[MR] Shield Press/Heater Construction

[William Faleston]

Wow! Some great stuff in this thread for us plywood shield junkies.

A few things. Donal's advice on "slathering" is important if you are going
the route of glueing two sheets together.  I open the bottle of glue and
pour a bit on the plywood. I then take a piece of plastic to use as a
squeegee and spread the glue til it covers EVERY BIT of plywood surface. Any
spot without glue will become a weak spot. I use Titebond wood f

If you want to make a press, it's pretty simple and not too expensive. I
made mine out of a long 2x6. I cut it into four pieces, each a bit longer
than a shield. On each one I drew a "smily face" curve in the shape I wanted
my shield and then cut that curve with a jigsaw. Next get some big hinges
from Lowes or Home Depot and attach them to one end, connecting the top and
bottom of the smily face, leaving the width of a shield between them (1/2
inch in my case).

You need to do a few other things too to prolong the life of the shield.
first, polyurethane the entire thing, front, back, and especially the edges.
This prevents moisture from soaking in (especially when you leave it out in
the rain at Pennsic) and weakening the shield.

Edging is also important. I used to simply edge it with garden hose (you can
buy it in cut lengths), but in recent years, that has not prevented them
from tearing up quick. I think people are hitting harder. My latest shield
has a piece of cheap aluminum U-channel attached to the top edge and going
around the leading corner and down about 6 inches. That's where most off the
damage occurs. I glue this down, gorilla tape it, and then cover it with the
hose.

On my next shield, I'm going to follow that up with a layer of glue soaked
cloth over everything, including the edging. This will make it look more
period and spiff.

Good topic. Let us know if you have any questions.

William de Faleston



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