You chose your chainmaille project. You made the jewelry. It came out well. But now you want to share your creation with other people. Maybe you’re selling your work, or maybe you just want to brag to your friends – in either case you’ll want good pictures. Unfortunately, metal can be tricky to photograph. I’ll… [Read More]
Model Ship
Most of my rings grow up to be chainmail, or at least some sort of jewelry. But every once in a while a truly unusual project comes along. Back in 2007, Ray contacted me from Kentucky about rigging rings for his 1/24th model of the HMS Surprise. He needed recoil rigging rings for itty bitty… [Read More]
How do you use a tumbler?
The first thing I’ll say about tumblers is to get one! If you only work in gold fill and niobium, then maybe you don’t need one, but for any material that tarnishes (sterling silver, copper, and jewelry brass) a tumbler will be your best friend. There are many types of tumblers available, but the main… [Read More]
How do you store and organize your rings?
When I first started making rings, I didn’t have nearly as many sizes as I do now, but even with just a few dozen, I wanted a way to keep them in order and scan quickly for a specific size. Plastic bags were no good – I needed something rigid. The screw-together clear plastic bead… [Read More]
Aspect Ratio
The aspect ratio (or AR) is a way of describing how thick/thin a ring is. This is desperately important to chainmaillers because not all weaves use the same size rings. Let me repeat that, since it’s really important… Not all weaves use the same size rings. Here are a couple weave examples to show you… [Read More]
Choosing Pliers
Choosing the right pliers for your rings and your hands will make all the difference. #1 – Look for pliers with springs. Without springs, you’d need to “use up” fingers for opening the jaws – much better to save as many fingers as you can for manipulating your chain and your rings. It’s also important… [Read More]