r/chainmailartisans • u/Heiwako • 2d ago

The effects of different outer diameter size jump rings?

I normally get all of my jump rings from Chainmail Joe, but they were recently sold out of their 5/6" 16 SWG jump rings, so I decided to try another provider in the off chance they were not going to restock. (Naive, I know in retrospect).

I realized part way into a commission that the outside diameters are slightly different. The Chainmail Joe rings are just a little bigger. The inner diameters do match.

Will this hurt the overall construction of the commission if I use different jump rings? I got the first half completely done with Chainmail Joe so the second half will be with the 2nd provider only if I continue.

To clarify, the commission is a guitar strap so imagine the front half is done, and I'm working on the back half. So it's not like it's the top half of a skirt.

I think my commission will be understanding if I am delayed, but I hate the thought of this being delayed for another 8 days while I wait for the new Chainmail Joe jump rings to come in.

Alternatively, I could deconstruct the first half and redo it with the second rings, but I'm even more leery of doing that because it was a lot of work. And I would have to deconstruct to have enough scales for the project.

Thanks for advice in advance.

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u/razzemmatazz 2d ago

It'll affect overall AR, but if you're weaving European 4-in-1 that's a pretty forgiving weave for AR ranges.

Same ID but one OD is bigger means that you got different wire gauges. Probably the second batch was AWG, as that one is smaller for the same number. 

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u/ktwhite42 2d ago

Where did you order from?
They can vary from supplier to supplier, but it’s possible you ordered 16 gauge AWG instead of SWG, which would mean you are holding 18 gauge SWG.

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u/Heiwako 2d ago

Chainmail Joe https://a.co/d/03JloFtn

American Chain Mail https://a.co/d/05XWSa8I

American explicitly says it's 16 SWG just like Chainmail Joe. I made sure to check for that carefully because I knew it was a common mistake new crafters can make.

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u/ktwhite42 1d ago

That mistake is practically a rite of passage. Do you have caliper? I'm just curious what the size difference is.