Benzo
New Member
This is my first project, and it is very simple compared to most things on here, but I thought I'd post it anyway. I've been working on it for quite some time, and for the first thing I've ever done, I'm quite proud of how it has turned out.
I started out aiming to make a captain america shield out of cheap materials that almost anyone could get hold of and use, and to make a shield harness to hold the shield on my back, like cap does in the movies. I followed the instructable by seamster (credit to him) for most of the making of my shield. However, it is the magnetic harness that I designed.
It doesn't look totally like it does in the movies, as I haven't used leather or big metal buckles, but I think it still looks good. I used straps that you can find on bags, two countersunk magnets which can be bought from ebay for about £2-£3 each, a screw with a nut and washers, and plastic clips which can also be found on bags.
I measured the straps, and luckily they fit me. Each strap should be long enough to go from the top of your chest, over one shoulder, cross over your back, under the other arm, and back to your chest. If both straps are long enough they should cross over on your front and back. If you want the straps to be adjustable, leave plenty of extra on each strap. Thread the strap through the fork part of the plastic clip, and use a glue gun to hot glue the strap to itself, so that it won't come out of the plastic clip. If you want the straps to be a fixed length, do the same to the other end of the strap with the other part of the plastic clip. IF YOU WANT THE STRAP TO BE ADJUSTABLE, DO NOT HOT GLUE THE END THAT THE FORK PART OF THE CLIP CLIPS INTO. JUST THREAD IT THROUGH BUT DON'T GLUE IT. Do this for both straps.
Next, put them on, so that they cross over, and they should clip together across your chest. They should also cross each other on your back. Adjust the straps so that they cross in the middle of your back, on your spine so the harness will be even and hold the shield in the middle of your back. Hold your finger on where the straps cross on your back, and take them off. Lay them out, and mark where the straps cross. You will need to create a hole going through both straps for a screw to go through. I did this with scissors and a pencil. I used scissors to create a hole, and a pencil to make it bigger. Make sure the holes are where the straps will cross on your back. Here is the part with the magnet.
It is important to have a countersunk magnet and a countersunk screw, as this allows the screw to sit inside the magnet, so that the magnet in the shield will be flush with the magnet on the harness, rather than having a screw head in the way. If you have these, this step should be simple. Simply put the screw through the magnet and through both straps, then put a washer (optional, not necessary), then put a nut on the screw and tighten it as tight as you can. You may want to cut or file the screw so it doesn't dig into your back when you wear the harness and bend over. I also put a washer inside the countersunk part of the screw, as it covered the screw head, and I think it looked better and it was flush with magnet as well. The magnet will hold the washer in place. However, this isn't necessary. Try putting the harness on, you should be able to reach behind you and feel the magnet on your back.
Read this step and the next before deciding which one to do. To put the other magnet onto the shield, first place the magnet. It should be central between the handles, but higher. It should be positioned so that when the shield is on your back, the top rim just shows above your shoulders. I didn't want to put glue or tape onto the magnet, so I got some more of the materials I used to make the shield straps and the harness straps, and put it over the magnet, top to bottom, left to right, and used silver duct tape to secure it on each side to hold the magnet in place. This is the easy way to do this step, but the magnet often slides out of the strap material, so if you want to avoid this problem, instead do the following.
To avoid the problem of the magnet sliding, draw around the magnet twice onto a piece of cardboard, and cut out one of the circles. Leave plenty of space around one of the circles. Don't cut out the other one, it will be needed later. Position the magnet the same way as in the previous step, but on top of the cardboard circle to raise it up. Secure it with silver duct tape and strap material as in the previous step. Next, draw around something round that is larger than the magnet around the second circle on the cardboard , or just draw a circle around the smaller circle. Cut out the inner circle, and the outer line, so that you have a cardboard ring, with a hole in the middle. The cardboard ring should fit nicely around the magnet secured on the shield. Don't stick it down, but put some silver duct tape onto a cutting mat, or some cardboard will do, and draw around the inside of the ring onto the duct tape. Cut it out with a craft knife, and stick it onto the cardboard ring so it is covered with silver duct tape, and curl the excess around the edges. Now place the cardboard ring, now covered in silver duct tape, around the magnet on the shield, and secure it with duct tape to the shield. You can, if you want, cut out two more rings of silver duct tape to cover the cardboard ring again, and around it, where there is duct tape holding it to the shield, but this is not necessary. This should stop the magnet moving.The magnet must be raised so that when it attaches to the magnet on the harness, the harness' magnet doesn't sink into the cardboard ring, as they then become difficult to separate. Finally, try it out! Get used to putting the shield onto your harness without having to search for the magnet. It will get quicker with practice.
I hope this has been helpful, and I wish everyone luck in their attempts to make a harness for their shield. I will try to upload some pictures soon to help with the instructions. I aim to make another shield, that is like the new one in Avengers Age of Ultron, which attaches to Cap's arms magnetically, rather than with straps. I also aim to make something like the arm bracers that hold the shield, all magnetic and working of course. I will post a thread on here if I manage to do that.
