Wicker shield reconstruction

[jvrjenivs]

Okay, 2 month became a little bit more, as I've been very busy constructing a Roman wood-earth wall for the Nijmegen Roman festival last month, but today I started with the first trial. I've to say it's the first time I do a shield, and I just started, so I don't know the result yet, as this is something else as a basket wich hold his round form more easily.

Second thing I do is just leave a square hole in the middel and put a brass/iron umbo on the shield, but I hope to make another one with an umbo waeved into the whole piece.

Okay, the tools I use are the following:
-garden shears
-awl
-tape (2 cm width)

Okay, first you've to soak the willow. I've it laying in our bath for about a week.


Now you can start. If you want to do it nice, you need thicker one for the 'uprights' and thinner ones for the actual weaving. As I only have thinner one avaliable, I used them instead and use 2 of them as uprights and 4 for the uprights on the edges. I've put these together using tie-wraps.

To get the uprights evenly distributed (e.g. as far apart everywhere) I made a guide using the tape of 2 cm width, which will be the space between 2 uprights. Now start with one and weave the uprights together.



After you've done the whole width of the shield, you can add more. Now it's just weaving. After I did 10 cm of weaving I've bent the scutum over a mould, so it will get its round shape. Still have to see it it will hold its shape, through.