R&D - Some More Ring Cutting, Why Not?

This summer flew by fast before I realized it's almost gone.  I didn't maille much; just some experiments here and there; those were fun!

But I know there are quite a number of projects on my to-do list, waiting for me to get started.  Well, to be exact, they're waiting for the jump rings to be ready, namely several different sizes of niobium rings.  Time to cut some rings!!  Nothing like firing up a few power tools to get things going fast :-)

The first batch:  Some niobium rings in 1.3 mm wire, 1/4" ID, for a custom order of a Forget-Me-Not bracelet.

Yes, I'm starting from scratch, I mean, raw niobium wire, that is :-)  17 gauge SWG, at 1.3 mm thick, 20 feet long, just under 2.5 oz.  Power winding in 4 batches onto 1/4" transfer punch.

Yes, I know there are the messy over coiling on the ends.  They used to bother me a lot... Not any more; don't sweat the small stuff, I was told!

Here's why having a Ringinator is a major plus:  Cut off the messy ends, run the good coils through the ring cutter. And in no time, you get this!

Well, there were a few more steps in between... like washing, tumbling, sifting thru the stainless steel shots, and 2 rounds of QC: first one to separate the obvious scraps; second to pick out the defects, like over- or under-cuts, non-circulars, severely bruised, etc.  See the pile of short coils and squigglies?  I used to labor over a hand saw for hours on end (felt like it...) trying to recover them; not anymore; they go into other future projects and experiments!

Then I'm left with the pile on the right, 170+ nice, clean cut jump rings, ready to go.  As to the middle 5 rings, they are randomly picked out, properly closed to be measured for the actual ID entered on my spreadsheet.  Yes, good documentation is not only a virtue, it's a necessity, for a complicated computer system, as well as a lovely handmade chainmaille bracelet!

What have I learned from this batch of rings?  Mind the direction when winding wire.  Noticed the two rings above have different handedness?  The right-handed ring on the left, and the left-handed ring on the right.  Do they make any difference in the end product?  For the majority of weaves, probably not.  But I'll admit, having consistent ring handedness does seem to contribute to a smooth flow of hand movement during weaving.

What do you think?  Have you noticed any advantage or disadvantage in using mixed handedness of rings?  Or am I over analyzing and missing the fun?  LOL!

Next step in prep:  Add some colors!  Stay tuned ;-)

R&D - More Cutting Rings by Hand

As I work on a custom order of a niobium chainmaille finger ring, I thought it's about time I document the process of going from wires to chains.  This is how I first started doing chainmaille back in 2008.  Lots have changed since then.  Now we have many excellent sources specializing in chainmaille supplies.  But once in a while, I enjoy going back to the way it had all started.  So, here it is!

I'm making a Oops finger ring in pure niobium, based on this ring:

 A chainmaille Oops ring in 20 gauge AWG sterling silver.  This one was picked up by my old friend Mary S. :-)  A little more about it in this post here.

This time, my friend Joy M., who's my partner-in-crime from two of my previous lives, wants one of these in anodized niobium to match her bracelet and earrings.  So here it goes!

I start with a bundle of niobium wire.

Cut a length of this wire; I cut about 98".  btw, I use memory wire cutter; don't use your fancy flush cutters for silver or copper; niobium will chew them right up.

Coil tightly on a 7/64" mandrel, I get two coils, each looking like this.

I learned to cut coils by wrapping masking tape around it, put it onto a saw blade, then saw cut from the inside.  This cutting method was introduced in a free tutorial written by Carolyn Allan on JewelryLessons.com long time ago; it's no longer available on that site; but I've been faithfully following her method.

I load the blade cut side facing downward towards my right hand.  Start cutting from inside the coil like this:

I like to draw a straight line on the masking tape just as a visual guide for the blade.  Then cut steadily, keeping the blade to the top of coil, aim for the first 4 or 5 rings.  For this length of coil, it took me about 20 minutes to cut through; the last few coils tend to be problematic; they can be cut, but will take more effort; I mostly leave them out and save them for other projects:

Open the masking tape, and I get these:

A whole coil of rings, neatly open up in a long roll:-)  The masking tape also helps catching most of the metal filing inside, that's a good thing for my lungs!  Oh right, I use Bur Life on both the coil and the blade, re-apply liberally.  Niobium gets warm very fast, seems more so than most other metals I've cut...

Open up the coil and let out the rings! Yay!!

I carefully pick them up and put into a small jar 1/3 filled with water, tiny drop of Sunsheen burnishing fluid, some stainless steel shots, then shake!

Shake shake shake!  Shake shake shake! :-)

This cleans the rings, knocks off small burs from the cut.

It's a little hard to see in this photo, but in that murky water are all the loose stuff that I don't want on the rings.  I pour the water out in the backyard at a spot where I don't plant anything.  Careful not to lose the rings or the shots:-)  According to Rio Grande's data sheet on Sunsheen, it's biodegradable.  I just don't want the metal bits accumulating in my kitchen drain.

Now we get the rings, nice and clean, ready to go!!

Not sure if you can see them, but I coiled these the "wrong" way, which makes them "left-handed", meaning the left side of the ring is closer to me when I hold up a ring with cut end facing up.

Nothing really "wrong" about them, but many maillers reported right-handed folks work better with right-handed rings when it comes to threading them into a weave, specially in tight spots.  I'm right handed, but I'll take them anyway they come :-)

So, this is just an example of how I make a small batch of rings by hand.  If it seems tedious, then making rings is probably not your thing, LOL!  I quite like it; there's a zen to it that helps me focus.

Here is after they're added to the Oops weave; it's almost there... !

Oh and yes, those are two pairs of my favorite pliers, Xuron 475.  My go-to pliers about 80% of the time!!

Whew, this is a long post for me!  But it's well worth it, even for myself!

Glad you stopped by!

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R&D - Saw-Cut Niobium Rings

This is something I had wanted to do even before I got my Ringinator :D

Specs

Niobium (yes, my favorite metal), 20 gauge AWG, half-hard, 0.2 oz, 144 coils on 3/32" mandrel, quick dips 3 times in anodizing bath, voltage 102, 85, 60, run thru Ringinator on 0.010" blade, with only soapy water and Rio Grande's Bur Life stick, loose rings anodized again at 35 volt for cut ends.

Counted 96 good ones.  Not bad for a first try.

What have I learned?

1. Get some real cutting fluid for the Ringinator.  Niobium loads up very fast on the blade, even at this thin gauge...
2. When cut by hand with a jeweler's saw, 8/o blades will do.  But do it in short coils, wrapped in masking tape; they heat up fast!
3. Use low speed on the drill.  Gauge for gauge, temper for temper, niobium is harder to cut than bronze or sterling silver.
4. Up the last anodizing voltage before cutting, to above 63, maybe, so that the final dip after cutting have more choices.
5. For large volume of rings in common sizes, it's still more economical to buy them!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this experiment, and will definitely do it again.

What do you think? ;-)

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