Thanks for reading and good luck building!
Benzo
I started out aiming to make a captain america shield out of cheap materials that almost anyone could get hold of and use, and to make a shield harness to hold the shield on my back, like cap does in the movies. I followed the instructable by seamster (credit to him) for most of the making of my shield. However, it is the magnetic harness that I designed.
It doesn't look totally like it does in the movies, as I haven't used leather or big metal buckles, but I think it still looks good. I used straps that you can find on bags, two countersunk magnets which can be bought from ebay for about £2-£3 each, a screw with a nut and washers, and plastic clips which can also be found on bags.
I measured the straps, and luckily they fit me. Each strap should be long enough to go from the top of your chest, over one shoulder, cross over your back, under the other arm, and back to your chest. If both straps are long enough they should cross over on your front and back. If you want the straps to be adjustable, leave plenty of extra on each strap. Thread the strap through the fork part of the plastic clip, and use a glue gun to hot glue the strap to itself, so that it won't come out of the plastic clip. If you want the straps to be a fixed length, do the same to the other end of the strap with the other part of the plastic clip. IF YOU WANT THE STRAP TO BE ADJUSTABLE, DO NOT HOT GLUE THE END THAT THE FORK PART OF THE CLIP CLIPS INTO. JUST THREAD IT THROUGH BUT DON'T GLUE IT. Do this for both straps.
Next, put them on, so that they cross over, and they should clip together across your chest. They should also cross each other on your back. Adjust the straps so that they cross in the middle of your back, on your spine so the harness will be even and hold the shield in the middle of your back. Hold your finger on where the straps cross on your back, and take them off. Lay them out, and mark where the straps cross. You will need to create a hole going through both straps for a screw to go through. I did this with scissors and a pencil. I used scissors to create a hole, and a pencil to make it bigger. Make sure the holes are where the straps will cross on your back. Here is the part with the magnet.
It is important to have a countersunk magnet and a countersunk screw, as this allows the screw to sit inside the magnet, so that the magnet in the shield will be flush with the magnet on the harness, rather than having a screw head in the way. If you have these, this step should be simple. Simply put the screw through the magnet and through both straps, then put a washer (optional, not necessary), then put a nut on the screw and tighten it as tight as you can. You may want to cut or file the screw so it doesn't dig into your back when you wear the harness and bend over. I also put a washer inside the countersunk part of the screw, as it covered the screw head, and I think it looked better and it was flush with magnet as well. The magnet will hold the washer in place. However, this isn't necessary. Try putting the harness on, you should be able to reach behind you and feel the magnet on your back.
Read this step and the next before deciding which one to do. To put the other magnet onto the shield, first place the magnet. It should be central between the handles, but higher. It should be positioned so that when the shield is on your back, the top rim just shows above your shoulders. I didn't want to put glue or tape onto the magnet, so I got some more of the materials I used to make the shield straps and the harness straps, and put it over the magnet, top to bottom, left to right, and used silver duct tape to secure it on each side to hold the magnet in place. This is the easy way to do this step, but the magnet often slides out of the strap material, so if you want to avoid this problem, instead do the following.
To avoid the problem of the magnet sliding, draw around the magnet twice onto a piece of cardboard, and cut out one of the circles. Leave plenty of space around one of the circles. Don't cut out the other one, it will be needed later. Position the magnet the same way as in the previous step, but on top of the cardboard circle to raise it up. Secure it with silver duct tape and strap material as in the previous step. Next, draw around something round that is larger than the magnet around the second circle on the cardboard , or just draw a circle around the smaller circle. Cut out the inner circle, and the outer line, so that you have a cardboard ring, with a hole in the middle. The cardboard ring should fit nicely around the magnet secured on the shield. Don't stick it down, but put some silver duct tape onto a cutting mat, or some cardboard will do, and draw around the inside of the ring onto the duct tape. Cut it out with a craft knife, and stick it onto the cardboard ring so it is covered with silver duct tape, and curl the excess around the edges. Now place the cardboard ring, now covered in silver duct tape, around the magnet on the shield, and secure it with duct tape to the shield. You can, if you want, cut out two more rings of silver duct tape to cover the cardboard ring again, and around it, where there is duct tape holding it to the shield, but this is not necessary. This should stop the magnet moving.The magnet must be raised so that when it attaches to the magnet on the harness, the harness' magnet doesn't sink into the cardboard ring, as they then become difficult to separate. Finally, try it out! Get used to putting the shield onto your harness without having to search for the magnet. It will get quicker with practice.
I hope this has been helpful, and I wish everyone luck in their attempts to make a harness for their shield. I will try to upload some pictures soon to help with the instructions. I aim to make another shield, that is like the new one in Avengers Age of Ultron, which attaches to Cap's arms magnetically, rather than with straps. I also aim to make something like the arm bracers that hold the shield, all magnetic and working of course. I will post a thread on here if I manage to do that.
Thanks for reading and good luck building!
Benzo
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