Tutorial - Chain mail

[Cie]

ok i suck at drawing but here is the spooling rig we used. Pm me if I can be of any help.

spooler rig

 

[Tonkers D]

Yes fellow chain-mailers! I used to work for this guy anthony who was way awesome and taught me all he knew. Nice Tutorial. Keep 'em Coming!

 

[CoolleKotten]

Thanks everyone!
I think I get where your going with that picture Cie, no problem.
Good luck to anyone who's planning on making chain mail, hope you have some use of this tutorial.

Kotten

 

[Cavaler Urban]

well Nicole ,I'm not affraid to wound my hands ,I'm used to it but I'm affraid of those nightmares after a few hours spent doing links!)
here's how I made my links ,I hope you all understand;

this is my rig ; a piece of aluminium I found ,I made a small hole in it , a rod with spiral ..( I don't know how is called ,somebody help me)

this is how I stick the wire in the drill ,I don't need a hole in the rod ,I just stick it betwen those pieces that hold the rod!

I start the drill to the left sense ,the rod stay on the aluminium piece and because of the spiral on it moves slow ( like a bolt out from a nut), the wire is wrap on the every spiral on the rod!because of the small hole I don't have to guide the wire!Iin this way I can move the drill faster without worries!
after all of this I remove the rod out of the drill and stick it back with the other end!I start again the drill to the left keepink in hand the wire coil( take care ,ware a glove) the coil exit from the rod like a nut from the bolt!
sorry for my poor explanations but I my technical expressions are in hollyday!
tomorow I'll show you here my cutting pliers!I made some changes on it!

 

[CoolleKotten]

Great way of showing how to make your own rings, Sorin.The set up you are using looks like Cies drawing a bit, builds on the same idea.
Hmmm.. think I will need to change the topics name now and adding "make your own rings".

Kotten

 

[Cavaler Urban]

after I've found Jeff's rings I thought nothing will gonna happened but in my way back to the backyard ( to digg again after oil) I was hobbled by a huge brick and fall down! I took that brick and throw it away when I saw this under; wow ,I said this is my lucky day ever!so tell me what you think about it!

 

[CoolleKotten]

Great work Sorin!
You work too hard...
Are you playing around or is that going to be for a costume your making? Seeing your doing a cross (that will be horisontal).

Kotten

 

[Cavaler Urban]

thank you Nicole A.K.A Lord of the links
yes,I worked alot to make this,I made some mistakes but I fixed them, will be for my knight suit but is still more to work on it!
the cross will stay normal , around the neck the links will be from copper too and also around the belly!
thanks again for this tutorial!
GOD please give me strenght ,I put 1700 links on this and I think I gonna need thousends more!

 

[Cie]

Great job !!! I think what CoolleKotten was making an observation of, and I think he is right, is the chain mail normally hangs 90 degrees from the way you have the cross oriented. I may be totally wrong and really think you have done a great job but if you are putting it together sideways, I wanted to say something before you twisted another 2K rings.



Please don't take offense I just know how I feel when I make something and then realized I missed something. If you wanted it that way rock on you are a ring twisting machine.

 

[CoolleKotten]

Yeah that is what I thought, that it was on the wrong side, more a cross laying down then upright.
If you, Sorin, take the chain mail and have the cross upright it will fall together and be much smaller. But if you are planning on having the cross laying down, it wont be a problem because then the chain will "grow" and fall at a certain way that it is supposed to.

Kotten

 

[Cavaler Urban]

in the vertical position of the cross the chainmail have more density then horizontal which is very good agains the arrows even I don't go to any war, lthe pattern looks better in horizontal position I know but I already done wrong at least I see the good side of the things!
this is the horizontal position

thisi is the vertical position

a, take a look at this guy , a picture I found searching google ,the paterns are in both positions though we are right all!

yuff ,I thought I screw it up badly!

 

[CoolleKotten]

Gah, Im so happy im not doing that big of a chain mail... too many rings.

And you do as you want Sorin just wanted to say something before you did something wrong.

Kotten

 

[Cavaler Urban]

Gah, Im so happy im not doing that big of a chain mail... too many rings.

And you do as you want Sorin just wanted to say something before you did something wrong.

Kotten

any observations are welcome anytime, thanks for that ,I'm just happy I'm not doing wrong ,do I?!
the guy's chainmail has the same orientation like mine, don't you think?!

 

[CoolleKotten]

I think it is..
Now that makes me wonder, what direction ARE you supposed to have!?

Kotten

 

[Cavaler Urban]

I think it is..
Now that makes me wonder, what direction ARE you supposed to have!?

Kotten

my links orientation are the same like on the guy's chest !take a look at his sleeves ;the orientation of the links are different of the chest ones! so , are two kind of orientations !zoom on it and you'll find out!

 

[Cie]

I have an old armor making manual that is now out of print. I think Kotten might be right on his observation. Give me a little bit and I will post some scanned images which might help. I'll try to get them up this afternoon.

Cie

 

[Cie]

Ok I pulled the book out of the book shelf and did some research. It is still available but it is very expensive titled "Best of the Hammer Vol 1" It covers all kinds of issues with making plate and chain armor. I have attached two images from the book but if you are really interested in that sort of armoring I would recommend it the ISBN is 0-943228-04-2

Chain

Cie

 

[Cavaler Urban]

thank you very much Cie! seems I was not wrong at all, "rows runs horizontally to the suit" fig. 14!
I'm glad for this because is a lot of hours spent with that!

 

[CoolleKotten]

Thanks Cie for clearing that up for us!
You should think I would have known that when I did the tutorial...
But I did this tut because a friend asked me.
Hope you can get something out of this, people.

Kotten

 

[Cavaler Urban]

Thanks Cie for clearing that up for us!
You should think I would have known that when I did the tutorial...
But I did this tut because a friend asked me.
Hope you can get something out of this, people.

Kotten

hey, don't be sad my friend, you did all good here, both ways are good,I actually put the links in that position by accident!
thanks for this, now the tutorial is complete!thank you Cie too