(Part 2) Top products from r/maille

I make my own rings. You can do this VERY cheaply. I started off cranking the ring by hand, but eventually moved on to a drill setup. I think it's helpful to follow the whole process from the start. There are some good videos out there.

Right now I have a metal rod that I drilled a hole into about two inches from the end. I put it in my drill like you would a bit(make sure you don't put too much stress on the motor). You feed the wire into the hole just enough that it catches and then you hit the drill. Do this slowly until you get the hang of it, and ware gloves. You will make what looks like a spring.

Get a good set of cutters, I use Knipex Cutters. The work great with 14g steel or smaller. I use Knipex there too, but I started with a cheapo set until I decided I wanted to do this seriously.

You can get Galvanized Steel wire at any farming supply store for about $60 for a half mile. That is plenty yo keep you busy. I posted a suit a couple days ago. With the pliers(on sale) and the supplies I spent less than $200 and it kept me busy for months.

If you are more interested in weaving and saving time making rings, then feel free to buy them. I personally like doing it all on my own and I can coil and cut pretty quickly now.

Just a different view.


Edit: The links are for information, I don't mean for it to look like I'm recommending vendors or anything.

I have three sets (six total) pliers: one pair for steel, which are cheap 'Pittsburgh' brand square jaw pliers with no teeth. Got them at Harbor Freight for $2 each. They're cheap, but reliable. One pair I took to a belt grinder and rounded it down to help prevent marring - most pliers with no teeth regardless have sharp edges.

The second pair aren't actually pliers per se, they're actually the Beadsmith Magical Crimper ( http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000SX1G9S?pc_redir=1410065544&robot_redir=1) and the jaws on these are fantastic for mailling. They're pretty small pliers though, so they're reserved for softer metals like aluminum, brass and copper.

The last pair are very, very fine tip needlenose jewelry pliers. I don't use them often because they're delicate, but I use them on the rare foray into micromaille.

This is a pretty awesome book. Lots of instructions on different weaves and inspiration. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1620336596/ref=aw_wl_ov_dp_1_13?colid=49HS3L6HM7UD&coliid=IIU28G7BNO1SP

I use Xuron 2193 wire shears, and they work great for me. As close to a flush cut as i've been able to get. They do warp the rings slightly, but I find that it's pretty easy to correct when opening/closing rings for weaving.

What's funny is, you're going to run out space with that REAL quick.

This is what I got for my larger rings

This is for my smaller rings

These are awesome for seeing things at a glance, and keeping a storage spot for them

You don't actually need 'chainmail' pliers. Some basic pliers from your local home center will be just fine. Like this set will be fine I think:
https://smile.amazon.com/Stanley-84-114-Piece-6-Inch-Diagonal/dp/B0006HVU4W/ref=sr_1_2?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1481595883&sr=1-2&keywords=pliers

Bonus crappy cutters as well!

I love these!!! I use them for everything!! Usually I get them from Michael's with a 40% off coupon.

Craft Mates Lockables 56 Double Extra Large (2 XL) Compartment Ultrasuede Large Organizer Case (Purple) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00428A7QI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_beFVDbJGFSKWK

I would advise against welding, mainly because of the low melting point of brass. I don't know how your piece is laid out, but I imagine that it would be difficult to keep the heat away from the brass while trying to weld the steel together.

Soldering could work, I don't see why it wouldn't albeit a little frustrating. Brazing is something that came to mind. Another is J.B. Weld. I haven't used J.B. Weld for sealing jump rings, but I've used it as weld filler in a pinch.

Good luck!

For storage, I use sets of fishing tackle boxes - the Plano ones are usually set up with individual trays with separable compartments, letting her set it up how she wants for rings she keeps a lot/little of.

Something like this works really well for storing a working set of rings, and then you can store tools and stuff in the top.

You might consider a tackle box of some kind.

For example, this one is pretty sizeable (16.5 x 12 x 16 inches ; 6 pounds), and has a ton of compartments.

I don't know how well it would work with large quantities of rings, but it can certainly hold a sizeable variety of rings.

The super basic kit:

Go to a hardware store and buy needlenose pliers and some steel wire and start making rings! You will need a mandrel to wrap coils on, and something to cut the coils apart. I would suggest a long 1/4" bolt and some diagonal cutters. You can also use a hacksaw to cut coils apart. Or, if you aren't up to cutting steel wire, get some copper, aluminum, or brass wire, since they are softer and easier to cut and form.

What a bummer.

Have you ever tried the knippex pliers? http://www.amazon.com/KNIPEX-20-01-140-Pliers/dp/B005EXNY42

Those are the base pliers that ring lord modifies. I haven't tried them stock, but I've been very pleased with the modified versions. I don't think the mod would be hard either. You just need the right tools. Basically you just shorten the nose and grind off the teeth.

I use this kind and they work fine.

Only one I could find for the same material was on Amazon and it was $160 for a tenpack of 60 inches of wire... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0013891OO/ref=biss_dp_t_asn

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Where do you buy your spring wire?

Some of those cuts are REALLY wide which of course will lead to the issue you are having. What kind of bolt cutters are you using? I've had nothing but trouble (bad cuts) with anything other than knipex ones:

http://www.amazon.com/71-01-200-SBA-Leverage/dp/B001H1HJQO/ref=sr_1_1?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1415484122&sr=1-1&keywords=knipex+bolt+cutters