Post by squirrelslinger on Feb 10th, 2013 at 1:21pm
Mr. Squirrel has noticed that there are few people on these forums that make chain-mail slings. I have decided to change that with the squirrel-mail pouch. it is very light, fast, and durable-though I generally have the "thats awesome Ill give you $20 for it" problem... dont sling with friends! Anyway, this is made from 16 gauge spring-steel wire, zinc coated. rings are made by wrapping around a 3/8 steel rod. I cut the rings as I go, as I am short on material. This is much lighter than normal chainmail, and is more form-fitting.
So, enough talk. here is the tutorial.
First- gather your materials!
I have 200ft of 16 gauge wire, multi-snips, and a pliers. the 3ft steel rod is not in the pic! this takes approx 20 feet of 16 gauge, including the chains.
Then I cut a few rings. I cut my rings as I go, as it does not waste as much wire.
Then you attach 3 together as shown-
Then you attach 3 more to make this shape, it resemles a type of "flower"-
Then, make a 5 ring chain-
Then, attach using 3 rings to the 6-ring "flower"- you get this shape-
Then you make a 7 ring chain-
Then attach using 3 rings. This "weave" is something I came up with to save wire, before I learned real chain-mail.
The pouch is half-done. this is for a golf-ball size pouch. if you want a tennis ball size, go on to 9, and 13 ring chains.
Then you go backwards- add on a 5-ring chain using 3 rings
Then make another 6-ring "flower"-
Then attach using 3 rings. this makes a sort of integral 3 chains, with links betwen them forming the pouch. this cuts down on wind-resistance and weight.
Here is the finished pouch.
Then double the number of rings on the end of the pouch- this makes them less likely to open. I did not take a pic of this, sorry.
Then you make the retention and release chains- cut some 1.5" pieces of wire. you will probably need about 30 per chain.
then make a small hook in one end-
then add on to the rest of the chain- to make the first link just close the link. then attach second link.
close the link-
This is probably the most time-intensive part. I made this sling in only 3 hours, most of it was spent on the chains. I have made about 7 of these slings, and this is the best way to make them easily as I have found.here is the half-finished chain cords-
release is finished, retention is about half-done.
to make release/retention tabs, just make a small ball from wire and attach to end of release cord. retention, just make a small loop. I used silver-solder cause its cheap and feels softer and warmer(cause it does not conduct heat as well as wire) and is more comfortable.
here is a pic of the sling with golf-ball in pouch, showing how it cradles the golf-ball-
and here is a better pic of the sling pouch, with pouch over golf ball. chainmaille actually grips better than leather when made using this technique.
So, this sorta my first tutorial, and I am hoping that it gets into the slinger's guide ;)
this took me a total of 5 hours, about 2 hours typing, 2 making the release/retention chains, and 1 on the pouch.
I am applying to sling crafter, this is gonna be my tutorial!
Other than that, these last a while. my parents say I should sell these :)
you can get the wire and snips and pliers at your local hard-ware store, I paid approx $3 for 100' of wire.
Snips are used to cut wire. I made this before I went to bed, then got up and finished it and made the tutorial.
This is an easy alternative to traditional chainmaille, although not as pretty. These work good for throwing stuff that murders a traditonal sling, such as abrasive volcanic stone, broken glass, and broken chunks of metal with sharp edges.
Watch it with the release when you sling... it can whip you.
also, it will sling red-hot stones reliably. unlike traditional slings.
This is ment to be easy compared to a traditional chain-maille sling.
Thanks for reading it!
-Squirrel
So, enough talk. here is the tutorial.
First- gather your materials!
I have 200ft of 16 gauge wire, multi-snips, and a pliers. the 3ft steel rod is not in the pic! this takes approx 20 feet of 16 gauge, including the chains.
Then I cut a few rings. I cut my rings as I go, as it does not waste as much wire.
Then you attach 3 together as shown-
Then you attach 3 more to make this shape, it resemles a type of "flower"-
Then, make a 5 ring chain-
Then, attach using 3 rings to the 6-ring "flower"- you get this shape-
Then you make a 7 ring chain-
Then attach using 3 rings. This "weave" is something I came up with to save wire, before I learned real chain-mail.
The pouch is half-done. this is for a golf-ball size pouch. if you want a tennis ball size, go on to 9, and 13 ring chains.
Then you go backwards- add on a 5-ring chain using 3 rings
Then make another 6-ring "flower"-
Then attach using 3 rings. this makes a sort of integral 3 chains, with links betwen them forming the pouch. this cuts down on wind-resistance and weight.
Here is the finished pouch.
Then double the number of rings on the end of the pouch- this makes them less likely to open. I did not take a pic of this, sorry.
Then you make the retention and release chains- cut some 1.5" pieces of wire. you will probably need about 30 per chain.
then make a small hook in one end-
then add on to the rest of the chain- to make the first link just close the link. then attach second link.
close the link-
This is probably the most time-intensive part. I made this sling in only 3 hours, most of it was spent on the chains. I have made about 7 of these slings, and this is the best way to make them easily as I have found.here is the half-finished chain cords-
release is finished, retention is about half-done.
to make release/retention tabs, just make a small ball from wire and attach to end of release cord. retention, just make a small loop. I used silver-solder cause its cheap and feels softer and warmer(cause it does not conduct heat as well as wire) and is more comfortable.
here is a pic of the sling with golf-ball in pouch, showing how it cradles the golf-ball-
and here is a better pic of the sling pouch, with pouch over golf ball. chainmaille actually grips better than leather when made using this technique.
So, this sorta my first tutorial, and I am hoping that it gets into the slinger's guide ;)
this took me a total of 5 hours, about 2 hours typing, 2 making the release/retention chains, and 1 on the pouch.
I am applying to sling crafter, this is gonna be my tutorial!
Other than that, these last a while. my parents say I should sell these :)
you can get the wire and snips and pliers at your local hard-ware store, I paid approx $3 for 100' of wire.
Snips are used to cut wire. I made this before I went to bed, then got up and finished it and made the tutorial.
This is an easy alternative to traditional chainmaille, although not as pretty. These work good for throwing stuff that murders a traditonal sling, such as abrasive volcanic stone, broken glass, and broken chunks of metal with sharp edges.
Watch it with the release when you sling... it can whip you.
also, it will sling red-hot stones reliably. unlike traditional slings.
This is ment to be easy compared to a traditional chain-maille sling.
Thanks for reading it!
-Squirrel