Closing Stainless Steel Jump Rings
by Kylie Jones
When stainless steel coils are cut to make jump rings the blade leaves a bur still attached to the cut ends of the rings. This bur needs to be removed so the jump ring ends close tightly together. If the bur is left the jump rings will have a rough finish that will catch on clothes and make the bracelet feel scratchy rather than smooth. The burs can also catch on other rings making the patterns in your chain maille look uneven. The burs aren't so obvious until you look under magnification but you can easily feel them.
Instructions
The easiest way to remove these burs is to tumble the rings in a tumbler. Save time by threading the rings onto thick wire so they won't separate from the others during the tumbling process. Unfortunately the tumbling process won't always get rid of the burs. If they remain after tumbling you will need to manually remove them, I do this with my pliers. I put the end of the ring in the pliers and just rotate the pliers around the end until the bur is removed. This can take a lot of time particularly if a necklace has over 300 rings. Different jump ring sellers have different standards of the finish on the rings they sell. Some suppliers sell their rings with the burs already removed. And while these may be dearer to buy, I find the better quality finish is ultimately cheaper when I factor in the time to get the rings bur free.
Kylie Jones's Closing Stainless Steel Jump Rings - , Chain Maille Jewelry, , closing stainless steel jump rings
Kylie Jones's Closing Stainless Steel Jump Rings - , Chain Maille Jewelry, , closing stainless steel jump rings
Kylie Jones's Closing Stainless Steel Jump Rings - , Chain Maille Jewelry, , closing stainless steel jump rings

Materials

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Tools

6 Inch Heavy Duty Flat Nose Pliers with Narrow Jaws
G2-96
  • G2-96
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Thumlers Tumbler Model MP-1 Rock Tumbler Kit
G34-101
  • G34-101
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WireJewelry Single Barrel Rotary Rock Tumbler Madagascar Mix Starter Kit, Includes 1.5 Pounds of Rough Madagascar Stone Mix and 1 Batch of 4 Step Abrasive Grit and Polish with Plastic Pellets (2021 Version)
G24-1V2-KIT100
  • G24-1V2-KIT100
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  • Price: $126.60
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  • Category: Chain Maille
  • Technique(s): General Education