TheBovrilMonkeySILVER Member
Liquid Cow
2,629 posts
Location: High Wycombe, England


Posted:
Since I know that a few people here make chainmail, does anyone have any tips for starting? I've been wanting to have a go for a while now, but never got around to it.

I've tried looking around the internet generally, but all I can find are loads of pages that have obviously been copied from a single page - everything's worded exactly the same on every site.
While these sites look like they make sense, I thought I might as well make a call for help here too.

edit.. oh yeah, I wasn't sure which section to put this in, if anyone suggests it'd fit in better somewhere else, I'll delete it and repost it.

[ 15 October 2002, 00:30: Message edited by: TheBovrilMonkey ]

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.


SpiralOolering Man
729 posts
Location: Farnborough, Hampshire


Posted:
start off with 4:1 chainmail (thats 4 rings into 1 ring. When you get better and bigger rings you can go up to about 12:1, thats the only advice I have..... I think c@ntus might be a good source of information, as his brother does re-enactments and stuff

Raphael96SILVER Member
old hand
899 posts
Location: New York City, USA


Posted:
If you plan on wearing it, make sure that you rivet each link. This will prevent the sharp ends from cutting into you and make the mesh stronger too.

Chainmail is cool.

Raph

ivan..member
165 posts
Location: Halifax, NS


Posted:
look for the armourers archive .... they have great advice on making chainmaile, or check out re-enactment places like ren faire web pages and the SCA .. there are great books in simple armouring and maile making.. but.. some very simple starting advice ... 1. good set of plyers ( needlenose and regular and a good set of cutters) 2. use medium sized rings and thinner wire . 3. find a quick way to wrap the wire ( wood dowling and a power drill work with lots of practice ) 4. take it slow and it will come in time ...

thats right i look like an albino ape that has had a bad day.. go ahead say something stupid... i dare ya !


Raymund Phule (Fireproof)Enter a "Title" here:
2,905 posts
Location: San Diego California


Posted:
First off riviting the maile so it doesnt cut you is BS!

I use either a jewlers saw or 8 inch bolt cutters.

It all depends on what your doing.

For starters this is all the equipment you need;

1 metal rod (the diamiter that you want your rings to be, dont use wood because it compacts as you go making your rings slightly smaller) Drill a hole through the rod at one end, this will help you twist the wire around the rod.

1 Drill, insert the rod in the drill and insert wire into the hole and spin it. The wire will wrap quite nicely just takes some practice if you want to go fast, the slower the better when you first start.

Get some good cutters, Jewlers saws and bolt cutters are what I recomend.

2 two pairs of pliers, preferably jewlers pliers, they are smooth and have no little grooves to jack up your wire and leave burs.

Start with big rings and 4 in 1 untill you get used to the patterin. Then go to smaller rings.

Also go to the ring lord it is one of several good sites. There is also the chainmaile connection. Those are some of the best sites.

Good luck and if you have questions feel free to contact me.

[ 15 October 2002, 18:08: Message edited by: Raymund Phule ]

Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"


Bender_the_OffenderGOLD Member
still can't believe it's not butter
6,978 posts
Location: Melbourne, Australia


Posted:
woot! props to the armor masta ray! is it like knitting for blokes? what about seams and sleeves? do i wash them with my whites? does it clash with kevlar?

Laugh Often, Smile Much, Post lolcats Always


Raymund Phule (Fireproof)Enter a "Title" here:
2,905 posts
Location: San Diego California


Posted:
If you use something like german silver (nickle) wire it goes quite good with flaming kevlar! Okay seams it all depends what your doing but make sure that the paterin stays the same direction. Like if its a sleave the paterin will wrap around the arm not go veticaly up and down the arm.

For something like a dart, like if you were making a cup for umm a female it would be a triagle cut out and then just join the the two sides.

As far as knitting for guys, the best armourers I have ever seen were women.

Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"


PrometheusDiamond In The Rough
459 posts
Location: Richmond, Virginia


Posted:
There is entirely too much information to post here about getting started, but I know some sites that will help. The Ring Lord is an excellent site, and I occasionally get supplies from him. Another great site is www.mailartisans.org
They have TONS of information on getting started, what kinds of weaves you can use, how to make your own rings (which I recommend) and other topics as well. Much like this site, it is great a balance of fun and information.

As far as riveting goes, don't worry about that for a long time. It's difficult to do and doesn't make the piece much more comfortable to wear. Yes, it'll help stop a crossbow bolt, but is it worth the extra time? I think not.

As far as starting materials, go with 16ga. galvanized wire. It's cheap, durable and easy to work with. When your skills have increased, you can try other more precious or less-malleable materials, like titanium, nickel silver, stainless steel, etc.

Personally I find it very rewarding to take a coil of steel wire and transform it into an intricate work of art. And that's what it is. It requires dedication, patience and imagination. Oh, and having no social life certainly helped me immensely

Dance like it hurts; Love like you need money; Work like someone is watching.

Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes.


