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I Forge Iron

How to make Chainmail (with pictures!)


  

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broom- the fact that it bends easily doesnt help, its when your cutting it that it gets difficult, id sugest finding a set of calipers (soelling?) and then comparing that to the thicknesess on this page


http://www.whimsie.com/gauge%20wire.html

i say this because i made chainmail with 10-11 gauge wire, and i broke 3 sets of cutters after about 30 rings on each. i ended up switching to wirecutters and doing that, which was not fun.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My .14 cents worth, for anyone not making jewelery sized pieces. Make the coil form that was mentioned earlier. Build a frame from 2x4s and drill a hole in one side and at the parallel point across from it. Get a metal bar the inside diameter of your rings. Grind/file an octagon on one end where a socket piece fits it and to where you can attach it to a power drill. Now you can make coils in a minute with 50 or so rings on it. WEAR GLOVES, IT WILL CUT. Buy a pair of Bolt cutters. You will not cut more than five or so rings at a time but the cut is nearly flush and leaves very little to catch on. Also saves your hands from aches after a couple of hundred cut rings. Also, if you are making a large piece (anything bigger than jewelery) then make parts and then attach them. I have had countless friends who I have show how to do this and then they try to make a whole shirt and it seem like it will neve get done. If you make one square of like 6x5 rows it will take an hour or less. Do it again and it sees like you have accomplished something. Try to build a whole shirt front and it feels like you are never getting anywhere.

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Bionicarm, Also do you know how to make the doily that makes the top of the hauberk? https://skydrive.live.com/redir?resid=47DC83DDCD885D43!668&authkey=!AKMdDfwOYO670vQ
Start out with 1 ring with 5 or six loops. Lay the links at an angle. Then loop the next section back the other angle. Add a link into this section. It will look odd but it will even out as you keep going. Continue, adding an extra link every section. As you get bigger add three then seven then nine unil you have a doily a little bigger than the diameter of the top of your head. You then attach this to the bottom of the piece that you have shown using the wide section for your shoulders. If you already knew this then hope it helps the next guy.

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  • 1 month later...

The best way to make rings fast and easy is to take a threaded bar of the diameter you want the inner diameter of your ring to be, slot the thread into a drill clamp shut then slip about 1" of the end of the wire down next to the bar, spin the drill on its slowest speed possible and use your thumb to guide the wire.

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