Recently finished crafting a viking shield for Ren Fest. Was a lot of fun to do, though took a few weeks working on it in the afternoons. Made of wood, cloth, rawhide, paint, and a metal boss. #viking #woodworking #ampainting #artwork https://octodon.social/media/sB2yHgAzZBb82fojtqE https://octodon.social/media/YePt06Q0T49emoHqyVw
@KARiley40
Looks great.
Can I ask what it looks like underneath. How is it constructed? Must be sturdy to take what looks like a substantial weight with that boss.
@RunningInCircles You bet! The base is made of ash plywood, 1/8th inch thick. A layer of cloth was glued to the top and bottom, making it stiff. Lamination like this was done in historical times, using either linen cloth or thin rawhide, glued with hide glue. In addition, there's a handle on the back, which has been place perpendicular to the wood grain, helping to strengthen it. The boss isn't too heavy, maybe 2 lbs? Whole shield is 7lbs.
@KARiley40
That's really interesting.
Thanks for the info. It sounds as good in the way it was made as it looks :-)
@RunningInCircles Oh yeah, this thing could totally take on a bunch of sword or axe blows. In fact, I'd be worried for the sword!
@KARiley40 - Beautiful!