How to Make Your Own Chainmaille Rings
Chainmaille, also referred to as maille or mail, is both a style of jewelry and a finished product, such as a vest used for armor during the days of Celtic warriors. Simply put, chainmaille is made from a series of rings that are woven together to form a pattern. Chainmaille rings are essentially the same as jump rings, which are used in jewelry-making for connecting earring hooks to earrings and clasps to necklaces. Chainmaille jewelry, especially complex pieces, can use hundreds of jump rings. Custom make your own rings using a few jewelry tools and a length of wire.
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Things You'll Need
- 16-, 18- or 20-gauge wire
- Metal dowel or mandrel
- Metal snips
- Vise
- Flat-tipped pliers (optional)
- Masking tape
- Ruler
- Felt marker
- Bench pin
- Jeweler's saw
Instructions
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1
Open the vise and place a metal, wood or plastic mandrel -- this is used to shape the chainmaille rings -- into the vise. Close loosely. You can place the mandrel so that it juts out vertically or horizontally, depending on your preference.
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2
Place the end of your silver wire in the vise close to the mandrel. Tighten the vise so that the wire and mandrel are clamped firmly inside.
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3
Hold the wire in your dominant hand and start tightly winding it around the mandrel while ensuring the tension is tight. Use your other hand to press the coils down against one another.
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4
Once the desired number of coils have been formed, clip off the end of the wire using the metal snips. Cover the coil with masking tape. Slide the coil off the mandrel.
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5
Draw a straight vertical line from one end of the coil to the other using the felt marker and ruler. This will be your cutting line.
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6
Clamp the bench pin -- a wedge of wood used for sawing on -- into the vise. Prop the coil against the bench pin and saw along the cutting line so that you saw through one side of the wire to form chainmaille rings.
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7
Remove the masking tape from the rings. Use the pliers to close the chainmaille rings so that the flush ends are butted up against each other.
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Tips & Warnings
If you're making rings from silver or copper wire, for example, make sure it's annealed, or heated with a torch, so that's it's pliable enough to be wound around a mandrel.
You can buy metal mandrels, but anything can be used as a mandrel. Try the end of a wooden spoon, an old pipe or other found object that's sturdy enough to hold its shape when the metal wire is wrapped around it.
References
Resources
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