Hi, this is Wayne again with a topic “DIY Hacks & How To’s: Chainmail”.
Chainmaille is a kind of armor, that’s made from interlinked metal rings. Historically, it was used to protect soldiers from slashing and stabbing injuries. This kind of protective gear is still used today by some butchers and shark divers, in addition to being able to protect the wear from sharp objects, it’s also useful for protecting against high voltage electricity. Many people who work with tesla coils use chainmail as a kind of wearable faraday cage.
The metal suits, are able to safely redirect electricity around their bodies. Chainmail can even be made into decorative designs for jewelry. So today, i’m going to give you a brief introduction to the art of making chain mail. The first step in making chain mail is to make the rings start by selecting the kind of wire that you want to use to make armor. You probably want to use 16 gauge steel wire. You can buy large spools of it at a store that sells fencing supplies then select a cylinder to wrap the wire around. I used a 3 8 inch wooden dowel.
I drilled a hole on the side of the dial to hold one end of the wire. Then you just need to turn the dial and wrap the wire into a long coil to speed up the process. You can use a drill to turn it for you once you have a long coil of wire use a pair of bolt cutters to cut it into individual rings. Now you need to put the rings together in a pattern.
The most common pattern is european. Four in one, as the name suggests, each ring is linked to four other rings, they’re woven together in long alternating columns. Each ring is set at a slight angle to the rings that it intersects in the column next to it, to link the rings together, bend the ends, apart with a pair of pliers, then hook it through the center of the connecting rings and bend the ends back Together to close it to make a shirt of chain mail start by making a loop of chain mail, that’s wide enough to fit around your chest at the widest point. Make sure that the straight columns are oriented vertically then make two strips that will connect to it. As shoulder straps now just add rings and continue the pattern up and down to fill in the shape of a tank top shirt. To add sleeves, continue the pattern of the shoulder straps out to each side and connect the bottom edges to close off the bottom of the sleeves, as you go, make adjustments to ensure that it fits properly.
The procedure is really simple, but it takes a long time to finish. A shirt alone can take several weeks to complete besides making armor. You can also use your rings to make jewelry here are a few examples to make a serpentine chain loop, each ring through the center of the two rings above it and twist the chain into a spiral to make a box chain. Take a small piece of european foreign one and fold it in half connect the two sides.
Together there are a lot of different patterns you can use but feel free to invent your own. Well, that’s a quick introduction to the art of chainmail, thanks for watching and check back next week for more diy hacks and how to’s .