Beadsisters Sizing Conversions

[GoldenLeveret]

Hi everyone, Leveret here!

Has anyone developed a conversion chart for Beadsisters sizing notation to 'standard' chainmail sizes? I learnt with Beadsisters and am having to relearn what I need to make things with standard notation.

 

[MrDeranged]

Hi everyone, Leveret here!

Has anyone developed a conversion chart for Beadsisters sizing notation to 'standard' chainmail sizes? I learnt with Beadsisters and am having to relearn what I need to make things with standard notation.

Hi Leveret! Welcome to the site.

I guess my question for you is what do you consider 'standard' chainmail sizes? Right now, it looks like most (if not all) of the Beadsisters Tutorials are listed with AWG wire diameters and Inner Diameters. Those values should be enough to give you an AR which you could use to find out which other ring sizes of your choice would work.

Give a mailler a ring size and they will weave for a day. Teach a mailler AR and they will weave for a lifetime...

 

[GoldenLeveret]

That is a good point Mr Mod. My question was more, if I know a project takes 7-50s, but have no 7-50 bags left over to get the measurements off, how will I know what size they are? 7-50 is just an example, as I actually have lots of 7-50 bags over ;-) I learned to make a bunch of things knowing 'this takes lots of 6-50s and a bag of 6-64s' but I don't have any references for what those actually are any more.

 

[Sabin]

I'm having the same issue. I learned how to weave using rings and patterns from Blue Buddha Boutique. Then I stopped for a couple of years. When I started weaving maille again I discovered, to my horror, that BBB was no longer selling rings. Thankfully, BBB retained its web site. On that web site, Rebecca maintains a list of her former ring names accompanied by their wire and dimensions. I've screwed up a couple times, ordering what I thought were BBB equivalent s, but I've gotten better. Does Beadsisters retain any kind of website that would give you the information you need?

 

[GoldenLeveret]

Hi Sabin,

Unfortunately the Library section of the Beadsisters website is no longer up. I'm hoping to make a conversion chart for myself soon though. I had no idea that BBB wasn't selling any more, I always love Rebecca's designs. Luckily it looks like the design side of things is still going, although I was looking forward to trying some of the advanced kits. I really must go through my comissons supply list and try and 'work out' the Beadsisters sizings

Leveret.

 

[Sabin]

Leveret: Best of luck. I still screw up, even with the information right under my nose. You might try Metal Designz. She used to cut rings for BBB and was able to bail me out the last batch of specifically sized jump rings I needed. And Weave Got Maille also supplied BBB. Call some of the ring suppliers; maybe one of them supplied Beadsisters and can help you.

 

[GoldenLeveret]

Hi Sabin -I was organising my rings today, and have come up with the following based on what was on the B Beadsisters packets I had left - apologies to them for any mistakes. Hope this helps people!

 

[Sabin]

I'll give you credit, Leverett. You've got more patience than me. What an odd naming system. BBB used a system of letters and numbers. L18, for example, meant 18 gauge wire, 1/4mm inner dimention. Beadsisters' labeling system appears to be totally unconnected to anything, not giving you the tiniest hint of wire size, much less ID. I'm glad you've got that figured out. Happy weaving!

 

[Carol Fiorilli]

Hi Leveret! Welcome to the site.

I guess my question for you is what do you consider 'standard' chainmail sizes? Right now, it looks like most (if not all) of the Beadsisters Tutorials are listed with AWG wire diameters and Inner Diameters. Those values should be enough to give you an AR which you could use to find out which other ring sizes of your choice would work.

Give a mailler a ring size and they will weave for a day. Teach a mailler AR and they will weave for a lifetime...

Love that!!! (And, you don't hardly sound deranged to me!!!) <3

 

[Bobbie]

I would love to get a copy of that spreadsheet is it available or is it now up on this site. I have always tried to figure out how to read them and like you the actual size, but I don't understand the way they have listed it.

 

[chainmaillers.com]

Sorry its taken so long, but we were able to reach out to Beadsisters and get the following information from them regarding their ring sizes:

Jump Ring Sizes​

Jump rings are given a reference number, such as 3-32. But, what does that mean? Well, the code is made up from two numbers separated by a hypen. The first number relates to the size of the hole, the internal diameter. The second number relates to the wire thickness. Since this code originates in the USA, it refers to imperial measurement units (ie fractions of inches).

