Daily Wire Tip Jan. 6: Tumbling Jump Rings for Chain Maille
Daily Wire Jewelry Making Tip for
January 6, 2011
Question:
I have started making chain maille jewelry, but I find that most rings are too soft for my liking. I hear that tumbling the rings will temper them, giving them more strength. I would like to know what kind of media to use and how long to tumble them.
-Tom in Marshall, Missouri
Answer:
We have a great article that tells you about everything you need to know about tumbling your chain maille pieces, called Tumbling Your Jewelry. It can also be found in our Resource Center, under Caring for your Jewelry.
I am sure that a lot of folks will add additional experiences and advice, so be sure to check back on this post!
Answer contributed by Dale “Cougar” Armstrong
Have a Question? Click Here to Submit Your Question
Click to Receive Daily Tips by Email
chain, chainmaille, how to, jump ring, mail, temper, tumbler, tumbling
Filed under:Cleaning, Polishing, & Care‚ Daily Wire Jewelry Tips‚ Jewelry Tool Tips‚ Light Lapidary
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
I have tumbled pmc with very good results. Wire with a coating will not stand much tumbling. I would check in every 10 minutes or so to make sure the coating is not being rubbed off. The same goes with fragil stones like turquoise…
I have tumbled them, but not for as long as the other stones. They can be tumbled enough to harden half hard wire, it won’t harden the soft wire enough though, not enough time in the tumbler.
I don’t have a lot of tumbling experience. However I have been putzing around with chaine maille for a few years and I have found that a lot of it is trial and error. When using a 14 gauge wire, you can make it on a very large mandrel and it will probably never be a problem. The wire itself is strong enough to keeps its shape. On the other hand, using a 21 gauge wire, your mandrel has to be quite small or your rings may twist and bend out of shape. For example, I am making a chain using 22 gauge bronze wire on a 2.35mm mandrel with two rings per link and it is very strong. If you are not following a pattern that gives you the gauge of wire and mandrel size to use, it’s all experimentation. Also the type of metal you use will make a difference too. Copper will be much stiffer and hold its shape better than silver. Hope this helps. I any case, you can still tumble your work to get burs off and shine them up.
Thanks Kathy : )
If you are using sterling wire or gold filled then the rings can be tumbled for a long time. I don’t know anything about coated wire. To tumble, use stainless steel shot of different shapes. You can buy it by the pound at various websites. Use Dawn dish soap or a burnishing compound to clean the rings. You can tumble wire for hours and hours. I’ve let the thing run for 24 hours when I have wire only pieces in there. I would certainly let it run a long time for jump rings.
I have made chain maille for several years, and have always used a tumbler with ceramic shot. Several sizes from real tiny to about a quarter inch in size. It works wonderful, work hardening the silver, or copper, and makes the piece shine really nice.
Hope this help you.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Cheryl!
I’ve been doing and teaching chain maille for years. While I currently purchase my jumprings, I seriously considered making my own about three years ago. I spent hours on the phone talking to my jumpring supplier and he was wonderful with sharing the process with me. To summarize our conversation, he typically uses half hard wire (there are some cases where he uses soft) and then tumbles them in his vibratory tumblers for 8 – 10 hours to work harden them and remove the burrs.
I personally use a rotary tumbler for all my chain maille and classes and use mixed stainless steel shot and a drop or two of Dawn dishwashing soap with water to clean and work harden my pieces. I have no experience with coated wire…typically work with sterling and gold filled.
Hey Celeste, Far Out!! thanks so much for sharing some ‘direct’ info with us : )
Happy NEW Year!
Dale
I would also try using stainless steel jump rings. They are very sturdy rings without tumbling. Alot of the coifs and “armor” items are made using stainless steel for strength. Bronze & brass are also harder metals used in making jump rings.