Raymund Phule (Fireproof)Enter a "Title" here:
2,905 posts
Location: San Diego California


Posted:
Prom, if I wasnt antisocial I would say lets hang out hehe

then again you being on one side of the country and me on the other it dun work much either hehe

Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"


PrometheusDiamond In The Rough
459 posts
Location: Richmond, Virginia


Posted:
Just had a wierd idea: flaming maile....

Have to think on that when I got more time

Dance like it hurts; Love like you need money; Work like someone is watching.

Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes.


Raymund Phule (Fireproof)Enter a "Title" here:
2,905 posts
Location: San Diego California


Posted:
what about making juggling balls out of maile an put them on a chain with kevlar inside instead of rubber. that could work and be pretty neato

Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"


fluffy napalm fairyCarpal \'Tunnel
3,638 posts
Location: Brum / Dorset / Fairy Land


Posted:
wow! I had no idea so many people were interested in armoury (sp?) It's amazing.

When I was little the guy who used to babysit for us made chainmail. We used to sit and watch......(We had no TV and as far as I remember he used to tell us stories as he was doing it)

Happy childhood memories...

Geologists do it in the dirt................ spank


ivan..member
165 posts
Location: Halifax, NS


Posted:
when i did it in univerity it was a lot like making lace ( yeah i did that too ) but i didn't know about the wooden dowl compactig ( it's good to learn stuff )

somewhere i have a thingy for making wire bend that uses a hand crank i found that it was easier to use ( slower and better links ) but eventually i moved to a drill ...

and i learned to make maile from a woman ( she also taught me to make lace ) they have so much mre patience than we do .. sigh

thats right i look like an albino ape that has had a bad day.. go ahead say something stupid... i dare ya !


PrometheusDiamond In The Rough
459 posts
Location: Richmond, Virginia


Posted:
I was thinking more like chainmaile poi that you could ball up a wick inside, but juggling balls would work -- if you can handle the heat. Most metals strong enough to be candidates for maile also conduct heat real well. Maybe one of the lighter aluminum composites would be good. I'll have to bring it up on my maile board, see what they think.

As far as making your own links by hand, using a mandrel that you turn by hand is a good idea to start with. Using the drill is faster and a bit more consistant, but it's also fairly dangerous. If you don't have good control of the speed, the hand you guide the wire with can be pulled between the wire and your winding rod, and very likely sever a finger or two. I wear leather gloves and goggles and my drill has a built-in speed setting.

I usually have a movie going on in the background for noise. Right now I'm weaving while on line, 'cause my computer is so slow, I have time to make a few links while I'm waiting for pages to load, how sad is that?

Dance like it hurts; Love like you need money; Work like someone is watching.

Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes.


TheBovrilMonkeySILVER Member
Liquid Cow
2,629 posts
Location: High Wycombe, England


Posted:
Fantastic, thanks alot, I've just got to scour the DIY shops around here for some suitable wire

But there's no sense crying over every mistake. You just keep on trying till you run out of cake.


Raymund Phule (Fireproof)Enter a "Title" here:
2,905 posts
Location: San Diego California


Posted:
Dont forget to check jewlery stores for cheep wire and good supplies. Try the places that repair the stuff too they will probably be more helpfull.

Some Jarhead last night: "this dumb a$$ thinks hes fireproof"


SterlingspiderBRONZE Member
Senator by day, Sith Lord by night.
128 posts
Location: Suffolk, New York, USA


Posted:
Heh, a friend of mine is making me a maile bikini, and a (3in1 I think?) chinese maile shirt for when I finally do fire poi. He's on all the boards I've ever seen (I had had some interest a while back but got more into more specifically jewelry stuff) He goes by the name Cinnabar (sp?) and I know if you find and ask him he is all too happy to help others out.

The man is psychotic, he made # solid 3D juggling cubes for his sister in law with links less then 1/4 inch across!!! And he constantly makes little trinkets for people while we hang out. I swear, you won't even notice he's doing maile and suddenly he hands you some neat little thing he's been working on the whole time. He had us all completely mesmerised with working chain maile Jacob's Ladders for several months. Good Luck.

"If the human brain were simple enough for us to understand, we would be too simple to understand it"
-Emerson M Pugh


PrometheusDiamond In The Rough
459 posts
Location: Richmond, Virginia


Posted:
I've seen some Jacob's Ladders. They're very beautiful, extremely intricate, and fashioned entirely by psychotics!

Seriously, I'd like to get that adept someday. For now I'm happy to sharpen my skills at the level I'm at.

You can usually find wire fairly cheap at the large hardware chains (like Home Depot) OR at farming supply stores. They usually have entire spools of aluminum or galvy steel as fencing wire. Watch what you buy though, wire comes in different grades of softness, especially aluminum. It should be fairly difficult to bend with yer bare hands to be strong enough to make maile.
The tools you can find in the same places, but try jewelry suppliers or craft stores as well. Plier preferences vary greatly. I use a pair of smooth-face needle nose pliers. The style with grooved faces tend to scratch the metal. And I definately recommend a design that springs open.

Peace kids

Dance like it hurts; Love like you need money; Work like someone is watching.

Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way, when you DO criticize them, you are a mile away, and you have their shoes.



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