fabric back on shield (help?)

[Chuck Russell]

has anyone had problems when covering the back of a shield? i'm using canvas. i have already put my shield extra straping in place.

how do you get the canvas to not wrinkle, fold when going over the strapping? any helpful hints?

[Matthew Amt]

Cleverness and luck, mostly. I use old linen tablecloths from thrift shops--the pink or yellow ones are easy enough to paint over. They have a little more stretch than regular canvas, so it's easier to make them fit down around the bracing. But even so, the fabric rarely fits down squarely into the crevices and corners, and you usually get some puckering outside the corners of the bracing.

I also give folks the option of covering the back BEFORE putting the back bracing in place--I think Deepeeka does that. It's probably too late for that to be a lot of help for you, though, sorry....

Matthew

[Chuck Russell]

yaya live and learn

you can tell that most of teh bracing is there, but its not as crisp as i would like it too be. next time i will put the bracing on after i put the canvas on. ah well its only jamesb's shield hehehehe (evil grin) :twisted:

[Matt Lukes]

Hi Chuck,

My thinking is that given that it only makes sense that the bracing would be glued to the wood body of the scutum, the linen would have to go on top, and since there isn't any way to completely avoid puckering and creasing, any that do appear would likely be quite historically proper. It might look a little messy at first, but just keep in mind that these are ancient functional items and wouldn't have been perfect or completely clean- there should be imperfections

As for how to minimize the puckering and creases, just use a good amount of glue and almost saturate the fabric. I apply glue to the outer side as well so that it penetrates well. I liken it to using paper mache- the paper is saturated, so one can smooth that out continually. So continually smooth out the fabric as the glue sets and eventually you'll be able to keep the puckers to a minimum- mostly in the 90-degree corners of the bracing only.

Matt

[Carlton Bach]

I second that - you need to practically soak the back in glue to get the effect you want. Multiple fabric layers attached that way are more like fiberglass than cloth.

Another trick that may or may not be period, but works well, is to secure the cloth at the corners of the bracing with thumbtacks. They are easily removed once the glue dries, and when you paint them over, the holes and discolorations become invisible.

[Chuck Russell]

thanks guys, i'll remember that when i do my scutum