Introduction: Chainmail(le) Primer: Making Jewelry-Size Rings for Weaving Chainmail
If you're a beader, or do wirework, then you probably have most of these items already.
Items needed:
- Wire: 20 to 24 gauge wire (preferably half-hard if you intend on wearing the items you make, but full-soft is okay if you're just teaching yourself some weaves
- Mandrel: 1/2" to 1/16" (I recommend 3/16"), preferably metal, but in a pinch, you can get away with wood. (Please see step 4 for some additional information on aspect ratios and selecting a mandrel.)
- Nail clippers, unless you have specialty wire cutters ( ~Stained-Glass~ says that Fiskars Micro Tip Pruning Shears work well for wire thicknesses up to 18 gauge.)
- Vise-grip (you don't have to use lockable pliers, but they make life much easier)
Note: If you have a power drill, you could use that to power your winding. I generally don't power-wind wire unless I have a hole drilled (or notch cut into one end) through my mandrel to secure the wire, and for most of my small diameter mandrels, I don't have such a hole.
Power-winding will be discussed in an upcoming instructable on making armor-sized rings.
A clever wire winding jig was constructed by mum, and is explained on step 6. Go on and take a look at the alternative method for coiling.
To actually weave your rings into chainmail, you'll need Pliers: two pairs to start with. Teeth will mark the rings*, but that's okay if you're just practicing weaves. However, weaving is not within the purview of this instructable. Please see instructables on European 4-in-1, and Byzantine chain for weaves.
- Not entirely true, but if you're good enough at weaving chainmail that you can avoid marking the rings with toothed pliers, then you probably don't need this instructable, eh?
Step 1: Starting Your Coil
You may wish to file/cut a small notch near one end of the mandrel--it helps hold the wire. I just filed a perpendicular line half an inch from one end of my mandrel.
Cut approximately 1 yard of wire (begin with 3', you can increase the length later)
Find one end of your wire, and line it up perpendicularly with the mandrel.
Clamp wire down with Vise-Grip, also perpendicular to the mandrel.
Note that the clamped down portion of the wire will be wasted. Adjust this length according to frugal you need to be with your wire.
Step 2: Winding Your Coil
Pick a direction, and start winding.
Try to keep each rotation of wire as close together as possible. This will maintain consistent ring size.
You can use the Vise-Grip as additional leverage to help you wind.
If you are using half-hard wire (or full-hard) or thick-ish wire, you may need to apply a bit of strength to keep the coil tight.
Towards the end of your coil, be aware that there is quite a bit of pent up energy in the coil--the wire will spin violently in the opposite direction. If you are not careful, you may get cut pretty badly.
Un-clamp your Vise-Grip.
Slide your coil off the mandrel. If you cut a notch, you may wish to slide it off the opposite end (sometimes the notch catches the coil).
You may wish to continue right away with another coil (I find it easier to wind a bunch of coils and then cut them all in one go, too).
If you had trouble with your pre-coiled wire, you might want to cut a shorter length for this next coil. If you had no trouble, go ahead and cut a longer length.
The longer your coils are, the less wire you'll waste, but the harder it will be to manage the coiling. Find your balance.
Note! Wind your coils in the same direction so that your finished rings open in the same way. It gets ridiculously awkward when a portion of my rings open in the opposite direction.
Step 3: Cutting Your Rings
Pick one end of your coil to start cutting.
Look for where the wire starts forming uniform coils. This will be where your first cut will be.
(If you are using precious metal, or do not have much wire, you will want to waste as little wire as possible, so cut as close to the beginning of the uniform coil as you can.)
Cut perpendicularly to the coil.
You'll probably only get one ring per snip. Don't force the coil in order to get more rings per cut--you'll get damaged rings and poor closure.
Do notice where the end of the coil is, and make your cut as close to full circle as possible. This will ensure that your rings will not have gaps when you close them.
Step 4: Aspect Ratios
Aspect Ratio. If you've heard of this term, you've probably also learned most of what I will be saying here. You may proceed to the next page where I have links to AR charts.
Technically, it is the inner diameter of your ring divided by the diameter of the wire.
Practically, "it tells you how fat the donut is."
The smaller the AR, the fatter your ring.
