WIP - Maille Coif

[sebmodio]

Currently in production, a (chain)maille coif using the 4-in-1 weave. Here are the resources I used:

• http://www.instructables.com/id/E4OMHLFF2ZL53EM/?ALLSTEPS
• http://www.io.com/~beckerdo/other/MailCoif/index.html
• http://www.chainmail.com/chainmall/patterns/coif/coif.html

Pictures coming soon...

Any questions?

 

[SmilingOtter]

Awesome. I've done some mailling, it's a constructive way to pass time. Show those pics!

 

[stormtrooperguy]

one suggestion: go here and buy your rings!

http://theringlord.com/

cutting them yourself sucks. really. did it for years and years. now i buy their "bright aluminum" rings. light, shiny, pre cut, and never turns that dull grey color that steel gets.

now, if you want the weathered look, they do also sell precut steel.

 

[sebmodio]

Here are the pictures:

• http://www.propaholics.wolfchasers.com/uploader/users/Beesa-Pesal/maille1.jpg
• http://www.propaholics.wolfchasers.com/uploader/users/Beesa-Pesal/maille2.jpg
• http://www.propaholics.wolfchasers.com/uploader/users/Beesa-Pesal/maille3.jpg

TK - Right now, I'm still cutting my own rings because I don't want to put alot of money into it, in case later I lose interest.

I think the coif is coming along nicely.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

TK - Right now, I'm still cutting my own rings because I don't want to put alot of money into it, in case later I lose interest.

yeah, i can see that.

it's looking great! after seeing the original post here, i dug mine out and started working on it again after over a year off. i'm done with the head part, and just need to make the mantle.

 

[MaulWalker]

I cut my own rings as well. But rather than using airline snips, I use my Dremel with the fiberglass reinforced cutting disks. Fast and easy.

 

[OldKen]

How do you form the circles so perfectly?

I cut my own rings as well. But rather than using airline snips, I use my Dremel with the fiberglass reinforced cutting disks. Fast and easy.

​

 

[SmilingOtter]

You wrap the wire around a dowel/rod, essentially forming a spring. Slide the spring off the rod, and cut it into rings. A diagram for a simple winding device can be found here:
http://www.arador.com/construction/crank.gif Turning the crank/rod winds the wire.

And a decent guide to making maille is here: http://www.livinghistorylibrary.org/reference/mailstart.php

 

[sebmodio]

How do you form the circles so perfectly?
​

I wind the wire around a cheap pen, slide them off and use scissors to cut them resulting in a nice even cut. The ones with the >< cut were done with an old pair of wire cutters.

 

[MaulWalker]

You wrap the wire around a dowel/rod, essentially forming a spring. Slide the spring off the rod, and cut it into rings.

SmilingOtter is correct. I wrap the wire around a steel rod, however my winding device is even simpler. The rod goes through the U-shaped wooden cradle and I attach a set of vise-grips to one end and spin that. Alternatively, you can use your electric drill - I recommend using a leather glove on the hand guiding the wire if you use that method! Lesson learned the hard way.

I slide the coiled wire off the steel rod and slide it onto a wooden dowel. The wooden dowel is held in the same winding cradle. Fire up the Dremel and start cutting. Plan on replacing the wooden dowel occasionally. Your rings end up with nice blunt cut ends that will butt beautifully.

 

[stormtrooperguy]

when i used to make my rings, i did the drill method. works great, but yeah... that slice on your finger when you don't wear gloves and lose control. YEOWCH!

i never tried a dremel for cutting though. do you burn through the cutoff wheels super-fast, or do you use a different bit?

 

[MaulWalker]

i never tried a dremel for cutting though. do you burn through the cutoff wheels super-fast, or do you use a different bit?

I make tightly wound springs about seven inches long. I can cut about three of those with one fiberglass reinforced cutoff wheel. (The regular cutoff wheels are useless for this.) Cutting on the dowel rod helps. I try to cut until there is just a small bit of wire left and break the rest apart with my fingers. The wooden dowel is a lot more forgiving to cutoff wheels than the steel rod.

I do wear a full face shield, long sleeves, and gloves when cutting as the sparks are pretty impressive. My neighbors think I have flipped.

And I would go through a lot fewer cutoff wheels if the Dremel didn't have this suicidal tendency to roll off my workbench!

 

[sebmodio]

I got some copper wire from a job that I helped my dad with. I'll be using that for the final row of the mantle and a 3-ring triangle on the forehead. The coif itself is coming along nicely; I'm almost to the bottom of my ears.

 

[jackdoud]

Once you have the top of the head done I've found it's easier to make a small sheet of 4-1 and attach the completed sheet to the head. It keeps you from having to manipulate the whole thing to add rings.