Hi all!
I’ve been making a lot of Cuban link chains lately, and I have run into an issue. I can make a chain and it sits flat on the neck, but as soon as I put it down the links move and get kinked and it’s hard to get straight again. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to keep the links from moving?
Thank you so much for any help!
-Ava
I have no recommendation, but maybe the problem is in the twist; which is my problem with curb chains. The twist is shown in step 10 of this tutorial Curb and Cable Chains Project - Ganoksin Jewelry Making Community
In an unsuccessful effort to improve my twisting, after seeing an old handmade tool in one of Carles Codina’s books, I tried to make a similar tool using a pipe clamp like this https://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-quarter-inch-pipe-clamp-with-base-94053.html
An archive search for curb chain makes me think it should be annealed more frequently during the twisting stage.
Hi Ava. I would check the aspect ratio. If you use wire that’s even a bit too large or too small for the design you’re making, strange things can happen - the chain might be too tight to flex, or too loose to hold the design. Mary
I realize this is an older thread, but rather than re-ask the same question, I’d like some more information about the wire size, relative to the mandrel size for making jump rings that are the correct aspect size for a Cuban Chain that will not come so easily ‘untwisted’ and more apt to want to always lay flat.
I have made some too loose and some probably a bit too tight in the center of the link for the wire size. I am thinking about 0.4mm spacing? For example, a 3.8mm wire would fill 7.6mm jump ring center-space. So an 8mm diam. mandrel might work? Is there a rule of thumb or a ‘formula’ for determining mandrel diam. based upon a wire size for making the ideal cuban chain, anyone?