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[kisame12794]

NIce. I am still plodding my way through making my scalemaille vest. I may post a tut on how to make an auto roller for those of you who still make their own rings.

[silverskull39]

That would be cool. I've got a drill hooked up to a mandrel for coilling the wire and I'm working on rigging a foot trigger for it so I can use both hands. For now I'm cutting with aviator snips but I'm working on a setup to use a dremel, but I have to get a special blade, I think.

[Girlinhat]

I attempted a dremel.  I burned myself...  Get the diamond saws, the really really fine tipped ones.  I got the lame pipe cutter blade and it's fairly terrible.  There's also all sorts of tutorials out there on how to lube the blade.

[CatalystParadox]

Lube is really, really important.  Also, I didn't think about how that would sound before I posted it.  But it's nonetheless very true.

[kisame12794]

I use a dremel, and it works fine for me. Although i do have more experience with them, but yes a better blade is essential.

[MarcAFK]

Posting to watch, also :

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

1/2" Galvy steel rings, 14g.

That looks awesome, though personally i prefer bronze/ brass, for the colour.

[Girlinhat]

Eidolon got a lot of Galvanized Steel before he realized how poor it was, so he doesn't have much of an option there.  I also love bronze, well, love-hate, because it's a fun material, but annoying to work with.  I like having it, but don't like working with it

[Eidolon]

Aye, what she said . I also really like bronze, I was even considering making my entire hauberk out of it, but it's rather expensive.
I feel a bit like a dwarf with bronze in my preferences - it gives me some sort of inexplicable happy thought. Anyways, thank you for the compliment.

[Eidolon]

Just ordered 7lbs of 16g stainless so I can start work on my hauberk. I'm going to have to order more later, certainly, but it's enough to keep me busy for a while. Still feeling indecisive about mild steel or stainless for the hauberk, but I guess once this material gets here I will make my mind up. Dropping money on material certainly makes me feel more commited

Bright aluminum rings with (I think) aluminum clasp.
-snip-

I missed this post earlier, somehow. Those look really nice. How well do the hook-clasps work? They seem simple enough, I think I might try to bend some of my own.

[CatalystParadox]

Eidolon got a lot of Galvanized Steel before he realized how poor it was, so he doesn't have much of an option there.  I also love bronze, well, love-hate, because it's a fun material, but annoying to work with.  I like having it, but don't like working with it

I feel the same way about Titanium alloy.  That stuff is a bitch and a half to get to do anything - but I work with it anyway because I also love the stuff.  Like a good dwarf - its stubbornness earns my respect.  I bear the cuts and scrapes and wrist strain from its violent springbacks and rapid metal fatigue as the marks of honor.

[Girlinhat]

I missed this post earlier, somehow. Those look really nice. How well do the hook-clasps work? They seem simple enough, I think I might try to bend some of my own.

Rather simple, actually.  It's just a hook.  I do a very good job of putting the bracelet over my stomach (or in my feminine case, my chest), and then pressing my wrist against the bracelet.  Let the hook hang to the middle of my wrist and pull the non-hook end up around, then it's easy to hook it on.  Takes just a little practice to figure out how to do it, but it's rather easy.  I also prefer these a whole lot because they have no moving parts.  Lobster clasps are the other popular choice, but they use a little spring-loaded arm and clasp.  The hook is a pure hook, nothing moves, and I rather like that simplicity.

Handmade hooks are easy, at least with weak materials.  Just take a ring, and pull it open wide.  Pull it apart, not the way that you open a ring to weave it.  Then take one point and compress it down with the pliers to make a 6 shape.  I've done it a few times, and it works amazingly well for how simple it is.  But stainless may be nigh-impossible to actually bend like that, so you may want to invest in real clasps from a craft store (or hit up Kisame for some handmade metalworking )

[kisame12794]

I could give it a shot, but depending on how fine you want them it may not be possible for me.

[Girlinhat]

I think hooks are more in the realm of "wire-bending" rather than "blacksmithing".

[OddTheTall]

I know it's possible to make similar hooks out of fencing wire - you just need two pairs of sturdy pliers.

[silverskull39]

word to the wise: if you're making your own hooks, beware that ones made from hand cut wire can be rather pokey/scratchy. They work fine, but they chafe after a while and depending on how they lay may leave scratches.