RomanArmyTalk

Okay I took another stab at making a scutum. shes 40 x 30. 2 layers of 1/4 luanun really heavy. This boss is from armamentaria and is actual hand hammered although the sanded and polished the face smooth :/ I had to cut the boss down a lot it was humungous.

I'll admit i used synthetic leather on the face but this thing looks totally awesome like that. leather was over a 100 bucks for a sheet this size. Anyway I'll use my other shield for rough housing. I tried to curve this one as much as possible I left it on the form for over 24 hours when i pulled it off for some reason glue most of not of fully dried so i quickly rushed to put it in its form again its gotta a lot more curve then my other but I actually like its curve. Anyway I'm not done with it yet, going to edge it in brass and I may put a loral reef on it someday. Oh yeah I did steal the wing from legio vic!

Tell me what you guys think and what you think I should add! opinions critiques are all welcome here! I'll put more pictures up soon.

NICE

very nice job,
2 things I learned from gluing things together:
don't use too much (we do tend to do this) and it will never set when it is supposed to do (let it dry for more time than stated on)

For Combat shields I would recommend using PVA glue (thinned) soaked canvas (or a variation such as 2x cotton sheet) its very tough and resists blows and cuts (from blunt steel weapons) very well, so much so that its possible to use a much lighter ply such 2x thin birch and should result in a substantial saving in weight overall.. for the edge use rawhide stitched on while damp

Very nice work.

Very Nice

Awesome looking scutum! Quick question though, what is the red cloth just over the hand grip? Also did Romans employ guy straps (I think that's what they're called) to go around the shoulder to assist in weight management?

Red cloth acts a pad for comfort. I beveled out the edge and its quite comfortable to carry. As far as guy straps i'm not an expert but in combat i don't think they would of used a strap to aid in carry it. While marching i'm sure they had straps.

saw this on legio xx site. https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/image...yTiYD_p1Kk

*** UPDATE***
I went a much diff direction then I originally planed and I decided that tridents are just awesome.
Well I'm still wondering what to put into the tabula if anyone has any suggestions feel free!
Tell me what you think!

The scutum I am in the process of making. This one is for SCA war and also arts and sciences competition in November. I will be putting rawhide edging as I am just not skilled enough to do the brass. I realise to that the boss is probably incorrect but it is what I have at hand. Does anyone have documentation on rawhide edging?
[attachment=11012]10682706_10152356871611128_1952739919_o.jpg[/attachment]

instructions here at ad signa
http://adsigna.org/tutorials.html

Thanks, but what I am looking for is documentation for it being used in period. Either an extant shield like the Dura Europos shield or an archaeological report.

Only comment is on the weight and use of two 1/4" plywoods. We use two 1/8 inch birch plywood which is a lot lighter and manuverable. I also glued 1/8 " two inch wide strips in three layers and it still is not too heavy. Bit more work though.

Oh Mike, that's very nice!