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Thread: Jump rings for chain maille - make them or buy them?

  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by shelliem View Post
    My book is Beaded Chain Mail Jewelry by Dylon Whyte it has some lovely designs in it.
    I was looking at that on amazon.com (my brother accidently but my birthday voucher on the .com site rather than the .co.uk <sigh>) and was thinking that might be a good one for more ideas as i've come to love the chain maille work - I find it theraputic in a way. Although I must admit to mangling the odd ring at times
    Anne

    Feel the fear, and do it anyway!
    Blog: http://www.whiteoakjewellery.blogspot.com/
    Website: http://www.whiteoakjewellery.co.uk

  2. #12
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    Given what you've just said I think you probably would love it - it has some really interesting designs that don't look too complicated - she says, having never tried it yet!!

    I'm going to have to wait for a while to get jump rings it would seem the bank says no!!
    Michelle x

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by agent_44 View Post
    How many rings are you going to be using? If you are going to be making a lot of mail it will probably be a lot more expensive to purchase your own rings and I would definitely recommend a jump ring making tool (such as the Koil Kutter that George, I and others use). If you wanted to have a go with out any more investment then you could give it a go with just a jewellers saw. If you have any knitting needles lying around they make great mandrels for winding coils. Most people use them with some kind of drill. I use my cordless drill but I know others use manual ones.
    So you put the needle in the chuck of the drill and then just hold the wire while the needle spins? Do you need to wear gloves on the wire hand?

  4. #14
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    Oh, lots and lots of questions on one of my favourite subjects!

    I'll try to cover as many as I can, apologies if I miss any first time

    For a very first project, I'd say buy the rings. When you're trying to get a feel for how it all works, it's nice to remove one variable that can go wrong. Copper is great for practising with, and copper rings are inexpensive. I'd happily recommend the dragonfly company: home for these.

    When you feel you want to cut your own, there are several ways to go. A jeweller's saw and a pack of blades really is very inexpensive indeed. You can get a basic frame and a pack of 2/0 blades for under a tenner. I have a koil kutter, but still like to hand saw a lot of my rings. It's satisfying, accurate, and can be really quite quick once you get into the swing of it.

    If you want to use flush cutters (which is slower) you must use the cut/reverse/cut technique: make the first flush cut, then reverse the pliers so the new flush end is 'inside' the bevelled edge of the cutters to make the next cut. This will leave you with a round ring with two flush edges. Reverse the pliers again and snip away the next tiny piece of the coiled wire (which is bevelled) and repeat the process. If you try to cut the edge from a finished ring, it will no longer be a full circle.

    Good books on maille are few and far between. The Dylon White book referred to (the beaded one) actually has very, very few weaves, and is far more about how to incorporate beads with jump rings, which is fine if you want to do that. The David Scott Plumlee is beautifully illustrated, but is only one weave (byzantine), and variations on it. There is Chains by Becky, but the recommended ring sizes tend to very odd, and virtually all the weaves are renamed versions of ones freely available elsewhere.

    The internet is by far the best resource for maille patterns - CGMaille.com - Chainmaille Tutorials & Graphics has the nicest renderings, and M.A.I.L. - Maille Artisans International League - Home is huge and rambling, but contains most weaves somewhere!

    I use a cordless electric screwdriver with a snap in 3 pronged chuck for winding, just tuck one end of the wire into the chuck, and hit the power button. If you work 'off the reel' you only need to guide the wire gently to get nice tight even coils. Some people wear a glove (old golf gloves are perfect and very soft) but I only protect my thumb if I'm getting to the end of a coil of wire, when it could spin and cut.

    If I've missed anything important, please remind me - I'm always happy to answer maille questions!

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by mizgeorge View Post
    Oh, lots and lots of questions on one of my favourite subjects!

    Good books on maille are few and far between.
    Looks like there's a gap in the market there, George! Fancy writing a book?
    J x

  6. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jayne View Post
    Looks like there's a gap in the market there, George! Fancy writing a book?
    J x
    Good idea!

    I've made rings by the knitting needle and flush cutter method before but found it very tedious and time consuming. Next time I'll make longer coils and saw them.

  7. #17
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    Ok complete amateur question but I am assuming you buy wire to make the rings? And knitting needles are used as a measurement to wrap the wire around so if you wanted 4mm ones you'd have 4mm needles?

    I'm off to check out those websites - thanks George.
    Michelle x

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by shelliem View Post
    Ok complete amateur question but I am assuming you buy wire to make the rings? And knitting needles are used as a measurement to wrap the wire around so if you wanted 4mm ones you'd have 4mm needles?

    I'm off to check out those websites - thanks George.

    Yes .....and yes.
    If you use a 4mm needle you get a ring with a 4mm ID (inner diameter).

  9. #19
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    and as i have today, go to a charity shop for you knitting needles, went to get some for the kids school and they had allsorts although apparently they are not allowed to sell them! but still payed 50p a pair and even better odd ones so you only need by one lol x

  10. #20
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    Thats a good idea - I might check a charity shop out when I am out and about tomorrow - I've been wondering for a while why people keep mentioning knitting needles
    Michelle x

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