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Genuine chainmaille from pop tabs

by quixotiCfluX on August 27, 2009 Table of Contents License: Attribution (by) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intro: Genuine chainmaille from pop tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 1: Assemble your supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 2: Prepare the tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 3: Cut . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 4: Bend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 5: Repeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 6: Weave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 7: Continue weaving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . step 8: Final thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 8 9

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

License: Attribution (by) Intro: Genuine chainmaille from pop tabs

Constructing a genuine European 4 in 1 chainmaille weave using only pop tabs. Turns out this is very easy and makes a really great looking piece of maille, and as an added bonus you don't have to worry about having a quarter mile of wire on hand to attach them together.

Image Notes 1. Pretty sweet looking

step 1: Assemble your supplies

OK, you are going to need lots and lots of pop tabs. Don't give yourself renal failure trying to drink them all yourself. Spread it out or enlist the help of your family, friends, workmates, or maybe even the local recycling center. Here is what you will need: Cutters Staple remover Old key Non-mangled pop tabs (however many you need, 1000 is a good start)

Image Notes 1. Staple remover 2. Cutters: You don't need the really awesome Xuron micro-shear, a regular pair of diagonal cutters, or even a pair of scissors or nail clippers will work. 3. Do the Dew 4. BAD: This one is torn, and really will not be of much use. 5. OK: This still has the rivet collar, so it will have to be bent over and straightened. 6. BEST: These are the best kind to get, break them off the can and they are ready to go with no work. 7. Key: Used to bend and flatten the rivet collar.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

step 2: Prepare the tabs

You will need to prepare the tabs for the weaving. Bend the collar down from the "top" side of the tab using the tumbler side of the key. Then use the back of the key to continue bending it down against the side of the tab. Lay the tab face down and push the cupped part down flat.

Image Notes 1. Bend the tab down from the "top" of the tab

Image Notes 1. Bend it down against the other side.

Image Notes 1. You want it to be as close to straight across as possible.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

Image Notes 1. Flatten out the cupped part.

Image Notes 1. Nice and flat.

Image Notes 1. The Three Amigos! 2. Ned Needlender 3. Lucky Day 4. Dusty Bottoms

step 3: Cut
Now that all your tabs are flat and consistent, you need to cut and crimp them. Cut them in the very middle of the pull part of the tab.

step 4: Bend
The tabs will need to be bent slightly so they will lay together properly. This is where the staple remover comes it. Turns out it gives it just the right amount of bend. Put the tab in cut side first and close the tool down so that one side holds the cuts and the "bridge" is over the metal edge on the other side. Press with your finger and, bam! you're done.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

Image Notes 1. Usually works best if the narrower jaws are on top. 2. OM NOM NOM NOM

Image Notes 1. Try to position the tab on the metal so the bend will be on the bridge.

Image Notes 1. Easy.

Image Notes 1. Back 2. Front 3. Top 4. Bottom (underneath)

step 5: Repeat
Keep making the links, do them all at once, do them in batches. Either way, its pretty easy to make them. One note: If you are using cutters, you can bend the tabs first, if you are using scissors you have to cut them first.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

Image Notes 1. See how consistent the staple remover gets them.

Image Notes 1. Try to be equally consistent with your cuts.

step 6: Weave
Now that you have a massive pile of tabs ready, you will begin the weaving. The first picture shows 4 links woven together in the traditional European 4 in 1 style. The next photos show the proper way to connect them together. Holding one tab by the back, with one hand, take another tab with your free hand. Push the back of the second tab through the cut on the first tab from the bottom so that it is on one side. After they are connected together do the same with a second tab, but on the opposite side. The fourth tab you put on will connect the two "shoulder" tabs together. Connect the fourth tab so that the second and third are laying one on each side. The back of the tabs should always end up on the bottom side of the weave.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

Image Notes 1. See how the second tab is pushed in on the opposite side. This is important.

Image Notes 1. If your tabs are not connected like "shoulders" then you have done it wrong. Take them apart and try again.

Image Notes 1. One tab on each side.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

step 7: Continue weaving

Keep doing this until you have reached the desired size. I won't go into detail in this Instructable regarding how to make a specific garment or item. But I will give you some tips on weaving. Because of the pattern, you have a couple different "fabric" geometries you can work with. The first is the diamond geometry, each link is connected to 3 others The second is the square, each link (except those on the edges) uses pattern's full 4 to 1 connection As your swatch gets larger it might be easier to flip it over to continue weaving, because you will need to handle the main body less as you attach new links.