The first number.​

This number depicts the inside diameter of the ring as shown in the table below:

​

1st No	inside diameter	decimal inches	mm
1	3/32"	0.09375	2.38125
2	1/8"	0.125	3.175
3	5/32"	0.15625	3.96875
4	3/16"	0.1875	4.7625
5	7/32"	0.21875	5.55625
6	1/4"	0.25	6.35
7	9/32"	0.28125	7.14375
8	5/16"	0.3125	7.9375
10	3/8"	0.375	9.525
12	1/2"	0.5	12.7
14	5/8"	0.625	15.875
16	3/4"	0.75	19.05
24	1/12"	0.08333	2.11667
32	1/16"	0.0625	1.5875

The second number.​

This depicts the wire diameter of the ring in thousandths of an inch. So, a 3-32 ring has a wire thickness of 32 thousandths of an inch, and a 2-50 and a 8-50 both have the same wire thickness, ie 50 thousandths of an inch, although the hole sizes are considerably different.

​

Code	AWG	wire dia (thou)	ID (mm)	OD (mm)	OD (thou)
1-25	22	25	2.38	3.67	144
1-28	21	28	2.38	3.83	151
2-32	20	32	3.18	4.8	189
2-50	16	50	3.18	5.76	227
3-32	20	32	3.97	5.59	220
3-36	19	36	3.97	5.79	228
3-50	16	50	3.97	6.55	258
4-32	20	32	4.76	6.38	251
4-40	18	40	4.76	6.8	268
4-50	16	50	4.76	7.34	289
5-50	16	50	5.56	8.14	320
6-36	19	36	6.35	8.17	322
6-50	16	50	6.35	8.93	352
6-64	14	64	6.35	9.61	378
7-40	18	40	7.14	9.18	361
7-50	16	50	7.14	9.72	383
7-57	15	57	7.14	10.04	395
8-50	16	50	7.94	10.52	414
8-57	15	57	7.94	10.84	427
8-64	14	64	7.94	11.2	441
10-50	16	50	9.53	12.11	477
10-64	14	64	9.53	12.79	504
12-72	13	72	12.7	16.36	644

ID=Inside diameter
OD=Outside diameter
mm=millimeters
thou=thousandths of an inch
Jump rings are made by wrapping wire around a mandrel and then cutting down the spiral of wire to create the rings (each ring being one loop around the mandrel). It is worth noting that metals have a degree of springback and, when the tension from wrapping the wire is removed, the wire 'springs back' a little, depending on the metal used in the wire. This means that there may be slight variations in size for different types of metal. For example, a stainless steel 4-50 may be marginally different to an aluminium 4-50.

AWG​

You will see in the above tables that the wire thickness is usually referred to by its gauge. In the UK, the Standard Wire Gauge (SWG) is used, but in the USA, the American Wire Gauge (AWG) is used. Since most magazines and projects are of American origin, AWG tends to be used as the standard. The table below shows the sizes of AWG in thousandths of an inch, and in mm.

​

AWG	diameter in thou	diameter in mm
6/0 = 000000	580	14.73
5/0 = 00000	517	13.12
4/0 = 0000	460	11.7
3/0 = 000	410	10.4
2/0 = 00	365	9.26
1/0 = 0	325	8.25
1	289	7.35
2	258	6.54
3	229	5.83
4	204	5.19
5	182	4.62
6	162	4.11
7	144	3.66
8	128	3.26
9	114	2.91
10	102	2.59
11	90.7	2.30
12	80.8	2.05
13	72.0	1.83
14	64.1	1.63
15	57.1	1.45
16	50.8	1.29
17	45.3	1.15
18	40.3	1.02
19	35.9	0.912
20	32.0	0.812
21	28.5	0.723
22	25.3	0.644
23	22.6	0.573
24	20.1	0.511
25	17.9	0.455
26	15.9	0.405
27	14.2	0.361
28	12.6	0.321
29	11.3	0.286
30	10.0	0.255
31	8.93	0.227
32	7.95	0.202
33	7.08	0.180
34	6.31	0.160
35	5.62	0.143
36	5.00	0.127
37	4.45	0.113
38	3.97	0.101
39	3.53	0.0897
40	3.14	0.0799

 

[GoldenLeveret]

Thaaaat's the page I was after. Thanks very much to you and Beadsisters

 

[Bobbie]

I found a problem maybe with the conversion chart. I have a tutorial from Beadsisters that the first number is 15 and this is not on one of the above tables.

 

[Karpeth]

I found a problem maybe with the conversion chart. I have a tutorial from Beadsisters that the first number is 15 and this is not on one of the above tables.

The logic of the table says that 15 would be 17/32’’

 

[GoldenLeveret]

Thanks to everyone for their helpful comments on this thread. I've had to take a break from mailling whilst prepping for a friend's wedding later this year (doing all of the invites and the quilt, haha), but looking forward to getting back to it

 

[WraithMaille]

Thank you for this. I'm often asked for rings by the old beadsisters codes which I have compiled a list of ones that I know but this will help fill in some gaps.

