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Mandrels

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Categories: Jewelry; Projects and equipment

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The first things I bought when starting my venture into chainmail were mandrels (metal rods) from the DIY store. After countless hours trying to make them worthy they were just too poorly made to fix. Rather quickly they were replaced with precision-ground O-1 tool steel drill rods (3/32" to 1/2" in 1/64" increments). Problem solved.

Larger sizes were jimmy-rigged with sockets, pipes, and whatever else was around. Not exactly scientific but they worked. That wasn't the end of the story. A collection of 3ft O-1 rods in no more than 1/32" increments was recently purchased in the 33/64" to 1" size range. $600 later....

Now it was time to make the 1" to 2" set in 1/32" increments from a bunch of stainless rods I recently purchased. A decent lathe would make quick work of them. Unfortunately, that is far from the reality at my job...recalibrating that piece of shit machine on a twice-per-rod-basis pushed my patience to its breaking point.

(I should have known better because everything, especially management, is grossly dysfunctional and broken at work. It makes the TV show The Office look like it is an offshoot of the Mensa Society!)

Metal is expensive these days; specialty alloys are more costly than silver. I looked up the price of all the bars in this size range and it was over $4000! Spending 20 hours - the original, long-surpassed estimate based on functioning equipment - to make them from my existing bar stock was better than dumping some serious coin.

One of two adapter pieces fit on the end of each mandrel so it can be used with a 1/2" drill. A flat spot on the shank and a set screw in the adapter hold it secure. I haven't determined the best way to coil wire on them but it'll have to be damn strong and sturdy. My coil winding machine will require modifications and additional parts if it's even possible.

Large sizes will be used less frequently than their normal-sized cousins. Simply, it's a convenience that might not pay for itself. Overkill, maybe, but it'll be done forever and eliminate searching for the right size. However, some projects have used larger or odd-sized mandrels so it's not a panacea. Storing and accessing them easily and safely will be a mini-project as well.

Then there's the tiny micro-mandrel set I bought for repairing mesh purses and making impossibly small maille (increments around 1/100"). To further build my collection I purchased a set of 33/64quot; to 1" O-1 precision drill rods in 1/32" or smaller increments since there's no way to easily or efficiently manufacture them myself. Many Ben Franklins later....

All of my mandrels double as tools. Some will be cut into tiny pieces to make additional tools. Others will be free-standing to use as guides and pins on jigs. If you don't have them you can't use them so it'll be interesting to see what develops in the future.

Posted by M: December 21, 2023

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