Houaha Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I have been making chainmail lately because I can't blacksmith because ts winter and there's snow all around. I made a video on how to make chainmail easier, here is a link to it YouTube - making chain mail with a simple jig I'll be putting up some pics on my chainmail making set up tomorrow I hope, also was wondering if anyone had any pics of chainmail items they have made like suits or something, or maybe a picture of your set up when you make chainmail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Neat setup, what about riveting them rings too?Originally it was done in the past,'cos when that maille is bigger and heavier,it has tendency to rip apart by its weight.Or split open during wearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammered Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Oddly enough I used to make chainmaille before I got avidly involved in blacksmithing. Everything from small keychains & jewelery to coifs and Hauberks (I had four of those.....two full length to the knees with footman slits). I never bothered with riviting my maille because todays high tensile wires eliminate the need for that provided you're working with the proper gauge. I don't know if I still have any pics kicking around. I think I lost most of them when my old PC went down for the count. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Houaha Posted February 27, 2009 Author Share Posted February 27, 2009 I use aluminum wire now but I want to use steel just cant afford it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 2, 2009 Share Posted March 2, 2009 Ahh steel wire is cheaper than Al wire. According to modern testing; a rivited link is 10 times stronger than the same sized link butted. Therefore you can make a much lighter maille shirt with rivited rings that will be stronger than a butted ring shirt. If you think that doesn't make a difference wear a mailshirt continuously for a while. longest I ever made it was 3 days---had trouble sleeping in it as it felt like someone sitting on my chest after a while. I finished my first shirt made of 1/4 ID rings in 1981. armourarchive.org is a good site for armour stuff including maille. (note affected spellings of armour and maille) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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