Marinus on making Massive rings for chainmail shirt
When making chainmail shirt, to save time, not only riveted rings with round/domed or wedge-shaped rivets were used, but also solid rings. Each riveted ring was then connected with four solid rings in a 4-in-1 pattern. The chainmail shirt thus consisted of alternating rows of solid and riveted rings. This reduced the number of riveted rings by 50%, which saved a lot of time.
Punching a solid ring from sheet steel is indeed faster than making a riveted ring. With a riveted ring you have to wrap metal wire around a rod, cut the rings with overlap, flatten the overlap to make room for a hole, punch a small hole for the rivet, attach the not-yet-riveted ring to four other rings and then set the rivet.
Safety Warning
Wear eye and hearing protection!
Hearing protection is mandatory, eye protection is strongly recommended. You can also wear gloves if you don't want your hands to smell like metal for the rest of the day. Not wearing gloves? Then wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
Photo 1: All materials and tools: metal strips 1 mm thick (mild steel), two wooden frames with metal rods (to free stuck punches; the middle rods are 3 mm thick and protrude 35 mm, the left rods are 3 mm and 6 mm thick and protrude 40 mm), a metal punch die (40 mm thick) with holes of 6.1 mm and 9.1 mm and slots for the metal strips, punches of 6 mm and 9 mm and a hammer.
Photo 2: Punching a 6 mm hole in the metal strip.
Photo 3: Freeing the stuck 6 mm punch from the die using the metal rods and a hammer.
Photo 4: Result after punching the 6 mm hole: the metal strip with a 6 mm hole, the metal rod and the punched-out 6 mm metal disc are visible.
Photo 5: The crucial step: aligning the 6 mm hole with the 9 mm hole in the punch die.
Photo 6: Punching a 9 mm hole, centered on the 6 mm hole. This creates a ring with an inner diameter of 6 mm and a material thickness of approximately 1.5 mm.
Photo 7: Freeing the stuck 9 mm punch from the die using the metal rods and a hammer.
Photo 7: Freeing the stuck 9 mm punch from the die using the metal rods and a hammer.
Photo 8: Result after punching the 9 mm hole: the metal strip with a 9 mm hole, the metal rod and the newly formed solid ring are visible.
Photo 9: Lightly flatten the punched ring, because it has become slightly bent from the punching.
Photo 10: The finished solid ring.
Now you know how to make solid rings by punching them from sheet metal. With this method you can quickly and efficiently produce large quantities of consistent and durable rings. This is especially useful in chainmail projects where solid and riveted rings are combined.
With careful alignment, the right tools and attention to safety, this technique can significantly reduce total build time while still achieving historically plausible and structurally strong results. Suitable for armor building, reenactment or experimental research. The method can also be adapted to different ring sizes and materials, depending on your wishes and requirements.
A small historical note
Until the 14th century, much European chainmail consisted of alternating rows of rings with round/domed rivets and solid rings. In the 14th century, European chainmail makers began to switch from round/domed rivets to wedge-shaped rivets, while they often still used alternating rows of solid and riveted rings.
Over time, the use of solid rings decreased. By the end of the late Middle Ages, most European chainmail consisted largely or entirely of rings with wedge-shaped rivets, and solid rings became rare [1].
[1] Richardson, T. (2011). "Armour in England, 1325–99". Journal of Medieval History, 37 (3), pp. 304–320. doi:10.1016/j.jmedhist.2011.06.001
