"Aegis" shield - glue up and finish questions

[CarvedTones]

I mentioned in another thread I had this sort of project comein. My kids are big into Percy Jackson and the Olympians (book series; book 1 hits the big screen this fall). To my wife's chagrin, wooden swords have been forged and my youngest daughter really wanted "Aegis" - a special shield that one of the heroines yields, so "Dad, can you make me a ____?"

Aegis was a shield forged by one of the gods with an image of the head of Medusa to strike fear into the enemy:



That's bb ply with "special walnut" stain over pine. No glue or finish yet as I am concerned about doing that in the right order. If I finish them separately, will I be able to glue them well enough? If I glue then finish, what should I use to keep from getting trouble down in the cavities? I don't like to spray as I don't have proper equipment or ventilation. I may just glue it and oil it, but I wanted to ask for suggestions first.

[PChristy]

Andy I really do not know what to tell you - I always glue my pics to the background before I spray poly on (rattle can) it if the back ground is wood such as yours - but if it is felt ( like I usually do ) then I spray it before I glue it - It will be hard to keep the glue from coming out into your cuts - make sure when you do glue it glue it sparingly then take your finger and spread it out close to the edges put not all of the way to the edge - I do it this way - I have very little squeeze out - this might not be the right way but it works for me M2W

[CarvedTones]

One thing I have to keep in mind is that it is for a nine year old and it will get whacked with wooden swords and probably get some weather exposure. The More I think about it, I may have to glue first, wait for a good day and spray rattle can spar varnish or some other tough clear or near clear coat.

[PChristy]

Originally Posted by CarvedTones

One thing I have to keep in mind is that it is for a nine year old and it will get whacked with wooden swords and probably get some weather exposure. The More I think about it, I may have to glue first, wait for a good day and spray rattle can spar varnish or some other tough clear or near clear coat.

Is there away you can shoot some pen nails into the back in certain places or even countersink some small screws into the back to help hold it on while he is defeating his enemies

[Sealeveler]

Great cuttin.I spray my plaques and then glue.I haven't figured out how to spray varnish in a hole like a O,P,D,B so I spray the name and plaque before I glue.I set the names on a peice of expanded metal and spray with an airbrush and it is easy to get good coverage.The plaques are also sprayed.After dried I sand the backs of the names to remove any varnish and then position the name on the plaque then use a needle to mark the outline of the name on the plaque.I then use a Dremel to sand the varnish off the plaque where I glue the name on so there is no bonding issues.After glue up I use a tiny brush to seal around the edge of the letters with varnish.Sounds like alot of work but if anyone knows any shortcuts just hollar.Tony

[CarvedTones]

Thanks. I forgot to mention this is the first "real" scrolling Ihave done since buying the VS20 from Ron/yellofins and doing the conversion on the top clamp to a tool less clamp. Am I ever glad I did that!

A couple of other notes...
The pattern was edited by my 13 year old because it didn't have enough snakes to suit the 9 year old.
I used only a #7 to try to get a "petroglyph" style; no fine lines or sharp angles.
I would like to cut the shield smaller and rounded, but my daughter likes the size and shape. The customer is always right...

[CarvedTones]

Giving it a little bump to see if I can get other suggestions today; unless I get a better plan suggested, tonight I will rough to underside of the scroll work and glue it to the unfinished surface of the shield and either oil it or spray it with a clear coat from a rattle can.