How to Make a Wooden Shield With a Poly Finish

This is a fairly good shield for decoration and could be used for mild defense.

You want to have at 1 48 inches long, 16.5 inches wide, and .77 inches deep plank or 2 boards of half the length and width.

You want both Minwax golden pecan 245 and Minwax honey 272.

You want a hand sander and 120, 180, and 240 grit sand paper.

Steel wool after the first layer of poly

Zar Classic clear poly

Step 1: Making the Plans

For this step I used fusion 360 to make a 3-D model of the shield and Easel to make the pattern to be engraved on the shield.

Step 2: Finding the Wood.

For the wood I used pinewood. The wood I used 2 planks 8.25 inches wide 24 inches long and .77 inches deep.

Step 3: Cutting the Corners

I used a program in fusion 360 know as shaper origin to get the x-carver cut out the dimensions specified in the model onto the board causing me to get two halves of the shield.

Step 4: Sanding the Board

For this I used 120 grit sandpaper then 180 grit and lastly 240 grit sandpaper. I used a sanding block for the sides that would connect later on.

Step 5: Engraving the Board

I used the x carver to engrave a design .05 inches into the shield. The two designs are put on different halves of the shield.

Step 6: Staining the Board

For this step I used both Minwax golden pecan 245 and Minwax honey 272. I used an old cloth to apply a layer of the honey stain on the engraving and then wiped it off with another clean cloth. After that I applied a layer of golden pecan 245 to every side avoiding the engraving.

Step 7: Gluing the Board

For this step I used 3 briquettes between the two halves of the shield then used 5 clamps to keep the boards together.

Step 8: Apply the 1st Layer of Poly

I used a brush to apply a layer of poly and left it for a day. Afterwards I used steel wool to remove the rough texture that the poly gave the shield.