 

[Judie McKnight]

Sorry its taken so long, but we were able to reach out to Beadsisters and get the following information from them regarding their ring sizes:

Jump Ring Sizes​

Jump rings are given a reference number, such as 3-32. But, what does that mean? Well, the code is made up from two numbers separated by a hypen. The first number relates to the size of the hole, the internal diameter. The second number relates to the wire thickness. Since this code originates in the USA, it refers to imperial measurement units (ie fractions of inches).

The first number.​

This number depicts the inside diameter of the ring as shown in the table below:

​

1st No	inside diameter	decimal inches	mm
1	3/32"	0.09375	2.38125
2	1/8"	0.125	3.175
3	5/32"	0.15625	3.96875
4	3/16"	0.1875	4.7625
5	7/32"	0.21875	5.55625
6	1/4"	0.25	6.35
7	9/32"	0.28125	7.14375
8	5/16"	0.3125	7.9375
10	3/8"	0.375	9.525
12	1/2"	0.5	12.7
14	5/8"	0.625	15.875
16	3/4"	0.75	19.05
24	1/12"	0.08333	2.11667
32	1/16"	0.0625	1.5875

The second number.​

This depicts the wire diameter of the ring in thousandths of an inch. So, a 3-32 ring has a wire thickness of 32 thousandths of an inch, and a 2-50 and a 8-50 both have the same wire thickness, ie 50 thousandths of an inch, although the hole sizes are considerably different.

​

Code	AWG	wire dia (thou)	ID (mm)	OD (mm)	OD (thou)
1-25	22	25	2.38	3.67	144
1-28	21	28	2.38	3.83	151
2-32	20	32	3.18	4.8	189
2-50	16	50	3.18	5.76	227
3-32	20	32	3.97	5.59	220
3-36	19	36	3.97	5.79	228
3-50	16	50	3.97	6.55	258
4-32	20	32	4.76	6.38	251
4-40	18	40	4.76	6.8	268
4-50	16	50	4.76	7.34	289
5-50	16	50	5.56	8.14	320
6-36	19	36	6.35	8.17	322
6-50	16	50	6.35	8.93	352
6-64	14	64	6.35	9.61	378
7-40	18	40	7.14	9.18	361
7-50	16	50	7.14	9.72	383
7-57	15	57	7.14	10.04	395
8-50	16	50	7.94	10.52	414
8-57	15	57	7.94	10.84	427
8-64	14	64	7.94	11.2	441
10-50	16	50	9.53	12.11	477
10-64	14	64	9.53	12.79	504
12-72	13	72	12.7	16.36	644

ID=Inside diameter
OD=Outside diameter
mm=millimeters
thou=thousandths of an inch
Jump rings are made by wrapping wire around a mandrel and then cutting down the spiral of wire to create the rings (each ring being one loop around the mandrel). It is worth noting that metals have a degree of springback and, when the tension from wrapping the wire is removed, the wire 'springs back' a little, depending on the metal used in the wire. This means that there may be slight variations in size for different types of metal. For example, a stainless steel 4-50 may be marginally different to an aluminium 4-50.

AWG​

You will see in the above tables that the wire thickness is usually referred to by its gauge. In the UK, the Standard Wire Gauge (SWG) is used, but in the USA, the American Wire Gauge (AWG) is used. Since most magazines and projects are of American origin, AWG tends to be used as the standard. The table below shows the sizes of AWG in thousandths of an inch, and in mm.

​

AWG	diameter in thou	diameter in mm
6/0 = 000000	580	14.73
5/0 = 00000	517	13.12
4/0 = 0000	460	11.7
3/0 = 000	410	10.4
2/0 = 00	365	9.26
1/0 = 0	325	8.25
1	289	7.35
2	258	6.54
3	229	5.83
4	204	5.19
5	182	4.62
6	162	4.11
7	144	3.66
8	128	3.26
9	114	2.91
10	102	2.59
11	90.7	2.30
12	80.8	2.05
13	72.0	1.83
14	64.1	1.63
15	57.1	1.45
16	50.8	1.29
17	45.3	1.15
18	40.3	1.02
19	35.9	0.912
20	32.0	0.812
21	28.5	0.723
22	25.3	0.644
23	22.6	0.573
24	20.1	0.511
25	17.9	0.455
26	15.9	0.405
27	14.2	0.361
28	12.6	0.321
29	11.3	0.286
30	10.0	0.255
31	8.93	0.227
32	7.95	0.202
33	7.08	0.180
34	6.31	0.160
35	5.62	0.143
36	5.00	0.127
37	4.45	0.113
38	3.97	0.101
39	3.53	0.0897
40	3.14	0.0799

Thank you for this chart

 

[chainmaillers.com]

Thank you for this chart

It was provided by B Beadsisters , I just posted it