Genuine chainmaille from pop tabs

Step 8 Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this instructable, it is the first I've written. I still have alot more tabs to go before I will be able to finish anything. I will probably make a pixane, and create a new Instructable for it. I will leave you with some pictures of this cool looking chainmaille.

Comments

[Shadow Ranger]

This is impressive...I would have never thought of using pop tops for chain mail! You must have drank a lot of soft drinks to get all those! :) 

[jgerardy]

i have been working for about a month and i have made a tuxedo from this pop tab chain mail.

[pmaxey]

So, the whole problem with the links coming apart. I might have an easy solution. Move the cut from right in the center, to the edge. I tried it and it seemed to work fine for me. =D

[Nancy London]

How flexible is this stuff?

[Mythbuster009]

depends on the way you fold it (vertically/horizontally)
, one way you can fold it in half, the other way you might get about 30-40 degrees out of it

[Oi23]

If you want chainmail,why not just buy it? They sell shark-proof chainmail at some scuba diving shops.

[Mythbuster009]

the point isn't to use it as chainmail, its to say that you made an entire chainmail suit out of soda can tabs and impress your friends. I got a great reaction at halloween a couple years ago after wearing it to school

[Oi23]

That makes a lot more sense than what I thought the point was.:P

[11rex11]

While making mine i came into a problem with it getting all tangled. I fixed it by butting a piece of ducktape on the back it keeps it nice and organised and still lets you work with it

[shaka999]

Nice instructable. I've started playing building a sheet with the hope of having something for my son for Halloween. One thing I've noticed is that the weave seems to come apart pretty easy because of the cut in the tabs. Has anyone found a good way to seal the links back up? I was wondering if a drop of super glue on each tab might help it hold together?

[moosofa]

I just use hot glue. It works well and keeps the sharp edges off of wherever you're planning on placing the maille on.

[slipknotfan979]

just take pinch the to ends together until they overlap...that is what i did

[Lacy701]

I am a Grandmother of six and all are boys but one, so I have a lot of different types of craft items,which include a little electric smelting bowl to make little skulls , robots ,and birds,and so on. well I cut a few pieces off of the non painted part of the pop cans and melted them and sealed the back of the cut pop tabs,this keeps them from coming apart,do this as soon as you join each piece,you may be able to use a torch to do the same thing .But that would kick up the safety factor !! and would be a good idea to do that in a vented or open garage,or workshop,or even outside,with gloves and safety goggles.make sure if you have any little helpers ,or watchers they are at a safe distance as most helpers like to be on top of your elbows.I hope that this helps some.Good luck !!!!

[MargEllen]

could you go into more detail as to how to do this? i am having the problem of my tabs becoming unlinked overtime. i have tried soldering (failed horribly), super glue, and adhesives and none work well. i wold be very interested in hearing how to do this. could i do this with a stove and throwaway pot or do i need a proper smelting bowl? i would greatly appreciate your assistance

[Lacy701]

The little machine I have is to melt little bead like metal pieces.


I have a metal molder ,bytoymax

I have a metal molder by toymax inc. it melts tiny metal pellets.It is electric
and melts the pellets.I dip a 10 penny nail into the melted metal and use it to seal the cut in the tab . My son bought plumbing plomeria by Amazing Goop.He said it works ok to, it glues what ever, bonds forever,clear & waterproof, and he was very happy with it and said it went very fast,and he worked on a clean dry surface,outdoors or in a well ventilated area,and he let it dry flat,back side up for 24 hours. The metal molder machine may not still be sold in the stores.I bought mine a few years ago. I hope this helps some.My son and I are testing both ways to seal the cut to see which one works best ,and is the easiest ,and the fastest ,I will try to let you know what we find out ,If I can get the time .I still have other costumes to make.So good luck

[raen714]

This method won't work on pieces already put together, though, will it? My hauberk is the size and shape of a vest already, I'd hate to take it apart and start over.

[raen714]

I've been having this problem, too, have you come up with any solutions? I would love to use something like a soldering iron to melt the cuts back together, but I can't find anything that will heat up to 660C.

[tinkertot252]

I am amazed. I used to have thousands of pop tabs and after spending three years attempting to figure out how to make chainmaille and failing, I donated them. I appreciate your ingenuity. Soldering was too much. hehe

[baz561]

I used some soder and it worked just fine.

[x burn]

nice ...

