This was a much easier project than the helmet. I took a break from the helmet because of rivets! So. .in that time I made my shield. There were a few gotchas and pitfalls, though. .
It's pretty common to make these shields out of plywood, but I didn't really want to do that, as I like the more authentic look of laminated wood. So at first I though I was going to use tongue and groove siding but it turns out tongue-and-groove (at least the one example I could find a Lowes) had a look to it that didn't work so I ended up buying those planks of pre-laminated pine that they have wrapped in plastic. This ended up working well. they are fairly straight and it reduced the amount of gluing I had to do to just one piece. As for the Shield boss. .no I didn't make it . . I bought it from www.viking-shield.com. Here's the link:
The wood planks I bought at Lowes.
If you have a workbench but don't have a bench vise, GET ONE!
This is by far the most useful tool in my garage. I use this on virtually every
project I undertake. ALSO. .don't get a little-bitty one. Get one that's big and
sturdy enough that you can pound on it with a hammer.
Here. I use my 'bench dogs'. . which make my bench vise
into a large clamp. Here they are on the vise end.. . .
. . .and here they are on the bench end. I have pre-drilled holes in
my work bench for these to fit in at various distances from the vise.
I used these to clamp and glue my two planks together.
Here. I'm drawing my circle. I popped two lines corner-to-corner with
my chalk-box to find the center. Then put a nail in the center.
I then drilled holes in a yardstick, one for the nail and the other for my pencil.
Here, I've used the ruler again to draw a curve for cutting the supports.
I did this because it looks better. LEAVE SPACE between
your support and the edge of your shield . . .
. . . so that you can fit your jigsaw by the planks. . Otherwise you'll
have to turn it over, redraw your circle and cut from the top.
It's painted! I used wood stain. The brown is an oil base and the Red a
regular water base. I just used the oil-base because it comes in a
small can and it's cheap. For the colors you have to
buy a quart and it ain't cheap!
I cut some of the metal I had leftover from my helmet for these 'spokes'.
Cut a hole for your shield boss. Be careful to mark off where
your shield boss is going to go before you cut the hole. Once you
cut the hole, you no longer have an exact center
reference point for drawing circles.
Here I've made my 'handle' and attached my shield boss.
For the handle I used harder wood than the pine I'd been using
for the rest of this project. I dadoed out the grooves for the
supports but this is not necessary. .
Here it is! Shiny!
For the spokes I used furniture nails. They come in various decorative
heads. I used the 'nickel' heads. I drilled small holes in my metal
strips and just nailed them down. It looks great and is EASY!. .
. . . and the inside. I swear the camera really does add 15 lbs!
Attack of the DWARVES!
.. .AND the video!
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