For the sake of simplicity, you can take your mandrel size as the inner diameter of your rings. You can look up the diameter of your wire, just make sure both diameters are in the same units.
AR becomes important when you want to have the optimal ring size for your project. Weaves have a range of ARs that will work, but there's a much narrower range for what looks best. Some ARs simply will not work for some weaves, and AR may even alter the weave you're making (Spiral will turn into Jens Pinds with a small AR).
I very rarely bother with actual AR measurements, but the concept is very important when selecting rings (don't pick fat rings for Full-Persian 6-in-1, I will laugh at you).
Take a look at the three Byzantine samples.
The inner diameter of the rings is the same: 3/16", but the wire diameter increases towards the right. Note how the weave looks really wimpy with the large AR (the skinnier rings), and looks the best with a smaller AR. (But any smaller than that final set, the rings won't fit in the weave!)
Step 5: A Few Useful Links
Supplies:
The Ring Lord - Hands down, this is the best supplier of rings. You'll wait a little longer for your rings to ship from Canada, but the price and selection are unbeatable.
UrbanMaille - They specialize in sterling silver rings (even argentium!), and there's a selection of a few other materials. The prices are higher than The Ring Lord's, but if you're working with precious metals, you might as well spend the extra money for quality (the polish is amazing). This is also where I get most of my tools. (Ring tool!)
Rings & Things - This is where I get wire to coil my own rings. The prices are very good, and they carry argentium. (Please note the $25 minimum, and surcharge for all orders under $50. I rarely have trouble meeting the 50$ mark...)
Weave Instructions:
Derakon's Library - Very clear instructions for many weaves. (This was the best instructional site back when I was first starting chain working, and it's still my primary reference site.)
CG Maille - (Previously Phong's Chainmaille Tutorials) Computer generated graphics for the tutorials, covers the same range as Derakon, but the graphics are prettier. So shiny.
Forums:
The Ring Lord's Forum - Very active forum for chainmail (it might well be the most active out there).
M.A.I.L. - An active gathering of maillers, and it's much more than just a forum. There are instructions for weaves, articles on chainmail related subjects, galleries... the list goes on. It's good because any member can submit his/her version or interpretation a weave or theory. That also means you may have to wade through some pages that are of poorer quality.
Other Information: (Probably overkill for people just beginning to weave, though.)
Zlock's Aspect Ratio Pages - This appears to be the wellspring of in-depth information on aspect ratios. There's a handy chart,
Venom's Pit - There are a couple of charts that you might find handy, once you really get into working with chainmail.
There are many, many more sites out there that I have not listed. I have pulled what I believe are the best, and I intend to keep the listing short. However, if you violently disagree, or believe that I've grossly overlooked another site, feel free to let me know.
Step 6: Alternative Coiling Method: Wire-winding Jig
This information was provided by mum, but edited and posted by me. For questions relating to the jig itself, speak to mum, for questions relating to the presentation of this information, it'll be me you want.
mum says: "I went to a jewelry class and didn't want to spend a fortune on a wire-winding jig that I might only use once, so I made my own."
Items for jig & mandrel:
2 L-shaped shelf supports (about 3inches in this jig, possibly with a bit sawed off the length)
G-Clamp (known as a C-Clamp on the States' side of the pond)
Knitting needle as your mandrel
Assembly:
Clamp the L-supports to the table to form a U shape (if you set them very close, you'll need to have sawn at least one L-support short)*
Bend knitting needle so you can get a bit of leverage to coil your wire (see photo)
Insert needle through L-supports
Wrap a bit of wire on the mandrel (probably at your lever)
Start coiling!
Note: hollow needles will deform in cross-section when bent, so some of your coil may not be perfectly round. Don't use these rings for projects requiring consistent ring size/shape.
mum also says: Knitting needles go up to a very large size so you would have to make sure the knitting needle would fit though the hole in the shelf support! Or you could drill a bigger hole in the support itself.
**I would suggest getting one clamp for each L-support and secure them sufficiently far apart that you can coil between the supports. This way you can also skip having to shorten the L-supports. You'll have to figure out how to start the coil, if you want to conserve wire: maybe a very small hole drilled through one side of the needle? Insert a bit of wire, and start coiling.
If anyone gets the wider set up to work, I can put your photos up, here.
