ANST - DPSCLU, local 153: Pavises, Pavises

[Keith Hood]

>
>   A couple questions and some thoughts on the wide world of pavises. 
If a
>pavise is struck by a ballista in combat it is destroyed, along w/ 
anyone
>behind it, correct?
>

Oh, yes.  Or at least that was the convention used at the last Gulf War, 
and it seems to be fairly common.  There are some kingdoms where 
ballista bolts are considered to have the same penetrating power as 
regular arrows.  In those areas a cloth pa6ise would be invulnerable, 
but here they're considered shield and pavise splitters.

Anyway, the idea is just to come up with a way to make pavises that are 
light, cheap, and easy to transport.  You know, we could make these 
things so they can be literally folded up to the size of a hat box.  Put 
some real cheap hinges in the frame members and rig some tie ropes to 
literally tie them together for use.


>
>Sounds like you just wanted an excuse to shoot at
>something (what is it w/ siege engineers?). When you were a child did 
you
>line up your toy soldiers, move ten feet away and lob rocks on them?
>

A.  Maybe it's the experience in the Armor branch.  Once you've played 
with big guns you just don't want an average weapon anymore.

B.  I preferred pea gravel because it's more like grapeshot.  Got older 
and graduated to building plastic tank models and shooting them with BB 
guns or .22's.
   Yes, I know this makes me sound like a pervert.  No, I haven't done 
anything like that since I left high school.  Unless you count the Army.  
:-)
   Seriously, there was one post on the siege list about cloth for 
pavises that raised some doubts about their solidity.  I figured I'd 
check it out and lay that question to rest.


>
>Seriously though, my pavise design is very similar to what you have
>described, but instead of using lap joints I use a butt joint with a
>"corner block" which is a triangular piece of 1/4' plywood about six 
inches
>on the straight sides, glued and stapled (air guns work great here) to 
the
>1x4's. My cloth of choice is muslin (cheap, neutral base, takes paint 
well)
>, glued to the front and stapled to the back (it also helps to brush a 
thin
>glue mixture on top of the muslin to really get it to "set"). My plans 
call
>for a center brace that the upright supports and the handles are 
attached
>to.
>I really like your idea of leaving the material slack to absorb the 
blow,
>but it might make it hard to paint (but if it works better, screw the 
paint
>job!). One possibility is painting the center section and then 
attaching
>the material to the frame. 
>I do not have a ballista to shoot at them, but I do have some 
frustrated
>archer friends (and rocks....).
>How many battles will these be used in?   


Cool.  I'm not familiar with muslin; is it about the same weight as 
trigger?  As for how many battles, I can't say.  I hadn't thought of 
using them past the next Gulf War.  It would be easier and maybe more 
fun to have a cremation ceremony for stuff we don't want to carry back.

I'm glad other people are taking more serious interest in getting ready.  
I want to really swamp the Trimarans next year, and considering that 
we're likely to be badly outnumbered, we need all the force multiplier 
equipment we can get.  Good luck in your efforts.  Build arrows and 
other neat stuff.  Kneecap Trimarans.

       Tomonaga


-- 
A long bow and a strong bow,
And let the sky grow dark.
The nock to the cord, the shaft to the ear,
And a foreign king for a mark!

        -- Stolen from "The Song of the Bosonian Archers" --
               By Robert E. Howard, who should be
                 the patron saint of Ansteorra


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