making an aspis

[Chris B]

I made one earlier this year in linen and also made a Boeotian. I found the shaping to be easy once you got the hang of it. I used a Porter Cable variable speed hand held belt sander for ALL the shaping. I used 60 grit paper to start and then moved to 120 grit for finishing. I found it easiest to stand on the back of the shield opposite the side your sanding. Then I sanded perpendicular to the edge allowing the sander to glide around the shield's circular shape being careful to stay perpendicular to the edge. I sanded about a quarter of the shield at a time allowing the sander to glide back and forth within the area so that the curvature stayed consistent and smooth. Then when the outside was done, I flipped it over and attacked the inside. I rolled up a large towel into a donut and placed it under the shield to keep the outside edge from scratching. Then I set a 35 dumbbell weight on the side opposite from the side I was sanding. That way my hands were free to work instead of keeping the shield from moving. I simply attacked the inside curves at varying angles using the front roller of the sander for the steep angles and the flat side for the flat angles once again perpendicular to the edge and allowing it to coast back and forth a bit to keep it consistent. Hope that helps some. Here are pictures of the two shields.