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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    ORANGE
    Posts
    2

    Default Cutting wire springs

    I'm trying to find a good way to cut wire springs to form single coils. If you're confused, what I am doing is using fencing wire and coiling it around a 15mm bar to form long coils. Then I am cutting a slot down the length using wire cutters. This is all in the aim of making chainmail.
    So the question really is, whats a easier, better and safe way to cut the slot in the springs?

  2. #2
    Andy Mac Guest

    Default

    Hi Chompy,
    You could keep the coiled wire on the bar, clamped in a vice, and run down it with a cutting disc on an angle grinder. I don't know if the burred edge will worry you, or if the temper of the (HT?) fencing wire will be altered at the cut.

    Cheers

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Mackay North Qld
    Posts
    6,446

    Default

    Hacksaw in a guide jig.

    Grahame Collins

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    Sydney,Australia
    Posts
    174

    Default

    If you are using common gal. fencing wire, then you can do a fair job with a hacksaw & a 32 tpi blade - get the blades with the hard teeth 'welded' on - if you look closely you can usually just see the join. Cheap blades will just leave you frustrated, ditto blades with coarse teeth.

    Just clamping a solid coil in a vice will work, or you could make a couple of grooved wooden false jaws to hold the coil. You will have to trim off the little dags that are left as the rings break off the coil.

    Some people wind very open coils, then use modified tin snips to cut the open coils apart. This results in rings with ends that go together with an 'X' shaped gap, which will definitely result in 'moths' as the gaps in different rings line up. Also the snips have a definite fatigue life after you have ground one jaw down to fit into the coil - you will go thru a few joint bolts & then the thin jaw will break.

    Also, use at least 2.5mm wire - anything thinner is just an invitation to the 'moths'.

    If you are using hard wire, then you will probably need a 'Dremel' type tool and some reinforced cutting disks - use a dowel mandrel to support the rings or you will have bits of broken disks everywhere - for the same reason, NEVER use an angle grinder - if the blade breaks you could easily loose an eye or get a frontal lobotomy, even if you are wearing a face sheild, glasses & etc.

    Most 'old timers' eventually go to a spring making company & get single turn springs. aka spring washers, in the right size - available in plain or plated finish.

  5. #5
    Andy Mac Guest

    Default

    The hacksaw idea is fine, although with blades at $2+ each now you don't want to be breaking any. Certainly no electrons wasted! I have recently bought a small set of bolt cutters for about $30 and they work well for this sort of work.
    With respect bsr, cutting discs on a grinder CAN be dangerous, but as usual they need to be used with care. For years I've had an aversion to cutting discs, but use a grinder almost daily. From recent use I've learned a few things, one of them is that they are efficient items! Anything that can flex or pinch as the cut is completed will cause dramas, which is why I said to clamp the wire in the vice with the rod inside it. And of cause make sure you don't wander off line...the kerf should always keep in line with the cutting action, so there is no flexing of the disc. I have just finished cutting apart and modifying a car, chassis and all, with a 9" grinder and a small 4"(only using the oxy where the disc wouldn't fit) and had no trouble really, apart from the big one being a mother to hang onto! Respect the tool, and yourself by wearing the right gear, secure the work and take it slowly.

    Cheers,

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Hobart
    Age
    43
    Posts
    43

    Default

    Sorry to say it, but I have tried all of the methods above and none work particularly well.

    The grinder leaves a gap that is far too wide.

    The hacksaw will skip and the vice won't hold the piece particularly well.

    The Dremel tool is expensive (as the discs disappear quickly) and surprisingly inefficient.

    The best tool I have found (by far) is a jewellery saw.

    You make the coil, then slip the blade through the middle. Then cut out of the coil. The blade self centres (as it is a curve on the inside) and it is really very quick. The blades are cheap, the saw frames are cheap and the result is finish on the rings is close to flawless.

    Oh, one tunr springs ARE the easiest way, but that feels like cheating to me.

    Cam

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    "The Home of the Biting Midge" MountainCreek Qld
    Posts
    417

    Default

    Hey Chompy, you know a Kevlar jacket would be a lot easier don't you?


    P

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Hobart
    Age
    43
    Posts
    43

    Default

    ...bit of silver spray paint... No-one would know the difference.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    melbourne
    Posts
    8

    Lightbulb

    This is all in the aim of making chainmail.
    So the question really is, whats a easier, better and safe way to cut the slot in the springs?
    A dremel tool and either a reinforced fibre glass cutting disc or diamond cutting disc will cut through steel - both with ease. Using a diamond cutter would be quite wasteful though as the fibreglass cutting disc will do the job with ease.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
    ORANGE
    Posts
    2

    Default thanks

    thanks everyone for the help, I think I'll experiment a bit with whats been suggested and make a coif.

    Then, depending on my success, go to the full suit.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    NSW
    Posts
    3

    Default

    http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=e...le+Search&meta=

    "A good set of aviation tin snips with a straight cut - I have tried other methods of cutting the rings like bolt cutters and hacksaws but the tin snips are the best way I have found to cut through the wire."
    http://warlock.ucc.asn.au/MCRWA/Prod.../chainmail.htm



    HJO

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