Maille Flattening Tool

[Len Parker]

I was looking at Steve Sheldon's simple but clever ring flattening tool http://www.arador.com/construction/forth3b.html and I was wondering if it was necessary to have the base of it made out of metal. It's only function is to hold the piston perfectly vertical. Since you're not actually striking the bottom part in any way, wouldn't it be easier to drill a hole in a block of hardwood, maybe put a little grease on the inside? You'd have to hold the base steady when you're hammering, but you'd probably be doing that anyway. I would think that matching a drill bit to the same size as your metal rod would be a lot easier than finding a metal block with the same size hole in it. A drill press would help getting a perfect angle of course. Just me thinking.

[Konstantin the Red]

There are a great many ways to make such tools, including using a forge to heat a thick plate of metal and using your flattening punch to put blind-ended holes about halfway through the thickness of the plate to make cups that restrain a link from being spread out. Link in hole, piston on link, hit other end with hammer, empty out hole.

Or use steel plate and a springloaded piston flattening tool that resets itself after you've whacked it with the hammer.

I've my doubts as to all this because I use a hammer and an anvil (or steel plate as substitute), unmodified, to flatten links in two steps. It takes about the same number of seconds per link to do it this way as to line up a flattening piston tool upon a link whose wire has been left round.

How I do it:

• Coil wire around a 3/8" dia mandrel
  Cut coil into loose links
  Flatten 3/8" links with heavy hammer on anvil, concentrating on link ends especially
  Shrink the preflattened links down around a 5/16" mandrel, giving 3/16" overlap
  Final-flatten 5/16" links on anvil again

No modifications to tools, no tools to make, great simplicity except in keeping up with which step you're on -- labeled yoghurt containers with lids are great in keeping things sorted. Aside from containers, the entire tool list is two mandrels, anvil, large hammer, and a pair of needlenose pliers, which both pinch links down on the final-size mandrel but make a good go/no-go gauge for links that may be over- or under-sized. Hand cutting can sometimes be sloppy.

[Thomas Powers]

I would think that matching a drill bit to the same size as your metal rod would be a lot easier than finding a metal block with the same size hole in it. A drill press would help getting a perfect angle of course

Of course if you have a drill press and the correct sized drill bit you could drill the correct sized hole in a metal block---have to step drill it most likely but that's a common need anyway with large holes...

[Halberds]

I think a wooden thing with a hole in it might work.
Or look around scrap piles for something that might work.
The slide and weight from a junked slide hammer?

That sure looks labor intensive to me, no wonder they call it a madness.
However... my riveted coif is my very best favorite.

Best of luck on your tool quest.
The pliers made from end nippers were cool.
That was a good ol' tutorial from the days of Arador.

[Leonardus]

Relatively cheap:
http://www.tractorsupply.com/x-series-h ... re-1170620
And 3/4" chunk of drill rod:
http://www.mcmaster.com/#drill-rods/=fwe5rm

[Halberds]

That's a good idea.
Thinking out of the box.