I had an idea for a couple minutes to possibly use wood flooring glued to a very thin 1/8" piece of plywood, but then decided to go with regular 3/4" (crappy) plywood. I have a rough circle of it cut out in my shop right now and will rasp the edges up a little more evenly.

I cut mine out at 24" which seems like a good size for me, but after reading some of your posts it seems that slightly smaller might be more historically accurate. I'm guessing it might be because most people were built a little smaller than we are today.

What thickness of leather is best for the front? I'm guessing that a thicker saddle weight leather would be ideal.

What is best to use for padding on the back? I already have a piece of leather salvaged from an abandoned couch, but it doesn't offer much comfort or protection for my arm.

Thanks for any help

Iain