How to Make Chainmail Juggling Spheres
A chainmail juggling sphere is a small ball made of steel rings connected together like ancient chainmail armor. The chainmail balls are ideal for medieval fairs, parties or just for fun. You can stuff the balls with a light filling, or use a heavier filling like beans. However, the heavier the filling, the more dangerous the balls can be if they hit someone. The process of making the balls is simple, and the work goes quickly once you have the first few rows in place. Always wear leather work gloves to protect your fingers when working with steel rings.
Things You'll Need
- Jewelry pliers
- Leather work gloves
- 3/8 14 gauge steel rings
- 5/16 16-gauge steel rings
- ¼ 14-gauge steel rings
- ¼ 16-gauge steel rings
- 3/16 18-gauge steel rings
- 7/16 18-gauge rings
- Cloth or fiber stuffing
Instructions
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1
Make a row of 17 3/8th rings. Use the jewelry pliers to pry open the links and to close them around the next ring. Add two more rows to the first row of rings.
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2
Add two rows of 5/16th rings to the chain, making each of the 5/16th rows 17 chains long. Add another two rows to the other side of the chain.
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3
Add one row of ¼ rings to each side of the chain piece. Use 17 rings per side. Repeat this step with the 16-gauge steel rings.
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4
Add two rows of 3/16th 18-gauge rings to each side of the chain piece.
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5
Loop all 17 rings from the top row through one 7/16th 18-gauge ring. This will make the chains become circular in shape. Add another 7/16th ring to the other end of the chains, completing the sphere shape.
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6
Connect the sides of each of the chain pieces on each row to complete the sphere shape. Leave a row of three or four chains disconnected so you can stuff the ball.
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7
Stuff the ball with the stuffing until the chains plump into a spherical shape. Close the stuffing gap by connecting the last few chain rows.
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