Making a Viking Plank Shield

After having made several viking style shields with plywood, I decided I would try making one out of planks.  This is more authentic, I understand, but I am still cheating by using some old pine boards that were once part of a set of shelves I no longer use.  I figured the lumber was essentially free and I still have lots of glue, nails, paint, fabric, etc. from making the plywood shields, so why not?

My online reading has led me to conclude that the planks in actual viking shields were simply butted together and glued.  The linen fabric and rawhide edging were very important in keeping the planks together.

Making Viking Shields

I had the crazy idea to make viking shields for myself, some family and friends.  I thought I would document how I did it and add some tips I learned.

The intent was to make something that was fairly accurate historically, but without too much cost.  As a result I used a lot of modern materials such as plywood, zinc-coated nails, wood glue, and vinyl fake leather.  The overall construction is pretty close to how the vikings appear to actually have assembled their shields, however.

Being Gandalf

For Christmas 2015 my children got me a high quality replica of Gandalf's staff from the Hobbit movies.  It is quite solid and heavy, made from strong plastic with a steel core.  It even has a built in crystal at the top that lights up.

It glows!