In this part of the tutorial we actually get a look at how to make the rings for the chain mail. I will show you the tools and the jig used.

In the first part of the tutorial we took a quick look at the springs that we make. From these springs we cut all the rings.

We have to spin these out but it is not a difficult process.

I did this process of making the springs by building a little jig with some scraps of wood. The rod is a 36 inch rod and it is 3/8 of an inch thick. Pretty much as simple as this. The two uprights both left and righ have holes drilled in them so the rod can rotate freely.

We spin the coils by using a variable speed drill. I use a battery powered drill and it works really well for this. You can see in this picture that I have spun out a coil of wire.

About a foot from one end of the rod you should file a flat section then drill a hole in it. The hole will need to be large enough for the wire to fit in.

Once you have the spring run out you can cut off the individual chain links. This can be a bit of a difficult task and tough on your hands. Let me give you some tips on the tools you can use.

In the picture I am using a pair of 8 inch bolt cutters. These are probably the best and they are what I use. You can't use bolt cutters that are larger because the end of the tool won't fit into the ring to allow a snip.

Here are your two best options. The red handled tool is the bolt cutters I use. And the green handled tool is a pair of aviation tin snips. They work pretty good too.

Ok! Lets get to cutting rings.

And be sure to cut lots of them because it takes a whole lot of links to make anything. This picture shows a piece of chainmail that is about 3 inches square. It is composed of 83 links. It took me one solid hour to make this.

Okay! Finally! Lets move on to the part of the tutorial you have been dying to get to! How to weave the chainmail

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