This is a guide to make a runestone in less than 24 hours. By Master Haakon, Master SvartulvR and Sir Peregrine.
It all began when I was elevated as a Laurel, my Master Haakon made the promisary below and said get yourself a big stone and I shall carve it. We then agreed it would be a good project to do together, the old and new master and my first apprentice.
Step one: A stone was aquired, it was to small. We got a bigger one. Pointer number one, if you want a runestone never touched by powertools take a foundationstone of an historical building (preferably not still standing). We got the biggest stone the tiny museum tractor could muster. So only 1.5ton. Small enough to handle but big enough to look like a proper runestone. Although not huge probably the heaviest scroll in drachenwald. Being craftsmen with professional pride we frown upon things that has less than a 400 year waranty.
Step two, get a work crew. If you do it like us and carve it at an event, people will want to try and help. That is nice but the time spent teaching them and the work they preform sort of even out so you should have a solid workgroup, we recommend two heavyduty laurels and one strong enough apprentice, preferably a muscular knight with stamina and drive for dull repetevly hammering (who will dull and repetitively hammer me for writing this).
We are all motivated in different ways. Things like proving that a peerage scroll can be made with period techniques in under 24 hours, Günters with whips or in our case a visious thunderstorm and heavy rain forecast.
P.S Below are some Picture of the hard work and an attempt to in Words try to recreate the atmosfear of the moment. It is all in good fun but one should know that both myself and Haakon are rather experienced craftsmen and on the verge of manic crazy at times so before we started we asked Peregrine if he knew what he signed up for. He does have diabetes. But he is also a thick skulled hard worker like us and did not fail. Enjoy the result but recreate it at your own peril : )
P.P.S. No French midgets where hurt during the making of this stone, but they do have weak mustaches unlike us.
Left: The stone erection scroll… Guess who is who. Get it wrong and youre blind! Center: The three stooges. Right: Dirty, dirty stone
Left: Is this really big enough? Center: You are far too Square for my taste. Right Draw the design upside down and see if anyone notices…
Left: Oh bugger, he did! Lets do it all over again. Center: Satisfied? Remember I am standing behind you with 30 Sharp chisles and a one Pound hammer. Right 2,5 hours gone and now we can finnaly touch the dirty, dirty stone with our hard tools.
Left:Now thats one shiny pebble! Pointer three, only three and maximum 15min coffe/toilet brakes allowed during the carving or you will never get that period slave labour feeling. Center: Now the mindless labour starts. Thats what apprentices are for! Right: My chisel is sharper than yours. (Note to readers, the senior laurel always nicks the best tools for himself).
Left: Pointer number two, never carve a runestone more than 10m away from a smithy, you need to sharpen those tools alot. Center: When attempting to erect a monument of such magnitude make sure your tool is hard enough to withstand the grinding work. Right: A bonus laurel always comes handy. Kareina adds her six inches!
Left:8h 19 min and counting Center:22 seconds later at the top of the stone. Right:This is where I draw the line! Oh its already done.
Left: What! Who took this picture, ah it was the apprentice with the single malt. Thats schooo helpful… Center: The shot Peregrine tried to censor. Right:14h 52min: “I promized to cut the runes, not the rest of the stone…”
Left: Halfway with the runes and we have only destroyed one third of the chisels. Keeping your tools too hard during strenuous exercise is a risky buisness. Center:17h 54min: The mosquitos launch their first serious attack, moral running low. Serious mental deteriation detected. Jokes about French midgets and strong mustaches commense. Right:19h 24min: Calligraphy finished. Grit teeth. Chemical warfare, the fear of having to work in heavy rain and the promize of sauna keep us soldiering on.
Left:19h 44min: Carving done. Crippled and anemic we clean up camp and retreat seriously outnumbered by the endless onslaought of mosqito waves. Painkillers, sauna and being awaken a few hours later by thunder and heavy rain made it all worth while. Center:Last paint with just enough time to get semidry before the next rain. RightFinished, and thats how you make Laurel scroll in less than 24 hours
A few days later in mundane attire we managed to get it errect in our back yard. Now just like in the Viking era the old and new gods stood side by side (note the roof and tower of our local medeival church)
