The jig is a series of plates clamped together by wingnuts, all riding on M5 studding. The plates are separated by flat washers. These washers are thinner than the looselinks, to allow proper clamping. The way that the washers and the looselinks sit is shown clearly by the wear marks on the disassembled plates and washers above. The spacer under the wing nut was needed to give clearance from the adjacent crown nut.
The looselinks themselves are what would be considered an ornamental grade of butted maille. They are too large in relation to the wire diameter to hold together properly without joining the ends. This is necessary for the welding, since clamping the link shut during welding and cooling requires a great deal of electrode force (especially so for typical butted links).
The looselinks are ideally stainless steel, since this alloy has a high resistivity. Titanium would also give good results. Aluminium, copper or brass are extremely difficult to weld by this method. Mild steel can be welded sucessfully, but spring steel is not recommended since the weld zone is left fully hardened and brittle after the weld. |
