constructing and mounting a porpax

constructing and mounting a porpax - Printable Version

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constructing and mounting a porpax - Kineas - 10-14-2008

First, many thanks to Theron for advice and many more to Aurora for a ton of work. Aurora's metalworking skills are, well, professional.

First, we made a porpax. We used 22 gauge sheet bronze. After about ten days of looking at pictures from vases and statuary, we decided to use the palmette design because it is visually interesting and a little different from the standard heavy triangles... I spent a week making a pattern and then Aurora trashed it by pointing out that I'd made a NEO classical palmette rather than a CLASSICAL palmette (actually, my wife, Sarah, had made the same point,)

Sigh--30 years of 18th C. reenacting exacts a heavy price.

So, we cut out the patterns, cut out the blanks from bronze, and then Aurora whisked them away to rough them out. She brought her formed and shaped final product to me for the scut work of polishing, and then took it back to put silver (!) rivets in to hold the leather liner. Yeah.

Meanwhile, I cut out and formed the "washers", the heavy bronze reinforcements that stiffen the handles and hold the heavy bolts that put the thing on the shield. Let me add at this point that as far as I can see there's several ways to make a Porpax, not one, and that's for another article!

Here's the aspis blank, turned and sanded, with a red leather interior glued in with Lee Valley fish-hide glue (pretty authentic). Thanks to Dan and his dad for the awesome blank. (That's Theron!)

So, here's the 20 Gauge porpax complete, leather installed, almost ready to mount.

Here's the "good" side:

Porpax II - Kineas - 10-14-2008

Here are the rough cut "washers"

and here they are after Aurora finished them and applied decoration (speculative!)

And now the nerve wracking part--punching copper spikes through the face of the shield to mount the porpax. I used 3 inch copper spikes from Lee Valley in Toronto, with washers--the method is called "clenching". This method is an "educated guess" based on some martial arts testing and some archeological remnants. The spike goes through the porpax and the porpax washer with the copper washer as a support, and drives through the face of the shield, where it is bent over and the point is driven BACK into the face of the shield 1/2 inch, the rest of the spike showing as a bar of copper.

Here's the porpax side with the spikes driven through. the pikes are basically 3/16 and I pre-drilled 1/16 holes.

Porpax III - Kineas - 10-15-2008

Here's the face of the shield after the copper spikes are clenched. I clenched them all inward to the center.

Here's a view from a distance so you can see the placement.

A view of the interior with the spikes in.

Porpax IV - Kineas - 10-15-2008

Here's Aurora our metalworker. That's not surliness, that's concentration. She did most of the skilled work. All I know is how to clench a spike...

So, on to the antelabe. I decided to carry the palmette theme on to the end, so I made a cardboard pattern by copying over a palmette from a 480 BC Attic pot, and then cutting it out of bronze. Rough cut and polished, they looked like this:

Aurora polished them to a fair-thee-well on a wheel and then, after my wife made us dinner, we installed the antelabe. I got to say the words "we're down to brass tacks" which was fun all by itself.

Some brass tacks:

Porpax V - Kineas - 10-15-2008

The finished interior, less the four mounts for the interior hoplon or rope.

Today, I took the shield (still unfinished) to a school show for 16 year-olds in Newmarket. Ontario, where it was a huge hit. It weighs about 8 pounds so far, before the cover and the bronze edge are added. On Thursday, I meet with a bronze-smith who will do the edges. Then finish the canavas cover, paint, and display.

I msut say, this has been a project and a half, and at every step I learn another thing I don't know much about!

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Chris B - 10-16-2008

That is a really beautiful porpax. I am looking forward to seeing your completed shield. Definately gives my ideas for my next one. Thanks for posting.

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Giannis K. Hoplite - 10-16-2008

Wow! Great porpax!!! very good and beautiful work. The antilabe fittings look also beautiful,but I haven't seen such fittings being used for the antilabe. I mean most of them fon't have rings,making the antilabe more stable. Can't wait to see the progress of this shield.
Khaire
Giannis

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Kineas - 10-16-2008

There's an Attic Red Figure Vase with a shield with palmette fittings that match the palmette porpax--I assumed that the antelabe would be the same. Whoops! if I was wrong! But I think that if the other four were palmettes--anyway, now I have to go back and find the picture!

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Kallimachos - 10-16-2008

The most beautiful porpax, I've ever seen. Congratulations Kineas

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Athena Areias - 10-16-2008

That is beautiful work. Keep going!! Laudes.

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Kineas - 10-17-2008

You are all too kind, and I have ot say that 80% of the skill goes to Aurora Simmons, who is also doing a Greek impression (as an Amazon, no less) and seems to be to shy to post here. I know she's a member!

I'll put up more pics this evening as I put layers of linen canvas and gesso on preparing to paint.

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Giannis K. Hoplite - 10-17-2008

A member here?! Congratulations Aurora. We very rarely see amazons around here...Hope to see even more skilled metawork dedicated to the ancient greeks.
Yes please post photos,Kineas.How deep and how wide is your shield?
Khaire
Giannis

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Kineas - 10-17-2008

Giannis, my shield is 37 inches wide (94 cm) and it is about 6 inches deep (15 cm) which is a little "modern" for Marathon. On the other hand, on me (about 6 feet) it looks just about right compare to many statues and most vases.

For our Plataean hoplites, we'll be varying shield size as per the arm of the hoplite--so Aurora, for instance, has a 32 inch shield. Also, varied shield size will prevent that "uniform shield" look that makes ancient or medieval reenactors look like products of the industrial revolution..

I'll try to browbeat Aurora into posting. That is her in the picture, above. She went to school for jewelry and will be making brooches and sword and knife furnishings, as well as porpaxs and aspis fittings. And soon!

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Kineas - 10-17-2008

Here's the trial of a linen layer:

Here's the same after ironing carefully and with more tension on the rope, with real glue:

Then a second linen layer at 90 degrees offset:

Re: constructing and mounting a porpax - Kineas - 10-17-2008

Then a coat of gesso:

And after 4 coats of gesso: