Swords n Shields

[Grizz1963]

Often council tip finds end up as useful items.

This one on the other hand, though "impressive" is only cosmetic in potential.

[img src="http://i294.photobucket.com/albums/mm90/niknakpix/es2_zpsd56eb3d3.jpg" alt=" "]

When I put it in my car, without it hitting the ground, I did not realize it had slots in for swords.
I thought it would be a cool thing to hang up above the wood burner I have fitted in the garage.

Of course that is where one starts..... then you lose control.

So I removed the black backing and made a new one, using a 1.2 X 1,4 meter sheet of hardboard I had stashed for some time.



Decided to change the backing colours while I was at it.



Then this morning I made a "Stencil" to be able to paint the accents to the stretchy bits..... cut a groove into some knotty pine ceiling plank.



The rest of the plank was used to make tow "blades" for the swords.
Initially I had planned to just do a very simple pair, but as I progressed the complexity increased, typical.
Fortunately the bandsaw is perfect for this sort of work.



Now every now and then I get a silly grin on my face, for various reasons... today it was the electric planer I bought from ALDI years ago, rarely used, but to get the two blades shaped into a typical double sided cutting edge associated with large swords, Claymores etc, I got to use the planer to get the edges.



Next up, back into the woodshed to turn a couple of handles, and make a handle with a pommel as well as a cross guard.

[img src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Sword_parts.svg/550px-Sword_parts.svg.png" alt=" "]





Then to split them I made up a quick guide using a couple of clamps and a bit of pallet plank.



Putting the bits together started to make me grin......



Next up to retrieve the silver paint I bought years ago for 50p on a B&Q sale. The gold was also bought at the same sale.
The blades got two coats of silver.



Handle, Pommel and Cross-guard got a couple of coats of Danish Oil and then I used an old cosmetic jewelry to decorate it.
The leather strips came from Nicola's UGG Boots.



I also added some decoration to the tops of the blades.





Finally done.
I had a good laugh as I was pretty pleased with the outcome overall.




So next job is to hang it and hope the heat from the chimney does not set it alight.