Making Butted Rings Safe To Wear

Merlin

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New Member
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Hello everybody !
I've been making chainmail for over a year now and now I'd like to level up and start selling my creations. However I still feel a bit worried about how safe my rings can be, since I use a bolt cutter to cut them and have no tumbler.

I tried to cut my rings with a saw for cleaner edges but that's way too slow.

I wanted to look into buying a rock tumbler but I have two issues with that :
- The only tumbler reviewed on this website isn't shipped to in my country (France)
- Since I'm in a non English-speaking place, I have trouble finding a correct translation for this tool.

I found some tumblers on Cookson but they are ultra expensive.
The cheapest option I got is buying a VEVOR rock tumbler, anyone got one ?

Otherwise, are there any other options to make galvanized and stainless steel butted rings potentially less harmful ?
Thx
 

Chanmailleman

New Member
New Member
Just how messy are the ends? I used to make all my old rings with bolt cutters, and have worn that stuff for many, many hours against bare skin with no issues. As far as tumbling them goes, I have a little recent experience, but I can't provide a ton of help. I've been doing my recent cutting with a Dremel and a the thinnest cutting wheel available, and using a small rock tumbler more to clean them than to really smooth the ends.

What I can recommend is that, if you do end up getting a tumbler for your rings, fully close or open them ahead of time. I did not for my current project, and now I have to untangle thousands of rings which linked themselves together in the tumbler.

As far as Vevor goes, I have no direct experience, though my tumbler is from Harbor Freight (a low-cost tool store here in the US) and is probably of similar quality. It will likely work if you get it, but be prepared to modify it and do regular maintenance to keep it rolling.
 
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