Image Notes 1. Link 2. 1 3. 2 4. 3

Image Notes 1. link 2. 1 3. 4 4. 2 5. 3

Image Notes 1. Back of the weave. 2. Connect 3. Connect

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

Image Notes 1. All connected, just like the others.

step 8: Final thoughts

I hope you enjoyed this instructable, it is the first I've written. I still have alot more tabs to go before I will be able to finish anything. I will probably make a pixane, and create a new Instructable for it. I will leave you with some pictures of this cool looking chainmaille.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

Related Instructables

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Chain maille embroidered Shirt by Lizander

The FreeSlinger by kNeXFreek

Soda Tab Chainmail Laptop Bag by shesparticular

Ye Olde Chain Maille Rings by mat_the_w

How to Make Japanese 4-1 Maille (Speedweaving) by ineverfinishanyth

Byzantine Chainmail(le) Speed-weaving by ryzellon

How to make a chainmail shirt by ineverfinishanyth

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Comments
50 comments Add Comment view all 602 comments
Nov 21, 2009. 6:30 AM REPLY

Sparky664 says:
Chainmaille guitar strap?

Forevirknight says:

Jan 11, 2010. 11:17 PM REPLY Good idea, sparky. it might be a little hard on your shoulders tho. Then again it depends on the weight of your guitar. I play blues, but not much.

adris8 says:
that'll be cool, but gotta be quite wide to take off the stress because of the tabs being pretty hard.

Jan 6, 2010. 8:10 AM REPLY

Pbyrd says:
That is an awesome idea, I'm going to try that.

Dec 29, 2009. 10:15 AM REPLY

unreal_ed says:
You could make the strap and put it on top of your normal strap, attach it with wires going through the tabs' loops. It would also probably hurt if u didn't have anything between you and the chainmail anyway.

Dec 27, 2009. 2:30 PM REPLY

phillybusta says:
that would be an effective way to drop your guitar a lot lol.

Nov 22, 2009. 3:43 PM REPLY

Maxaxle says:

Nov 22, 2009. 11:36 AM REPLY Just make sure it's sturdy first. Maybe it could be made of beer tabs and it could be used to tally how long you've been on tour (same amount of beer tabs/day).

Speedmite says:
I can certainly make normal chainmail rings faster and easier. And it looks a little trickier.

Dec 11, 2009. 11:57 PM REPLY

WhiteTigerTails says:
But for Cheaper?

Jan 4, 2010. 5:36 AM REPLY

Speedmite says:

Jan 6, 2010. 9:23 PM REPLY I use note book spirals from old notebooks being thrown away, 3 and 5 subject. I had about 30 or so from one year. You get a bunch of rings per spiral. And its free. You also dont have to spend forever collecting one by one tabs. And then modifying them to work. YOu just make it, make sure all the paper is off. THats fun..... And you dont have to drink 5000 or so cans of pop.

quixotiCfluX says:

Jan 11, 2010. 8:36 AM REPLY I find those rings too flimsy to work with. Are you recoiling them before cutting to make smaller rings that hold up better?

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

Datawolf says:
Awesome work. I don't drink beer enough ;-)

Jan 11, 2010. 6:20 AM REPLY

Radke22 says:
awesome idea! seems like it would take too long to try though haha. http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-an-ice-fishing-rod/

Jan 10, 2010. 7:37 PM REPLY

Clan Armstrong says:

Jan 10, 2010. 3:50 PM REPLY This is awesome I'm building a suit of armor completely out of cans, and now I have a way to make the chain mail too. Sweet! 5/5 P.S. Oh, yeah it works great I've got aboot a square foot in three hours, and then a years worth of cans with tabs on them.

The Tower That Ate says:

Made a dress. :3

Dec 30, 2009. 1:20 PM REPLY

KentonLee25 says:
jeepers, how'd you get so many..?

Jan 9, 2010. 7:04 PM REPLY

stina_wo says:
Nice, now if I only had some pink yarn to go with that, you'd have a matching tab purse!

Jan 9, 2010. 12:14 PM REPLY

quixotiCfluX says:
Awesome work.

Jan 6, 2010. 6:24 AM REPLY

angelrvr says:
so cute!

Dec 31, 2009. 4:39 PM REPLY

_Ko0LaiD_ says:
I gotta say, you must have a lot of time on your hands.

Dec 30, 2009. 6:23 PM REPLY

The Tower That Ate says:

Didn't take long. A few evenings, maybe.

Dec 30, 2009. 7:57 PM REPLY

yjvsryyubvwlax says:
How do you get the tabs off without ripping the part that is riveted? Stuff I drink seems very well riveted!

Jan 8, 2010. 10:47 AM REPLY

PikminRed says:

Jan 7, 2010. 10:39 AM REPLY I'm using brass looking root beer tabs to create chain mail for the shoulders of this costume: (nice jacket eh? (that's why I want it))

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

mr monoply33 says:
Finally got a hold of a camera to record, & some one/place to do it.

Jan 1, 2010. 8:11 PM REPLY

quixotiCfluX says:
That is fantastic, I look forward to seeing the missing footage.

