Ring Cutting

EDIT: I know that the Dremel is not the best tool for this job, and that the little grinding wheels are only designed to cut everything except what you need them to. I only use this method now because I am far too lazy and tight-fisted to go out and buy anything better.

Cutting rings for chainmail with my new Dremel. My inexperience shows at the end when the cutting wheel shatters and hits my cheek - I'm so glad I was wearing goggles! I have two theories as to why it happened: either the pressure from the vice squeezed the wheel as the coil gave way or I wasn't cutting a straight enough line. I have remedied both of these, but if you have another theory as to why it happened please comment! As I said, it is a new tool and I am inexperienced so any tips would be greatly appreciated.

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• ring
• cutting

[scarabeetle101]

@oldwayartisans can you recommend a UK supplier, or a brand/specification to look for? I haven't done any ring cutting in a while, and I was recently given an old minicraft rotary tool which is easy to incorporate into machines. I'm going to look at having the coil slide down a chute against the cutter so that it's supported better, the rings are cut better and I can control cutting speed more accurately. Thanks for your advice!

[MrJohnDevour]

@nethania2

but the wire is coiled 'forward' on it's base if you know what i mean, it takes more wire length to do a full circle AND go forward on the base cylinder, this extra length compensates for material loss of cutting when you bend it to a shut circle.

[nethania2]

Dremel blades are too thick for this type of cutting and you should be using an arbor to keep the blade from flying back on you. Dave Aren's Koil Kutter solves this problem and cuts with one pass, altho you're probably cutting stainless which his setup can't handle. But it also doesn't look like you're using any kind of lubricant. Looks like you need a more robust setup.

[gmarc166]

Get a Koil Kutter - it's easier to use.

[OldWayArtisans]

Dremel disks are much wider than slotting saws, burn up very quickly, and are generally not suited to the task of cutting rings for maille, since the minimum cutting speed is too high for most useful metals. The Dremel also has next to zero torque, so jamming is an issue.

There are suppliers online who can point you to better blades. I would also recommend a better cutting setup; cutting by hand will guarantee a bad angle and shattered disks.

[ChthonicRealm]

Dremel cutter disks break very easy from heating up really fast.

So maybe put less pressure and take it off every once in a while to let it cool off, though there are better tool for the job.

[Neurodoom]

They are not designed for that, it takes too long, the cut is too wide and you'll be using lots of disks even if you get the grip on doing it, try to find a small and sharp bolt cutter with lever action, they dont do C rings like aviation snips and you will be crushing coconuts with your bare hands after 20k rings or so, lol.