Materials

While some tools are “must haves”, largely what is listed here are things that just makes the process easier.

Process

Cut two pieces of nylon strapping, approximately X feet long.

Measure out 9 inches on the string, and tie a pen or marker to the end. Now tie a nail or pin to the other end.

Lay out three pieces of the foam mat. Insert the nail or pin near the center, use the string and drawing instrument to make a circle, which should be between 16 and 18 inches wide. Repeat this on each of the three pieces of foam mat. As a Buckler in Thrune is a maximum of 18 inches wide in any distance, this circle should be within regulations.

Cut out each circle using your utility knife*

Next take the three of the pieces of foam, and sand the non-smooth side. If this becomes too tiring, you can simply sand a patch in the center and around the edge, making sure to have at least a minimum of 1 inch all the way around that no longer has the raised portions.

Set one of these pieces aside for later. You will not be applying glue to it just yet.

Open your bottle of DAP Weldwood, and apply the glue to both sides that you have just sanded, if you only sanded the center and edge border, only apply glue there. It is important that both pieces have glue applied.

Wait 15 minutes for the DAP to reach maximum stickiness, and then carefully press both sides together to match. Afterward, to ensure a tight fit, you can place the foam on the ground and press it together with your knee.

On the third piece of foam, you will now want to cut four holes. I cut slits approximately ¼ inch wider than the nylon strapping, and ¼ inch wide.

Next I cut 8x pieces of suede approximately 1 ¼ wide by 5 inches long. These are going to be used to protect the foam from the nylon straps, and make sure the straps don’t slowly rub their way through the foam.

Starting from the holes cut above, on the smooth side of the foam, measure small rectangles as wide as the suede, and 2.5 inches long, and mark them with a pen, on both sides of the cuts. Feed the suede through the holes. Apply DAP Weldwood to the sketched rectangles on one side of each hole, and to a portion of the suede. Wait 15 minutes, and then press the glued suede to the foam.

On the other side (bumpy side) of the foam, draw out a rectangle that will be covered by the remainder of the suede, using the suede as a guide. Apply DAP to both foam and suede, wait 15 minutes, and adhere them together. (Ignore the spilled glue in the above pic).

Once finished, you should have four holes that has suede covering both top and bottom of the foam. Feed the nylon strapping through the top holes, and down through the bottom, with both ends coming out of the same side. Tie the nylon together to prevent it from slipping back through the holes.

Next glue the foam piece with the straps to the sandwiched foam pieces, repeating the process in Step X. This should trap the nylon straps between two pieces of foam, but give them the ability to move around a bit. Be careful to not unthread the straps, as it is often a pain to get them back through both holes.

Now you have all three foam pieces that make up the main body of the shield glued together and the straps threaded through.

Next you will want to trim the edges of the foam so that it is smooth and uniform. Give it a good sanding to ensure it is smooth.

If you’re looking to create a wooden texture, now is the time. The deep grooves that I made to represent the space between boards was made with a simple pen, and then accentuated with a dremel and a cutting wheel. The wood grain texture is from drawing shallow (1-2mm deep) lines with a utility knife and then a light pass to “open them up”.

Now for the Shield Boss

Now it’s time to make the shield boss, that piece that fits in the middle. First off you will want to carve a circular piece of foam from the remaining scraps. I made mine about 3.5 inches wide (shown in the pic as the dark circle). Next draw a circle on the thinner craft foam sheet approximately 2 inches wider than the previous circle(shown in the picture as the white circle).

Locate the center of the larger of the two circles you just cut out (the one on the thin craft foam), and push either the pin or nail through it, and use that to line it up with the center of the three sandwiched layers. Draw an outline around the circle.

Use the circle you just drew in the previous Step as a guide for where to apply DAP, as well as applying DAP to one side of the thin foam circle. After 15 minutes, press together.

Repeat the process with the smaller (but thicker) circle on top of the thin craft foam.

Trim the smallest piece of foam to make it look more dome-like.

Next take the foam clay and use it to fill all the seams, from the part on the shield boss and the edge of the sandwiched shield layers. The easiest method is to take a small ball no larger than a pencil eraser or q-tip end, and with wet fingers press and smear the foam into the cracks. Once it’s dry within a few hours, you can sand out any bumps.

Lastly, we’re going to do a quick pass over the entire surface with a heat gun. This will help “seal” the foam together and give a better surface to work with.

Now it’s time for Plastidip! Take your creation to a well-ventilated area, and make sure to lay down something to protect your working surface from overspray. I recommend either newspapers, cut up paper bags, or cardboard boxes that have been broken down and lay flat. I also recommend taking the straps and placing a plastic bag around them, securing them with a rubber band.

Make sure the can is warm and well shaken. I will often keep a can of Plastidip held between my thighs while I finish up a previous step.

Spray the entire front surface going in a side-to-side motion, and then spray around the edges. Wait 15 minutes and repeat the process, spraying in a different direction. Wait another 15 and apply the third coat, again altering the spraying direction.

Now flip it over and spray a 1-2 inch border around the entire back side of the buckler. This will help to prevent possible peeling of painted surfaces.

Now it’s time for painting!

I start by painting the entire wood surface with a medium brown, and then go over it with a second coat. Don’t worry too much about splotchy bits, we’re attempting a wood coloration, which is never uniform.

Next I paint the shield boss gray, and then go over that with silver. I then come in and paint around the boss with dark brown, and near where any “boards” appear to meet. To make some of the “boards” appear darker, I thin down the dark brown with some water and paint a single board or two.

Finally, any “chipped out” parts I paint with a light coat of beige, to draw attention to them.

To finish up the paint job, I spray the painted surface with two coats of spray matte sealant.

Now it’s on to the straps!

Locate the portions of the straps that will be on the top of the shield.

Take two D-rings and thread a strap through. Fold it over with at least an inch from the end of the strap to the folded portion. Sew the strap parts together so that the D-rings are held tightly in the looped portion.
Repeat this process on the other strap.

This will allow you to feed the bottom portion through the D-rings and it will hold tight, and is fully adjustable.

Creating a Handle (Optional)

While both straps should hold your shield fairly securely to your forearm, a better arrangement is to use one of the straps as a handle.

Choose the one strap that will serve as your handle, which should have the D-rings sewn in. Pull the D-ring side until the D-rings are 2-3 inches below the bottom hole. Make sure to keep enough strap coming out of the other hole so that you do not “unthread” it from the shield.

Determine how long you want the handle to be, this should generally be the width of your palm and add three inches. Cut a piece of suede this length and the width will be 2.5 inches. Fold the suede over the nylon strap, ‘above’ the D-ring. You may either now sew the edge of the suede together, or use DAP to glue the edges together.

 

*Tip about Cutting with Utility Knife
Make sure you have a fresh blade when you start any new project involving foam, it will help prevent tearing. Also, several light passes over the same line works better than one forceful pass, and is less tiring.

**Tip about using Weldwood:
If you find the brush to be annoying or clogged with old DAP from a previous project, simply cut a length of foam about an inch wide by four or five inches long to serve as a makeshift brush. It works so well I don’t even bother using the DAP brushes anymore.