Ever day I am thinking about SCA projects I would like to do… Some little, some big… The biggest of my projects is a reasonable sized Viking Pavilion for Festival.
The problem: I want to luxuriate in comfort and space. I want to have an abode that screams comfort, entertainment and practicality. I would also like it to be period, and preferably Viking.
At the moment, I’m likely to just end up with a basic Viking A-Frame tent, probably reasonably small. Which may end up becoming a storage tent for future festivals.
I am toying with the idea of making my tent out of lightweight Calico, and then oiling said calico to make it weatherproof. I’m a great fan of Oilskin, and having experimented basically with easy and cheap ways of doing it, I may experiment some more with my intended material.
An off white Viking A-Frame tent with hardwood A-Frame might be a fun little experiment, but it also won’t be cheap… But well, if it works out, then it could be useful.
Have a chat with and (Iarnulfr and his lady)[1], who have large swathes of oilskin they got for $cheap recently. They may be interested in doing you a deal.
[1] He mentions his SCA name on his profile page; she doesn’t; so although I know both, I won’t mention hers. Call it net.privacy etiquette if you like.
Hi
Replying here after you posted in my LJ. Having made my own oilskin, I fully recommend _not_ doing it if you are inexperienced – the product is very waterproof, but quite unlike modern oilskins in that it is quite sticky, smells more, and is very, very very flammable.
I have had moderate success in using lanolin as waterproofing agent, but the drawback is that it needs reapplication probably yearly (Given that the Oseberg tent we made is more than 4.5m long and about 3.8m on a side, this is a non trivial process, and I am going to cheat and reapply a more permanent waterproofing.
I have several weights and widths of oillskin available, but it’s all in Adelaide. What I suggest is that you first contact the person who sold it to me in Canberra, and see if she has more (can email you the details, etc, if you want to do that). Otherwise, I’ll add you to the list of potential canvas/oilskin wanters, and then work out how to transport it.
By all means feel free to Email me the details Here and I shall contact them direct, though I’m also happy to arrange something with you if you like, transport can be worked out.