Atlas
Well-Known Member
I like the little things. Especially things that you can wear in public. So, naturally, ever since I saw Dresden files I've coveted Harry's shield bracelet. For the longest of time I, like everyone else wanting one, was put off by the price of the screen-accurate shields, so the project floated on the twilight zone between To do-list and The Backburner.
Until recently, when I caught myself wondering about the shield bracelet, and realizing that I could just make the shields myself. So I did.
I started by drawing the shield design as a vector and tossed the file at a laser cutter, and I got a pile of these out of it. I suspect that the originals are electro-etched from sheet brass or bronze, but since I lack equipment for that, I decided to go with investment casting. By casting the shields from bronze, I could leave the engraved areas with the rough, reddish cast surface, and polish the high areas to a shine, and achieve the two-tone effect seen on screen. With my sophisticated Screwing Around-method, I've determined that acrylic is the best plastic to use for making the master models for investment casting. The engraved blanks from the laser, however, are flat. To my eye, the screen-used have a slight dish to them, so dish them I did.
I heat-formed the shields over a rounded tool handle (a socket screwdriver, I think). Which, in retrospect, might have been a bit too round. The shields don't look quite that round in the show, but I liked the look, so I decided to roll with it. Happy little accidents. I also cut some attachment loops and glued them onto the backside of the shields.
Cast bronze shield on a vise, undergoing air bubble removal with a chisel. Prior to this, I sandblasted the shields to remove the hard oxide layer that forms on the bronze, easing the clean-up and polish. The lines from the engraving are more visible on the cast piece. While inaccurate, they do look kinda nice.
And here's where I've got so far, all shields cast and polished. I probably won' have time to attack the leatherwork in a day or few. Still need to figure how I'll mount the shields onto the leather in the correct orientation that doesn't stand out too much. More to come soon!
_A
Until recently, when I caught myself wondering about the shield bracelet, and realizing that I could just make the shields myself. So I did.
I started by drawing the shield design as a vector and tossed the file at a laser cutter, and I got a pile of these out of it. I suspect that the originals are electro-etched from sheet brass or bronze, but since I lack equipment for that, I decided to go with investment casting. By casting the shields from bronze, I could leave the engraved areas with the rough, reddish cast surface, and polish the high areas to a shine, and achieve the two-tone effect seen on screen. With my sophisticated Screwing Around-method, I've determined that acrylic is the best plastic to use for making the master models for investment casting. The engraved blanks from the laser, however, are flat. To my eye, the screen-used have a slight dish to them, so dish them I did.
I heat-formed the shields over a rounded tool handle (a socket screwdriver, I think). Which, in retrospect, might have been a bit too round. The shields don't look quite that round in the show, but I liked the look, so I decided to roll with it. Happy little accidents. I also cut some attachment loops and glued them onto the backside of the shields.
Cast bronze shield on a vise, undergoing air bubble removal with a chisel. Prior to this, I sandblasted the shields to remove the hard oxide layer that forms on the bronze, easing the clean-up and polish. The lines from the engraving are more visible on the cast piece. While inaccurate, they do look kinda nice.
And here's where I've got so far, all shields cast and polished. I probably won' have time to attack the leatherwork in a day or few. Still need to figure how I'll mount the shields onto the leather in the correct orientation that doesn't stand out too much. More to come soon!
_A
