Shield Press - Dreiburgen Armory

By Eadwynne of Runedun

I wrote this up but Elgil Mardil of Dor-Mallos really headed up this project. The shield press I drew here is based on someone else’s design, but ours was very similar. This one is even simpler.

Cut your ¼” marine grade plywood into two sheets into rectangles about 4” larger than the intended shield.

Thinly coat both of your rectangular sheets with wood glue (white glue will do) and them glue-side to glue side with each other. Apply the bend as shown on the website. We found that gluing in about six pegs (1/2" hardwood dowel) through both sheets helps the laminates to remain curved and not delaminate under stress. If you have trouble keeping the laminates together you can use temporary double-headed nails or more clamps outside the final shape.

When the glue is set, remove from the press (it will spring a bit and try to flatten a little). Draw on the shield shape and cut like normal plywood. Glue a cover of canvas over the top and edges. Paint.

We originally soaked the plywood in water before pressing. It worked well but took a long time to dry and set. We got in a hurry once and found that pressing it dry took a little more effort, but it worked fine and didn't take nearly as long. The pegs are optional, but we found they really helped. Keep them about 4" away from your final outside edge and away from very center.

Wood shields will last a season or two if you fight regularly. Aluminum Sheet 6061 T6 0.125", also referred to as structural aluminum, is almost indestructible, but not period. I used wooden shields for years until I got lazy and went aluminum. A pressed-wood heater is much, much more period.

Our first pressed wood shields were faced and rimmed in 24 g. mild steel (no canvas). These were strong, but we found them just a little too heavy to stay competitive.

We also tried an "iron rim" on wooden heaters. We used thin gauge steel so that we could cut a three inch wide strip with tin snips. Then we snipped from the long edge toward the middle a little over an inch all along the strip on both sides. Then we bent this strip around the edge and used a rubber mallet to bend over the snipped areas around the shield edge. I suppose you could wire it down, but we didn't. We just put fire hose over the top and tied it all down with parachute cord. It helps the shield last, but I'm not sure it is worth the trouble and additional weight. If I were going to use this against real swords, I'd definitely do this. But against rattan? It's probably not that important.