Jan 6, 2010. 6:24 AM REPLY

mr monoply33 says:

Jan 6, 2010. 8:27 PM REPLY Haha thanks! I can not express how aggravated I can not find it. when I had it on the floor, I set the camera down, accidentally on timer, and snapped a really cool shot I've been using as a desktop background. It gives me a date, and a file name. It's DSCN7122 created on Sunday, November 9, 009. I've tried searching my PC for stuff made the same date, and DSCN712 (hopefully turning up the other 9 files from the chronological name) and got nothing. Which can only mean that I never pulled it off the SD card from my camera. I've been tearing the house apart looking for something the size of a postage stamp, found lots of cards, tutorials If forgot I made, half a marching band season I forgot I recorded, 1/4 of my summer, but no poptab work. Although I got my silver fingers in this one, Took me weeks for my thumb to regain flesh tone. lol

florjanj says:
this is the bes project on the INSTRUCABLES!

Jan 2, 2010. 4:09 AM REPLY

Homi Joe says:

Does it matter if you use some of those square dr. pepper pop tabs?

Dec 30, 2009. 8:19 AM REPLY

katanatech says:

Dec 7, 2009. 5:40 PM REPLY i have a question, i keep having a problem with where i cut the tops, they keep unhooking through the same cut do you have any ideas on how to keep them together after they are hooked together

moosofa says:

Dec 15, 2009. 1:18 PM REPLY What i'm doing is taking some needle nose pliers and shutting them, trying my best not to overlap the tow "arms". After that I just take a little hot glue and seal them shut (since soldering them shut doesn't seem to be an option.)

katanatech says:

Dec 15, 2009. 5:09 PM REPLY oh okay cool thanks ive gotten pretty far now and they dont seem to be falling apart like they did at the beginning thanks for the idea

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

moosofa says:
No prob! Any ideas on how to measure it out to fit your body?

Dec 22, 2009. 9:31 PM REPLY

tankguy says:
you could cut a piece of card board to the size of your torso and make it on top of there.

Dec 28, 2009. 10:25 PM REPLY

tankguy says:
or what ever part of your body you want to cover

Dec 28, 2009. 10:28 PM REPLY

tankguy says:
You should test it with a bb gun.

Dec 28, 2009. 10:24 PM REPLY

mr monoply33 says:
I TOLD YOU I'D GET ENOUGH POP TABS TO MAKE THE FULL BODY ARMOR! OVER 3K OF THEM! Step 2, assembly, 3..testing. All will be uploaded. This tutorial will be linked in video descriptions

Nov 24, 2009. 1:19 PM REPLY

moosofa says:
Who is this Faceman, where do I get one, and why does he drink so much soda?

Dec 15, 2009. 1:44 PM REPLY

mr monoply33 says:

Dec 15, 2009. 2:32 PM REPLY He's a friend of mine that was collecting these for a school fundraiser, but missed the deadline. He was collecting them from family & friends for a while, and it wasn't worth it to send them in for scrap, but figured he's find a use for them. I do indeed have this done. Full body is complete, looks awesome, but my camera is dead...

moosofa says:
Oh I see. Nice! The second you get that camera running again, we want pics! :O

Dec 22, 2009. 9:32 PM REPLY

mr monoply33 says:

Dec 23, 2009. 1:22 PM REPLY If it weren't under warranty, I would have myself by now, unfortunately doing so would void the warranty to future problems...

circuitmage says:
Got my first 60 done, looking good. Ordered ~3000 more to complete it. Pic when I get it done.

Dec 3, 2009. 11:43 AM REPLY

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/

moosofa says:
You can order those?? Site link pl0x!

Dec 15, 2009. 1:19 PM REPLY

Fredmcfly says:
eBay. I just ordered 5,000 for $38 including shipping. I'm super psyched for this!

Dec 18, 2009. 2:23 PM REPLY

moosofa says:
Sweet! are you sure they're the right kind? Soda, beer, and Arny Palmer iced tea tabs are all totally different.

Dec 22, 2009. 9:28 PM REPLY

laxman735 says:
I LOVE Mtn. Dew

Sep 27, 2009. 3:20 PM REPLY

JellyBelly221 says:
Me toooooooo!!! Do the Dew

Dec 22, 2009. 4:28 PM REPLY

jake_brang says:
who dosent

Oct 27, 2009. 5:28 PM REPLY

moosofa says:
I doesn't. :b

Dec 15, 2009. 1:15 PM REPLY

mettaurlover says:

Dec 9, 2009. 2:03 PM REPLY that stuff is screwed up. its basically just caffeine, sugar, water and a bit of flavoring. mostly caffeine, or at least what of it can be dissolved in that volume of water with the sugar. so of course i don't like it. i like my sodas to have flavor . that means tons of Jones and coke.

Homi Joe says:

Jones is the essence of life but they're not advertised at all its awesome

Dec 30, 2009. 8:23 AM REPLY

view all 602 comments

http://www.instructables.com/id/Genuine-chainmaille-from-pop-tabs/