calyx

Doesn't really fit here but asking about out of stock black stainless 24ga finished maille (F-24332-SB)? (I know I could go ask MailleTec directly but I'm in Australia and the cost of having separate shipping is prohibitive, especially as I only need a foot at this stage. I'm happy to wait, just want a rough idea of if and when you might have it back in.)

Would you have an ETA on Machine Cut Titanium 18ga 3/16'' ID - Plain?

Yes to lime green!! I've been wanting that for ages (and to be honest, lime green, aqua, violet and hot pink are the colours I go to other manufacturers for currently - vibrant fashion colours). Love the metallics and pastels here though, love love love. And the prices!

From my experiences putting old anodised aluminium crockery through the dishwasher, it strips the coating off. I assume this is from the caustic detergent. So beware.

Is this an issue with brass too? Brass has a similar amount of zinc ..?

Hello! I'm knee deep in newborn-land so definitely not up for meatspace meeting atm. However, hi! What do you make and do you ever sell it? I've sold some stuff when I was in Darwin and most people were pretty unfamiliar with chainmaille and scalemaille. Melbourne probably similar have you found? Sounds like some places especially the US there's a lot of maillers around but not here? Shipping's pretty exxy from Canada isn't it, but in large lots I find it cheaper than the local supplier, plus better range. I've just ordered a whole lot of (mostly AA) scales, I've made some scale pieces before but I'm going to start making some larger scalemaille pieces, tackle the bra pattern from TRL, some big collars, bracers, stuff like that. I figured out how to make stretch scalemaille with rubber rings but it's time consuming and doesn't have a lot of give so I don't know how useful it is.

ETA for Ergo Mods? (Not sure whether to put first half of order I just paid for on hold, just noticed these were out of stock when putting together second half.)

The volatile ingredients that would be flammable would most likely have evaporated after a while, leaving only the waxes... you could always try one or two rings in the oven. I doubt baking wax onto the delrin would make it adhere, however.

Probably 16g 5/16" for a medium size, width of weave that approx to ring width, or ~11.2mm. That sound like what you want? Chunkier or finer, go for larger or smaller gauge in AR appropriate to double spiral, ideally around 4.9. Rings: http://theringlord.com/cart/shopcontent.asp?type=WireGuage Don't have a tute myself, but you just double the rings for Spiral 4-1. MAIL has tutes, eg: http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.php?key=184 or http://www.mailleartisans.org/articles/articledisplay.php?key=620

I've moved to Melbourne now! There's gotta be some locals who swing by, say hi if you are! Do you buy supplies internationally much, locally or make your own rings? How's the dollar drop affected you? How's the scene for you and do you sell? What's your favourite metals and styles? (I'm planning on doing some markets at some point, and moving online too. I prefer to buy most of my supplies from internationally but the devaluation of the AUD does suck. I love AA & SS but thinking of doing more copper and silver, and perhaps anodised titanium/niobium. Wondering if there's any local renfaire equivalents to check out?)

I've drilled glass successfully before with fine diamond tipped drill bits used in a rotary tool, with the glass in question on a piece of styrofoam to dampen vibrations, under water for constant lubrication, and tweezers to hold in place. However, what I drilled was sea glass, you may find this works for fine glass crystal, or not.

OMG I'm so glad! Good luck, and I hope you don't need to ditch your rubber barrel but looks like it could be the culprit, try it again?

Where in the world are you located?

Sounds like you need to clean the maille, it might have been gunked by the rubber of the barrel, and tumbling inside the container wasn't enough. Just a guess. I would put some liquid with phosphoric acid in it in the tumbler (in the clean container) with the rings and shot - many people use flat Coca Cola, I use a few dashes of rust converter (check ingredients when you buy) from the hardware store as it's more economical. Many people find this a reliable de-gunker, including me. Tumble it for a while, check on the liquid regularly - if water is dark coloured, change it ASAP. Rubber degrading is a big tumbler problem, especially if it was cheap. Harbor Freight barrels don't have a good reputation for instance. Lortone do, but I'm not sure about long-term. If it's steel you're tumbling, it's most likely rubber gunk on it. If it was aluminium or copper, sometimes the oxide gunk can redeposit if the water's not changed before it goes saturated & black and give you trouble. This is just a suggestion from me, I'm not sure what else could be going on (I hope I'm reading your post correctly), but it could be just that it's dirty in a way that tumbling with just soap won't remove. The shot would probably be dirty too if this was the case. So you could try the phosphoric acid clean and see if that works. If it doesn't... hoping someone else might have some ideas?