bending plywood for the scutum

[Marcus Mummius]

Salve omnes,

I've got a problem with the wood I want to use to make a couple of scuta... It's birch triplex, very nice and strong wood but very difficult to bend! Can anyone please offer me some advice on how to make the bending of the wood easier?

We're using a simple press like the one you can see over here (the one at the top of the page):
http://www.larp.com/legioxx/scupress.html

Soaking it in water? Or water and glue? Something else?

Thanks in advance for the help,
Kind regards,
Jef

[richsc]

At Legio XX we use two sheets of 1/8" luan, and I've found bendable 1/8" birch from a local hardwood store, which makes using the press absurdly easy. What is triplex, a type of plywood?

[rusty myers]

Yes, it is birch "cabinet grade" stuff. I doubt you can bend it without some sort of mechanical device or industrial press... if you soak it it will get ruined most likely. You need something thin that you can layer, so it bends, and you can glue it together. Essentially creating a curved piece from several flat ones. What you are proposing to do is form a curved piece from an already solid straight piece. Not impossible, but tough!!! The plywood grains run different directions to KEEP it from curving and strengthen it, essentially anethema to what you want to do.

On the other hand it will make a dandy Cavalry, Auxiliary, Barbarian, or Signifir's shield. But bending it will be TOUGH.

[Martin Wallgren]

How about steamboil it as you do wit planks for a boat?

[Tarbicus]

Would these be of any help?

[url:3k85wq8e]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0918036062/ref=nosim/002-0795606-1194449?n=283155[/url]

[url:3k85wq8e]http://www.valuecreatedreview.com/bentwood.htm[/url]

[url:3k85wq8e]http://www.archinect.com/forum/threads.php?id=33464_0_42_0_C[/url]

Steam and heat seem to be a popular solution, but one common suggestion seems to be to use a table saw to make parallel cuts down the piece at regular intervals to a partial depth, fill the cuts with glue, bend and clamp in shape, let it dry and sand the surface smooth. Not sure if that's what you're after though. :?

[Tarbicus]

This also looks like someone with a similar problem to yours:
[url:2vznq31n]http://www.productdesignforums.com/index.php?showtopic=1195[/url]

[Primvs Pavlvs]

Wouldnt the steam and heat force the layers of plywood apart?

[Marcus Mummius]

Salve Fratres,

Thanks for the very usefull advice and links!

It turned out that we just needed more strength. One person drilling, two persons pushing down the wood. It worked! I think these shields will survive being repeatedly ran over by a tractor when they are done...

Thanks again,
Jef

[Caius Fabius]

We had good results by soaking the wood (1/2 inch and 3/4th's inch thick) in water for 3 to 5 days, then forming it around 50 Gallon drums. In fact sometimes we got too much curve.

best of luck!

[TIB. CLAVDIVS ZENO]

:? Glad to hear someone has had some luck. I was looking for 1/8 inch luan at a couple of the chain hardware stores (Lowes and McCoys) here in Houston last weekend and they acted like they had never heard of the stuff.

[Hibernicus]

Some stores name it "doorskin" instead of LUAN

There are pictures of the shield press we use at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TheLegioIXHispanaGroup/

Album labled: Scutum Press

Its a "machine" made from 2x4's and employs a male press that's screwed down in three locations.

You can modify it by adding or removing siderails along the bottom half of the press to make shallower or deeper curves.

The nice thing about this press is that the glue is pressed from the middle outwards!

The design's been around for about 25 years.. maybe more... lots of folk in the SCA use this or similar "machines". We have three of them at our HQ in San Diego Calif.

I learned about from Jeff Hedgecock of Historic Enterprises ( http://www.historicenterprises.com/ ).

[Matthew Amt]

Yeah, the usual Home Depot and other places won't stock 1/8" plywood except maybe for the door skins (each very handily big enough for one shield!). If you can find a local specialty wood place, definitely get the 1/8" bendable birch, it is wonderful stuff to work with!

Matthew

[Gaius Largenius]

Salve!
Can you get hold of a 45 gallon oil drum? A guy in my old Viking outfit used to use one, to which he bolted wooden staves of around 1" thickness. Then he would soak the plywood in water for a few hours ( this depended upon the quality and thickness of the plywood...) and then use ratchet straps used on lorries to slowly, bit by bit, bend the plywood to the shape of the oildrum. He seemed to think it important to cut the shape of the shield out after bending, and to take ones time bending the plywood, as too much speed may cause damage. After drying , the plywood will retain its new shape. The soaking part will probably require a little experiantation, though. I intend to use this method when i start making shields in the spring. Hope this is helpful.

[M. Demetrius]

You can make a really cheap soak tank for shields out of scrap wood to build a box, and a sheet of construction site plastic larger than the box. Build box, line with plastic, fill with water, add wood. Rocks or bricks will keep the wood underwater.

Except for very small rocks, which everyone knows float.

[Hibernicus]

One of the nice things about using 1/8" luan is that you DO NOT need to soak it to get it to bend.

A 4x8 sheet can be cut into thirds (32" x 48") glued and then cut to the desired shape. Use your preferred sanding/planing method to taper towards the edges...[/i]