[nck_munoz]

lol wow easiest ible yet! i literally did this with stuff i had in my nightstand ( - pop tabs ) i hav big black garbage bags full (idk how many gallons) full of crushed cans, think of all those tabs! i could make a chain mall blanket (idk how warm or comfortable or quiet it would be tho =P) lol but think of tha posibilites!

[rhaubejoi]

Wow, very creative and well written instructible.  However, speaking as someone who has had a friend and also a relative die from cancer recently, I can't help but see whole lot of free cancer treatments in  your chain maille. ( I don't know if they do this everywhere, but our hospitals here will do a free treatment for a gallon of coke tabs).
Seriously, very creative and well thought out.

[SlashmasterAeoniX]

Um, that seems a bit rude. He can choose to use his tabs how he sees fit. It's a nice tutorial for people who are on low income and need such a piece. Not every place uses poptabs to earn money for cancer patients. I sympathize, but this isn't the place to mention it.

[rhaubejoi]

I didnt even attempt to tell him how to use his tabs. I complimented him on his instructable (twice!) and mentioned what we use them for locally. I was not in the slightest trying to tell him what to do the way you seem to be trying to tell me. And, I think if he found it offensive he would have said so in April, when I left the comment. I find your comment inflammatory and I think you only left it to make waves.

[SlashmasterAeoniX]

I'm sorry if it came off that way, but that's completely not what I meant. I just found the way you worded your comment: " However, speaking as someone who has had a friend and also a relative die from cancer recently, I can't help but see whole lot of free cancer treatments in your chain maille." sounded as if you were chastising the man for using his poptabs for chain maille, rather than for cancer treatments. I didn't mean to offend you, but this is my personal opinion, not inflammatory spamming. Despite the compliments, your positive message is just drowned out in the middle half where you seem to reveal too much information in a somewhat accusatory manner. It's just how it comes across online, and it's not my fault if I read such a thing and take it that way. I'm not telling you what to do, I'm just saying that you must be careful what you post because it may come off offensively to others, like myself. He may have left it stand, but it seemed to me like you were saying that if other people like myself were to sit at home and make this chain maille, we're being terrible because there are people out there dying from the lack of my poptabs. If you had simply said, "In my area, we use old poptabs for cancer treatment," rather than, "I had a friend and relative die from this, and I see all those free treatments in your craft," it would have come out much nicer, and I wouldn't have responded. As someone who is poor, and needs instructables like these for her own hobbies, because she must feed her family, telling me I can't even make chain maille without a guilty concious is just a slap in the face. Just try to understand how I saw it. I'm a genuine person. I get offended. I do not spam. In fact, I HATE spam, and this place doens't need it. Just in case you were wondering, I do plan to donate the poptabs to the Ronald McDonald House for Children after the armor has fallen apart, and have donated thousands of poptabs to other such charities before via my work with the Girl Scouts. I believe in your cause, but I believe that, like political affiliation and religion, it should not appear in public forums. For the sake of ending things, because frankly, I no longer care, I will no longer respond to this comment thread.

[Gripper103]

 Great instuctable,tried making real chain for my St Georges costume but this will be easier,will post pics when done.

[BuilderMan001]

DUDE!!! this is tight...but you must have had a lot of spare time to a-think of this and b- do it...

[lalaluluwe]

You have now inspired me to make a skirt out of coke tabs for my schools fashion show :) thanks!

[Sparky664]

Chainmaille guitar strap?

[smattman22]

good idea!

[MisterHankie]

 u should try putting chain mail over a piece of leather

[someniceguyon]

hell ya, that would be pimp... i hate that word, why did i say it? (puts gun in mouth)

[Forevirknight]

Good idea, sparky. it might be a little hard on your shoulders tho. Then again it depends on the weight of your guitar. I play blues, but not much.

[someniceguyon]

you could find a way to sew it over a stap so it wont be as harsh. sorry if this is commone sence for you guys... im no smarticles =(

[dany man148]

yah there you go make a gutar hero gutar strap :D...


yah what i am going to do is make a hackey sack out of this with extra tabs i the middle in sted of beads

[adris8]

that'll be cool, but gotta be quite wide to take off the stress because of the tabs being pretty hard.

[Pbyrd]

That is an awesome idea, I'm going to try that.

[unreal_ed]

You could make the strap and put it on top of your normal strap, attach it with wires going through the tabs' loops.

It would also probably hurt if u didn't have anything between you and the chainmail anyway.

[someniceguyon]

I wouldnt worrie about it hurting, a shirt would help that. I think the tabs by themselfs might be a little too weak though.

[phillybusta]

 that would be an effective way to drop your guitar a lot lol.