This build is for a standard German rules Jugger shield, but could easily be altered to fit other rulesets or shield shapes.

you have choices as to what materials to use, but for this build I used:

2 ply corrugated plastic sheeting.

Tape.

A good knife.

Pipe insulation for rim padding.

Padding for the front of the shield, I used foam mats that lock together.

A marker.

A measuring tape. (Mine is in inches because North America makes nothing easy).

Step 1: Getting the Plastic Ready.

Take the plastic sheeting and cut it into squares of the desired size diameter of your finished shield. For a German rules shield, makes the squares about 56cm, to allow room for the padding to make it up to 60cm.

once you have squares, you can use a string and a marker to make a circle once you have the exact centre of the square. To find the exact centre, draw a pattern as I have done in the picture above. Make a cross, from corner to corner and then from the midpoint of each side, draw a straight line to the opposite side. Technically one of these alone will do, but doing both will increase your accuracy and you can also see if your square is a square.

once you have one circle, use it as a stencil for the rest.

Step 2: Cutting the Circles.

Once you have the circles drawn, cut them all out. As the plastic I used is quite thin, I used 3 circles per shield to increase strength.

Step 3: Gluing the Cirlces Together.

For this, ideally used an epoxy resin as it will form a damn near unbreakable bond on all the layers. Any glue than dries flexible is preferable to any that will dry brittle.

Ensure the layers are glued at right angles to increase strength. So if in the base layer the ply in the plastic is running left to right, ensure the next layer is running top to bottom. And the 3rd layer should be at a 45 degree angle to the one beneath it. This arrangement will keep the shield rigid in all directions and maximise the strength of the plastic core.

Step 4: Padding the Edge.

When all 3 layers are glued together its time to pad the rim.

Start by just taping over the rim all the way around. this will have the effect of capping the core and will help prevent any plastic shards making it through the padding in case of a serious break in the shield during combat.

Then take the pipe insulation and tape the smaller diameter one around the edge followed by the larger.

The smaller diameter one I used was a foam rubber, I used this on the bottom as it cushions impacts much better than the firmer foam I used on top. this should make the shield more pleasant to get hit with, and while you can't hit people with the shield during a game it's always best to build these things with as much safety in mind as possible.

Step 5: Straps.

When the edge is fully padded you can then attach whatever form of straps or handles you intend to use.

I used a strong canvas belt of 5ft length that I cut to length.

Lay your arm on the shield as it would be during play and with a marker mark the places where the forearm strap and handle will go.

Cut out those holes.

Thread the canvas through.

To attach the canvas to itself, take one of the edges you have threaded through the holes and cut a series of slits in it. about 80 percent of the way across the canvas. Take the other non cut side and thread it through these slits, one up and one down. This will provide an excellent hold and allows it to be adjusted quickly. Tape it up anyway to be sure it stays there.

Step 6: The Front of the Shield.

Using the padded mats, cover all the frontal area of the shield. IF they're small like the ones I got, you'll have to mix two of them resulting in a wonderful x-men colour scheme as seen above.

Don't glue the mats to the shield. This is all meant to be as easy to disassemble for repair as possible and glue is the devil when it comes to attaching the padding.

Also take some of the padding pad the back of the shield if it feels uncomfortable to get hit while holding it.