Help reconstructing a 5th-6th C. scutum

[Sassanid]

Aitor

but, if I were you, I'd try to get Junkelmann's book.

Is that the book you mentioned at the beginning of the thread - "Reiter wie Statuen aus Erz"

Thanks,

Andrew

[aitor iriarte]

Andrew,
Yes, that book.
If you need ISBN, I can take a look at it this afternoon :wink:

Aitor

[Jeroen Pelgrom]

That should be:

Marcus Junkelmann
Reiter wie Statuen aus Erz
ISBN: 3805318219

[Sassanid]

Many thanks Aitor, Jeroen,

I have found it through Abebooks 2nd hand for 25Eur. It is winging its way to me as I write.

I get the gist, but how does it translate exactly? Babblefish comes up with "Rider such as statues from ore" ??

Andrew

[Carlton Bach]

Many thanks Aitor, Jeroen,

I have found it through Abebooks 2nd hand for 25Eur. It is winging its way to me as I write.

I get the gist, but how does it translate exactly? Babblefish comes up with "Rider such as statues from ore" ??

'Horsemen like bronze statues' - in a rather anticising style, I think it's a classical quote.

[Sassanid]

Thanks

[tlclark]

Thanks for the sources.

I will be heading to the library tomorrow sometime.

In the meantime, here's the strategy.

I built the form last night. Oval, 42'' x 35" with a convex depression of 2.5". The form has 8 ribs and I think that will be enough to secure the planks. I will be using brads to secure the planks to the form since I don't have enough clamps. I will then pull the brads once the glue sets, I am using a modern polyethelene wood glue on the edges, but I would like to use hide glue between layers and to attach the linen surface.

Tonight or tomorrow (or maybe Saturday, it's been busy.) I will cut the planks from my board using my bosch circular saw, and the rip fence. The boards are quarter sawn, so the planks should all have parallel grain. Red Oak is stiffer than white oak or elder, but it should work.

Then I will use my block plan to taper the edges somewhat, then use the drawknife to taper the thickness before bending them to the form.

Hopefully I will post pictures on Saturday.

Travis

[Sassanid]

My book arrived this morning. It is going to take me about 10 years to translate and read it, but it is worth it for the pictures alone.

If anyone has a interest in Cavalry Sports, this book is a must. Looking at the impressions throughout the book I feel quite humbled by the standard.

I also have the oppurtunity to get quite cheap, Die Reiter Roms, Teil III: Zubehor, Reitweise, Bewaffnung, also by Marcus Junkelmann. Is that any good?

Andrew

[Carlton Bach]

I also have the oppurtunity to get quite cheap, Die Reiter Roms, Teil III: Zubehor, Reitweise, Bewaffnung, also by Marcus Junkelmann. Is that any good?

Andrew

Yes, you want that book. In fact, you probably want all three, but 'Reitweise, Zubehör, Bewaffnung' is the nicest of the lot. Good drawings, good data, great photographs, too short for all the stuff in it, though.

[tlclark]

Update on the scuta...

I have the form and the planks done. I have been using my block plane and draw knife to taper the planks, but didn't manage to get any glued and clamped down.

Couple of questions.

1. Does anyone have a good source for a shield boss/umbo?

2. Any suggestions on attaching the backing? What are people using?

Travis

[Robert Vermaat]

1. Does anyone have a good source for a shield boss/umbo?

I use the ones by Holger Ratsdorf.

[tlclark]

1. Does anyone have a good source for a shield boss/umbo?

I use the ones by Holger Ratsdorf.

Those are really nice, but with shipping to the US it becomes a little too costly.

Man, does he ever have some neat stuff though! I love his belt plates.

Anybody know of a US supplier?

Armillum has some that are considerably cheaper. Any opinion's on Armillum's umbos?

Travis

[TFLAVIUSAMBIORIX]

mark morrow, he has them for about $30.

[tlclark]

mark morrow, he has them for about $30.

John, Thanks for the tip.

Well, file this in under the "Failure is the greatest schoolmaster" category.

Saturday before last I had meant to get back to the project, but this thing called life intervened. So day before yesterday I took it up again and ran into several major snags.

First, I've noticed that a lot of the discovered shields are made of oak and that the planks are thinner near the edges which is an absolute necessity. Oak, even at 1/8th inch thickness is VERY rigged, and even though the concave section is rather shallow, it still is a challenge. Steaming is an option, but much more of a hassle.

I was planing these down with my hand plane and draw-knife which is a lot of work but also tricky. Within a couple strokes you can cut too far and ruin a plank. So I went to my random orbit sander since it really does a much better job, easier and quicker and harder to mess it up.

Also I made one big error in planning. Making a concave shield is a lot like making a barrel or a boat and you have to taper the planks, so they can't just have parallel edges. So I tapered them BEFORE I started fitting them, just to have'em all ready to go once I started gluing them. Problem is, you put one down, and then if the next doesn't quite fit you have to trim the edges a bit more anyway. So it's a waste of time and since you've already trimmed them you often don't have the wood to trim them anymore. I had cut a paper pattern and laid it over the form and cut the planks to fit, but as often happens, it works better in theory than practice.

So it looks like I have a bunch of planks that are useless and I have to recut planks and fit them one by one.

I am beginning to understand why more people don't do this and just have flat shields.

So I backed away from this a bit and was considering going to a flat shield when I get this e-mail from T B CONSTANTINIANUS (aka John Shook) who heads up my unit...

I have not been able to make a dished shield, I hope you will all excuse my one slip on authenticity in this respect. however, Theodoros is making this type of shield, so we will have one of the more common types to show to the public at least.

So great, no pressure or anything!!

but John has already promised a dished shield, so I guess I have to do it.

Actually, knowing someone is expecting it is a great motivator.

I am rebuilding the form, since even trying to attach the one plank to it I realized it just wasn't beefy enough to take the abuse. And I will be adding more ribs to make sure that the shape is better.

Then I will recut the planks and sand them to shape and then cut them as I go. If it goes well, I will make two.

Wish me luck.

Travis.[/quote]

[Robert Vermaat]

Did you take any pictures of your ordeal?