Tony's Chain/Scale Maille Class News

Do ya’ll ever rivet the ends? I have welded some in the past. I’m not certain of the strength of either of them vs a knife

See ya there then and if you bring a coil of sturdy wire ill even show you how i make the stems too if theres time

i never have. i am interested in learning but its low on my list of priorities and isnt likely to be included in any of my classes any time soon however if you ask around in the jewelery dept. im sure you can get some training on the hydroflux welder thingummy they have out there in the shop

this is actually something i know a little bit more about. due to safety concerns however i am a bit reluctant to discuss using the things made in my class for personal protection. i dont want someone getting hurt because they tried to test out their new chainmaille vest, cape, bowtie or whatever. if you would like help with the testing process however bring any piece you want to test up to the maker space and ill help you devise and potentially run tests designed to give you a better idea how your piece works or not… in fact if there is enough interest perhaps ill teach a special class on breaking things to extract useful data in the future. sounds like it could be kinda fun :stuck_out_tongue:

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if you come to any of my advanced classes with the parts i listed i am more than happy to teach that to you but i dont know when the next time i will bring parts specifically to teach the flowers again.

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ok folks we just finished the advanced class in which we covered the flowers and even had some first timers show up which was awesome and some new regulars i didnt get to go into any of the intro scale stuff so that will likely be the next advanced class (tentative date 03AUG18 but ill post again as soon as i have more definitive news)

just a reminder the next class will be the beginner class on THURSDAY 19JUL18 and i think i said we would cover box weave but im really hoping folk stick around after because i would like to get all the way through alligator back

EDIT: as always if there is a specific topic/weave you would like me to cover or a question you want me to answer for you feel free to speak up!!! XD

hey all per Kevin’s suggestion here is the non-facebook hosted helpful links file.

Community Question - Are we ever going to schedule a “knitting circle” on anything like a routine basis? Not an organized class - but a gathering of mailers doing their thing, trading supplies & ideas, offering the 3 seconds of help on a pattern, etc…

I’d love to take part in a knitting circle with a good audio book going in the background and just making under good light and in good company…

Anyone interested?

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I would be very interested since that was kinda one of my end goals for doing the classes I would even offer up my house as a possible location cuz then I wouldn’t even have to drive :stuck_out_tongue: that said “Texas chainmaille” a local Facebook group apparently meets up once a month like that not sure when the next one is

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Crap I got called in to work Friday and just realized I was signed up for your class. So sorry! :disappointed_relieved::disappointed_relieved:

No worries life happens :slight_smile: next class is on the 19th

I just sent my join request to the FB page.

But I was hoping it would be at DMS really - as I’m only 7 min from the space anyway.

I’m almost jealous cuz im out in the Mckinney/Frisco area that said I’m still down for it at the maker space and if there is enough interest in such a thing I’ll even drop back down to one class a month to organize if not host it but again that’s only if we can get enough folk together that wanna do such a thing

so question for my advanced class folks:

would any of you be interested in a class on how to apply a patina to copper and seal it?
if so do you think itd be worth trying to set it up as a collaboration with the science dept.?

so another idea i had was for the intermediate class to help me make something for the maker space wall something large ish a scale wall hanging or a chain sheet with a weaved in design… any thoughts?

hey all the next classes have been submitted to the calendar for the 10th and the 24th of august. the advanced class will be on the 10th and as usual its gonna be about personal projects but if no one has any thing they need help with or wanna work on then ill probably do an intro to scale. the next beginner class will be the 24th and for that class ill be teaching hp 4-1 and if there is time Half Persian 3-1 and European 4-1 ribbon. hope to see you all there XD

well all we had a very swell intro to scale class tonight we saw some new faces and had a lot of folk eager to learn lots of things. i taught scale sheet, scale ribbon, mobius, box weave, and assisted with some new projects i’m quite excited to see completed. we did have a few more folks than i was expecting but that’s very rarely a bad thing. :stuck_out_tongue: unfortunately everyone got tired and split before we got to the suprise project materials so nothing was handed out this time. :frowning: still there were a few things handed out at my last beginner class so we have that to look forward to.

some additional swell news is i was approached about potential new equipment. now i don’t wanna get anyone’s hopes up but soonish we might get some new pliers in the shop for our classes (SQUEE!!!) anyway i mention it because its been a little while since anyone asked me about tools. therefore, as soon as i compile a list of tool recommendations ill post that here with as much supporting info as i can manage so stand by for that.and i will of course as always be available for additional questions.

Finally as a reminder the next class is my beginners class and it will be on 24AUG2018 at our usual time and we will be covering HP 4-1. this is a weave we have had some issues with in the past however if all goes well on my end ill have some new visual aids that will make this a bit easier to all concerned.

well, a be uh du du uhhhh thats all folks! hope to see you again soon… ish… :stuck_out_tongue:

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oh one more important thing as we come into the holiday months the classes may drop to one a month instead of two to work around holiday plans. this will likely start in september and run through december. as always i will put out new info as soon as i have it but feel free to remind me and keep me honest. XD.

ok im gonna start this off with the most bare bones short answer i can about tools then incase it helps any ill add as much additional info as i can regarding my recomendations and my reasons for those recomendations.

Q: what tools would you like to help with your classes and what well known vendor can i get them from?
A: i would highly recommend TheRingLord(TRL) since they are a very well known and reliable supplier for chainmaille supplies. whats more in the future if i happened to be asked what materials i would want to order for the shop this is where most of them would come from.

RioGrande has the KX483 and the KX486 at these links.

alternatively if you would like to use amazon you can find the KX483 and the KX486 at those links.

you cannot to my knowledge order them directly from Xuron however their website is www.xuron.com and you might ask. at the very least if the spring, jaws or grips fail they have a track record of replacing tools free of charge depending on the circumstances.

in any event these are the only vendors i know of that sell those tools so lets move on to the long answer


Recomended Tools (~$15/ea + S&H):
Xuron Short Flat Nose Pliers KX483 - this is a short nose pair of pliers with a square tip its small enough to work on small rings or in tight spaces but wide enough to work with larger rings in a wide variety of gauges from 14-24 SWG comfortably over all this is a versatile tool well suited for the largest range of applications whats more Xuron has a stupendous customer service record and a history of modifications based on customer input

Xuron Bent Nose Pliers KX486 - this pair also has short jaws but these have a 90 degree bend i have become very fond of i have used the same pair for 4-5 years and they are still serving me well these should work on everything from 14-24 SWG again in a large range of sizes and is possibly the second most versatile tool i have behind the short nose pliers listed above

both models have a mid size grip suitable for a large range of hand sizes though i am told prolonged use (i believe 6-8 contiguous hours) can lead to superficial discomfort due to the thinness of the grips. i have not experienced this issue personally nor have i had any complaints from the students using my personal tools.

Maintenance:
3 in 1 oil for lubrication (i have performed once on my tool set and have not needed to again despite a high dust/grime storage environment)

2 part epoxy for the grips (after years of use the grips on my pair gave out after about 3 years and started sliding on the handles 2 careful applications of epoxy under the grips sorted that right out)

sand paper for resurfacing in the 60-160 grit range to occasionaly improve grip (at a rough estimate i do this every 2-3 thousand rings depending on the material im working with)

these pliars will rust however it has never impeded the operation of mine in the slightest nor have i taken any steps to combat or prevent this aside from continued normal use.


now for extra stuff i didnt include in the original list but will add for a more comprehensive list of the tools i use:

for general use in supporting private projects for my intermediate/advanced classes dealing with the harder metals like steel, stainless, titanium, niobium, etc i would recommend the following SPECIALLY MODIFIED pliers for ~$40/ea + S&H for the ones i have or ~$20 for a pair with less ergonomic grips

Modified Knipex 2002160 Plier with ergonomic handles KX200-ERGOMOD - these wide jaw short nose pliers have been ground down professionally by TRL staff and i have personally used them on gauges from 10-19 SWG on rings from 7/32" to 2" the offer a wide surface area, top notch control, comfortable handles, support further modifications, and extra leverage for those tough metals and i owe the success of several projects to my double pair of these pliars and i can rattle off several professional maillers that will gleefully tell you the same. in short if you intend to do anything with these harder metals these are some nice forking pliars to have

Xuron Tweezernose Plier KXTWEEZERNOSE - for my first set of tools i paired these with the KX486 bent nose pliars listed above and i used them happily for years and still do for small projects with tight spaces however i found that as i got more used to chainmaille that the longer jaws meant less control and grip than the KX483’s listed above however they excel at reaching into a weave to grab/position that last ring and visibility.
can be found on Amazon or TRL for ~$15/ea + S&H

ok that was long and now im sleepy so if you have further questions please ask but for now i think im about to fall asleep at my computer so let me know if i missed anything :smiley:

Tony was great to talk before class. Think I would be interested in trying to do a few extra large bronze split key rings.

so far based on what we discussed i have only managed to find one vendor id bother recommending… 30mm bronze split rings (~1.2 inch)
if that’s not what you’re looking for let me know and ill keep looking…

yup so far this is the best i could find there were a few other candidates but the quality was poor so i didnt list them