A central place to talk about weapons and armour, as it relates to your kit. This is where you show it of or talk about making it. Discussing the relative merits of types of weapons goes in the WMA section.
I've discovered the secret to hand-winding (no power tools) rings and maintaining my sanity at the same time!
Coming home to find my wife winding rings was certainly a surprise, but definitely a welcome one; she's wound two or three sets now, which accounts for at least 2 or 3 hundred when cut. And, of course, Shadow is ever-present, watching it all and wondering when he gets to take a crack at it.
There's an easier way without powertools. Using a block of wood with a hole drilled through it. Place the block in a vise, put one end of your spindle in the hole in the wood and lock the other end in an old hand cranked drill. It's a lot easier on the hands or at least on Lori's hands.
DUUUDE!!! You've accomplished in about a year what I haven't been able to do in 17 years of marriage! Just kidding Lori. Very neat coils. That's a nice job that I don't seem to be able to faithfully duplicate with the drill.
Ichthean Forge (pronounced Ick thee an). Maker of knives, and primitive camping gear.
Have any of you tried building a mandrel, but instead of using the drill with it using a handle? You can get a lot of leverage out of it, it's much more controllable than the drill, and you can go whatever speed you want to! I would also suggest using gloves when coiling this way if you aren't already, as the wire (especially if it's a long coil) will build up a LOT of tension in it. You can think about the consequences...
Life before Death.
Strength before Weakness.
Journey before Destination.
Yes, I started with a mandrel bent to be a handle at one end. Most people who started when I did had the same rig.
I moved on to drills since it shortened construction time a bit..and saved my shoulder some. Repetitive motion can be a problem, which is also why I alternate aspects of mail making.
Do what works best for you. A hand cranked one is certainly less expensive and quieter.
When I first considered making Maille several years ago, I made a mandrel that way. When I actually got started making maille this time, I tried to find it, but after moving to a new house, the mandrel is MIA. I'm wondering if I forged it into something else. I know it made the move, but it is gone now.
Ichthean Forge (pronounced Ick thee an). Maker of knives, and primitive camping gear.
Eric C wrote:DUUUDE!!! You've accomplished in about a year what I haven't been able to do in 17 years of marriage!
Give it a couple more months, and I may be causing some minds to explode. Full-blown ranger kit for a certain special female is on the way...and she's actually agreed to give it a shot.
Very nice Eric: Most people do the sleeve length last, your way gives a better impression of how the whole shirt will look like when complete. The different colored rings, whether intentional or not adds a great deal to the overall effect.
Thanks. Yeah the different colored rings was unintentional. I bought the same wire every time, but the first spool was brighter than the rest. But now that I see it in the pics, it does look pretty good. I haven't closed the hole under the arms yet. But that's coming soon. As you can probably tell, the back is not as long as the front yet.
Ichthean Forge (pronounced Ick thee an). Maker of knives, and primitive camping gear.
Looking good, Eric! I miss how quickly butted maille comes along; I'm still doing prep work for assembly. I finished winding all the wire I had today; now I get to flatten all of it, then punch all of it, and THEN, only then, do I get to start assembly.
On a different note...the two-toned maille will match that cloak of yours!
I'm excited for Lori. You need to get her on the forums, Greg.
Looking awesome, Eric. You have skills.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
By the way, Greg, is that Lori wearing the Red Fish Blue Fish socks? Those are absolutely awesome socks. Dr. Seuss for the win.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
