by baz manning fhs fsha acws
Tools required. Bandsaw or jigsaw and hacksaw, pillar drill with vice, belt sander, disc sander, router withsuitable cutters, set square, spray equipment if trained and available or aerosols if not, abrasive paper of your choice such as silicon carbide paper for the bare wood and
carborundum wet and dry paper for the painted surfaces of various grades such as 400 to 600 grit. 6mm MDF, hardwood offcut, 3.8mm/1/8in brass rod, metal polish, self-adhesive felt.
Display on a shelf complimenting certificates. Shown here the arms of John Shannon and Canon Andrew OBE both of New York
6mm MDF cut to shape on a bandsaw or jigsaw, made perfect on a disc sander. 3.8mm brass
rod cut to the desired length on a bandsaw or a hacksaw, the sharp cut ends rounded over on a disc sander. Draw a pencil line on the centre line per pale, ACURATELY! Clamp the shield blank in a vice, tip upwards, on the table of a pillar drill ensuring it is true with a set square Use a 4mm drill bit to drill a hole to a suitable depth. If the blank is out of square in any way the bit will either cut through its face or it will not stand upright on its eventual base. The importance of this cannot be overstated. The blank can now have its faces shaped by either rounding over the edges with a router or sanding the whole of one or both faces on a belt sander. The worked edges and faces are now fine sanded by hand with increasingly fine abrasive paper until a satisfactory smoothness is achieved.
Use a suitable hardwood for the base. Cutting discs is a challenge so cutting an oblong is
much easier. Make it long and wide enough to stop the shield from falling over and deep
enough to take a good depth of the brass pole. Drill a 4mm hole dead centre and put the
shield on it to ensure it is steady. The top edges of this base need to be routed to make them decorative. Fine sand by hand, rubbing with the grain to avoid scratch marks showing. Use a wood dye to colour it and 2 coats gloss varnish abraded between coats. Glue self-adhesive felt to the base (optional).
Size comparison of shields ready to paint
An offcut of MDF or any suitable wood is drilled with the same drill to act as a base to paint
and dry the shield on. Whilst painting an offcut of brass rod is placed into the shield’s hole.
This acts as a handle and prevents the hole being covered with paint.
Cellulose sanding sealer is used as the primer. Other types of sealer other than cellulose are
available but I have not tried them as this works so well. If you have spray equipment spray
one coat and brush a heavy second coat on the edges and worked faces as these absorb so
much sealer. Sand smooth when dry with 600 wet and dry used dry. One or two coats high
build primer. This must be sprayed to avoid brush marks ruining the effort you have put in to
make the shield smooth. Use aerosol primer if you do not have the equipment and training.
Allow to dry thoroughly. Sand with 600 wet and dry used wet with white spirit NOT water.
White spirit as a lubricant will not affect the cellulose primer or the wood and can be wiped
off with a rag. Water, the more normal lubricant for wet and dry paper will enter the hole and
any damaged areas, even if invisible to the eye, and cause the MDF to erupt within a couple
of years.
Paint your arms, crest or badge with your preferred paints. The final sand you gave the primern will act as a key to ensure the paint does not peel off in the future. Acrylic is the most popular medium as it easy to use for those more used to gouache, quick drying and easily obtained. Signwriting enamels are used for a professional finish, but a full range is expensive and experience is required to use them well. Gold leaf on old oil size is the traditional way to gild but modern acrylic size is also extremely good. Gilding is a difficult skill to master especially without a teacher present, yellow paint being the safe alternative.
From bare blanks through those ready to paint to the finished items well under way. Historic shapes from various countries and eras.
Painting both sides can be a slow process if one side is done at a time. While the shield is an
unworked blank drill two holes into its top edge and screw in two self-tapping wood screws,
say 2½ inch no.6. When the shield is on its brass handle put the handle/pole into its base or
another gaff base you have made from scrap, then lay it down and the screws will keep the
back off the bench allowing you to paint one side while the other is drying. When the whole
project is finished remove the screws and fill the holes, sand smooth and paint the entire top
edge, undercoat it and then the field tincture. If done correctly the holes will have become
invisible.
Using the bench tools on such small pieces of wood is dangerous as they can be grabbed by
the tool and fly across the workshop. Wear eye protection and take great care of your
fingertips. It may be possible to make an equally good shield by only using hand tools and
working the edges and faces with course abrasive paper such as 100 grit going down through 240 to the fine papers, or even using a spoke shave or hand plane, but no little skill is required. The shield will only be as accurate as your initial drawing and if a symmetrical
shield such as a heater, both sides MUST be identical.
Edge -on this shows the subtle machine sanding of the face. Arms of Way of Plean,Scotland
The holes drilled will fit the brass rod snugly but if too tight risk damage when used by the
client. Moving the wood very slightly to enlarge the hole as you drill will work if this is a
problem, but make sure it does not end up too loose as this will be just as bad. Check for fit
before more work is done. Once complete polish the rod with metal polish.
Crest side of Williams of Tampa, FL. On his livery colours of Purpure and Azure the coronet is comprised of Bezants on a plain rim Or and possible unique
If you do not have the workshop tools needed for this a highly skilled joiner or cabinet maker
could be used, but they will not have any experience of heraldry so will be prone to
misunderstanding your instructions. I have used world a famous heraldic carver to carve a
shield quite unsuccessfully, and even a royal workshop whose shield ended up 3mm too
small and still needed my hand sanding to create a properly smooth face.
Other tools can be used to create shapes only limited by your imagination. I cannot carve so
all my work requires machine tools. However, hand carving could be used to good effect in
creating concave titling shields from a thicker sheet of MDF or a timber such as limewood.
The arms side of Rance. Or on an escarbuncle pommy Purpure a bell Argent
Few people will have the expensive tools required to make a table shield or the experience to use them all safely, so join a night school carpentry class and use this as your project.
Table oval of Mrs Riese of St. Louis, MO
These table shields were created as an alternative to the table banner. Not wanting to work on fabric I still wanted to make something acceptable for a table display and after much
experimentation over years this was the result. It is suggested that a table banner should be
4in/100mm square so as not to overwhelm a well-stocked table but shields approximately
5in/125mm wide with depth to suit have never caused an issue for my clients.
The well laid up table
Baz Manning is a recognised master heraldic artist and a Fellow of the Heraldry Society in England and an Artist Companion of the White Shield.
This article is the copyright of Baz Manning and may not be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written consent of the author.
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