. Plus however long it takes your paint to dry.

Doh! Searched for “making” should have search for “make” :laughing:

Thanks :slight_smile:

Consider a teardrop design.

It’s appropriately medieval, and it’s less likely to poke people in the eye than a classic heater/knight shield with square corners at the top.

(In my experience it’s usually the person holding the shield who gets poked by it, which adds an additional incentive to avoid pointy corners in your design).

Teardrop is like this:

s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 … C03131.jpg

You won’t be able to curve the shield like that with corflute (especially if you alternative the direction of the corrugations, which is a good idea for strength), but the shape would still work.

[quote=“Ryan Paddy”]Consider a teardrop design.

It’s appropriately medieval, and it’s less likely to poke people in the eye than a classic heater/knight shield with square corners at the top. [/quote]

As in a short fat kite?

What sorts of proportions would you recommend?

Doesn’t have to be short and fat, they were sometimes very long.

I’d recommend researching medieval shield sizes… my sizing was based on how much foam I had available. :slight_smile: