[Robert Rootslane]

HI

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

So i have decided to try as many types of woods as possible, for the shields and after we have used them for a while, decide which one suits the best.

All together we are making 8 shields.

I have decided to make 2 shields from pine, since many viking age shield finds are made of it and i have used a pine roundshield (although from sawed planks) and it has proven itself useful.

Another one i will make from fir, for the same reason, and also because it is sayd to have been the most common tree here in that time.

One shield will be made out of alder, for the german book posted here earlyer describes a shield made from it.

One will be made from poplar for the same reason.

Theare has been a shield boss find near Estonia from birch, so i have decided to make one from birch.

The last two i am planning to make from linden, since it seems to be the most common treefor shieldmaking. Or atleast most common in central europe.



Today i went to the forest and cut some trees. Actually i managed to get the materials for all exept for linden,which doesent seem to grow theare. I am beginning to have some doubts about linden here. Im sure it was common in central europe but im not sure if i have seen it growing in the woods here. It grows in parks though. I have to give it a bit more research and see if it would be plausible for linden to grow here 900 years ago.


Anyway as i promised in my first post, i will post pictures about the progress here. They arenothing much to look at, at the moment though. Just treetrunks that i will be making into boards.




The wind had blown down many trees recently, so i didnt really need to cut them down myself. The treestump on the picture is about 4meters high. Looks pretty cool i would say.




Since the shields were made from a different number of boards. From 3 to as many as 8 or nine i took some smaller logs for smaller planks.



And some larger ones for larger planks. The log im dragging on the picture weighs almost as much as i do. Had quite a trouble dragging them trough the woods.



Now as i have gathered the material for the wooden part ofthe shiels it needs to dry in my garage. My experience with woodworking says its better to let it dry first and than start working on it. It will take a month or two i think.

Meanwhile i will test the glue, that was used to glue the boards together. I have a round shield cut out from sawboards that i havent put together yet, so i think i will test the glue on it.

I also need to get some hides and treat them so they could be used on a shield. The german book refers to the covering as pergament. Is that really so, or is it just German for rawhide? Also, since my german is not very good, i havent been ablo to find what animal hides were used. Need to do some more german reading and find out

(edited for a broken link)

[Sam Gordon Campbell]

I, for one, look forward to the results of this thread.
Awesome stuff Robert, keep us posted!

[Bjorn Hagstrom]

I really do advice you to split boards and planks out of the pieces before drying. It is much easier with green wood. Also when split into smaller pieces they will dry faster. Looks really great though, you have a lot of nice axe-work ahead of you!

[Gregory J. Liebau]

That's very cool that you're using wood you acquired on your own. I'm jealous of your resources! Pergament is German for parchment, which is technically the same as rawhide, but usually denotes a rather thin piece. I'd suggest that the German shields are probably using rawhide between 1-2mm in thickness on either side. A particularly thick slab, measured at 5mm, was used for the raised heraldric lion on one of the shields discussed.

Good luck with the project!

-Gregory

[Kurt Scholz]

I talked to some historical reenactors with kite shields on an archaeological "trade fair". They told me that drying the strapped rawhide on the shield was the most difficult part, because the energies involved easily broke the whole shield. According to them an important trick was using the right array of ropes for tension. I would suggest some safety ropes to keep the wooden part from collapsing under the pressure of drying rawhide. In Medieval times these shields were usually painted, so parchment can also be a layer more suitable for painting above all, but not intended for much structural use.

[Petr S]

Rob,
Vikings have used pine because northern pine has different quality - it is much more dense and less brittle than Central European pine. I'm not sure how is it in Estonia, but you should take it into consideration.
I wouldn't recommend birch for making the whole shield - it is rather heavy and deteriorates quickly outdoors. If I remember well, the birch boss was covered by rawhide and attached to a fir shield?

I agree with Bjorn on splitting it right now. After this, you can speed up the drying by putting it by the source of dry heat, but be sure the will deform some way.

As for the log you've acquired - it seems to me that they are full of knots - it makes splitting difficult and structurally weakens the wood. Also most trees grow in the spiral, so they split the same way, making reasonably straight planks hard to obtain. You can identify them by looking at the bark, or chopping of a splinter. Hope your logs are OK.

Anyway, great project, looking forward to the next bunch of photos.

[Kurt Scholz]

[Tjarand Matre]

Ordinary Scandinavian pine is not very dense, the clue is to look for certain trees with specific qualities. Pine growing in steep hillsides will grow up slanted and form very dense compressed wood compared to pine growing on flats. You can also find this compressed reaction wood on undersides of large pine branches. This wood is so strong in compression it can be used for bows of good draw weight (historically correct for northern parts of Scandinavia). So pine could certainly have been used for battle ready shields.