When making a chain-link mesh with your own hands, a machine and wire are required. With their help, a spiral is made. The wire should not be curled too much, then the mesh will be smooth and neat. A wire that is too twisted will be difficult to weave into the overall fabric. The mesh will be less distorted and damaged during operation if the machine is lubricated with automobile oil. And better sliding will be facilitated by well-polished and rounded corners and grooves of the machine.
Diagram of wire movement when weaving a mesh.
The machine will help you produce chain-link mesh with your own hands without spending a lot of money on it.
Necessary materials and equipment to create the machine:
- sanding paper;
- file;
- paper;
- metal corners;
- angle grinder;
- welding machine;
- rollers;
- bearing race;
- pieces of iron;
- steel plate;
- part of the pipe.
The bending angle of the mandrel knife.
No matter how you position the machine, the main priority is ease of use.
You need to guide the wire with one hand and rotate the handle of the machine with the other.
You need to make sure that the spirals do not get tangled.
The machine has the following devices:
- serving;
- tension;
- lubricating;
- winding (curling).
Required Tools
To create a hand-held apparatus for the manufacture of this product, you will need the following materials:
- metal in pieces;
- welding machine;
- file;
- rollers;
- sandpaper;
- bearing races;
- Bulgarian;
- plate;
- rope with chalk;
- metal corner.
Welding machine
The principle of operation of the machine is that the master guides the wire with one hand and rotates the machine handle with the other. When assembling, it is important to keep an eye on the spirals. They shouldn't get tangled.
Using and making a homemade machine
Producing chain-link mesh at home using a machine is much easier and faster. Buying such a machine is expensive, but making it yourself is much cheaper. To make a machine for making chain-link mesh, you will need:
- A piece of pipe.
- Metal pieces from different types of metal.
- Plate.
- Bearing races.
- Welding device.
- Bulgarian.
- Rollers.
- Metal corners.
- File.
- Chalk.
- Rope.
- Sandpaper.
The most important part of the machine is the coiling unit. It consists of a screw and a knife with which the wire is curled. The size of the cells depends on the format of these components. Rotating, the knife creates turns of a certain size, and the auger sets the distance between them (pitch). A flat strip of steel acts as a coiling plate. At one end there should be a hole for the handle.
The auger is a hardened steel pipe with a spiral slot.
In order to get such a groove, use a rope and chalk: attach a rope, outline it with chalk. Next, cut a slot according to the outlined pattern. Go over the cut with files and final sand with sandpaper. The length of the pipe should be sufficient to lay 3 full turns. There should be a space of no more than 1 mm between the knife and the pipe, otherwise the wire will be snagged. In this case, the knife should rotate absolutely freely, and its end should protrude 1-2 cm from the pipe.
For easy sliding of the wire, the corners and grooves must be well rounded and treated with oil.
- You need to cut 2 pieces from a metal corner, equal in length to the pipe. We weld them to the pipe so that it seems to be located between them. This structure is fixed to the base by screwing it to the working surface through special holes. Place the machine itself so that it is convenient for you to rotate the handle, parallel to directing the spiral. Do not allow the workpieces to become tangled under any circumstances.
- You can insert a piece of pipe into the center of the skein and attach a weight to the end of the wire by passing the end through the tension rollers. This helps get rid of wire ringing. The distance between the rollers is set using a screw.
- Before large-scale production use of the machine, you need to check it by passing the wire through the device. If you get an even row with the desired shape and size of the cells, then the machine is assembled correctly.
Elements of a homemade apparatus
A standard manual machine for the production of chain-link mesh includes:
- knife-plate;
- tension device;
- base;
- shaft and handle on it;
- screw.
Knife plate
The main functions in a homemade machine are performed by a knife plate and a screw. Thanks to these devices, the metal wire is twisted into cells. Both devices give the desired size to the grid cells.
When the knife rotates, coils of the required size are formed. The screw is responsible for the distance between the resulting turns.
The base material for the manufacture of the auger is a steel pipe. A slot is made in it in the form of a spiral. The slot can be made using a lathe, for which you need to wrap the pipe with a rope in the shape of a spiral, outlining it with chalk.
The surface of the pipe must be thoroughly sanded. To begin with, the surface is processed with a file and then with sandpaper. The length of the pipe should be such that the master can lay three turns of the strip. To simplify the process, it is possible to purchase a ready-made screw bushing.
Machine knife design
The knife is fixed on a shaft, which is equipped with a rotating handle. Special attention is paid to the distance between the pipe and the knife. It should be 1 mm. The knife in the pipe should have free movement and protrude a few centimeters.
Before starting work, it is recommended to thoroughly lubricate the corners and grooves to improve the sliding of the wire.
Two corners are cut for the pipe. Their length should be equal to the length of the pipe. Both corners are welded to the pipe on both sides.
It is necessary to secure the structure to the base. You will need to make holes in it through which the chain-link mesh machine will be fixed to the table.
How to make a hand loom?
For production, you can use a homemade device. The machine can be either automatic or semi-automatic.
The device is suitable for weaving mesh with arbitrary mesh size. The most popular sizes are 8x8 cm and 4.5x4.5 cm.
The machine consists of the following parts:
- a drum that feeds the wire;
- bent channel, section;
- metal rollers;
- bending machine.
A simple bucket can play the role of a drum. A wide board is used as a base. A bucket is placed on top, bottom up. To prevent the bucket from falling during the weaving process, secure it with any weight.
It is necessary to wind wire around such a homemade mechanism. Then it will be fed to a channel with three metal rollers. For their high-quality rotation, it is worth using bolts as fasteners. They are usually supplemented with small restrictive washers of about 1 mm.
The bending machine is also made independently. It is permissible to use a steel pipe of suitable size, but always with thick walls.
A spiral-shaped groove should be made in it at an angle of 45° to the axis. The size should be about 4-5 mm. At the end of the groove, about 5 cm before the end of the pipe, you need to make a round hole. All this is necessary in order to install a carbide knife (usually steel is used).
The pipe is connected to the angle using a welding machine. Then you should place the structure on a reliable base and fix it. It is important not to close the groove during welding.
The knife is secured using a screw or pin. The support can be adjusted using a washer. It is necessary to make the entire weaving machine step by step and extremely carefully. For simplicity, you will need drawings with dimensions and markings.
Additionally, you can make a lever. It will simplify the process of twisting the wire. It is attached directly to the visible part of the knife. This addition is especially relevant if you plan to produce a large amount of mesh.
Device device functions
A homemade machine for making chain-link mesh consists of four devices:
- lubricating;
- server;
- winding;
- tension
The lubricating device is fixed on a plate with rollers. The basis for such a device is a bicycle pump.
The pump is mounted on the plate with the bottom up. The bottom is cut off, and the pump cover is easily fixed on the body, securing the plug in it. The plug is cut, and oil is poured into the pump. The edges of the pump are additionally strengthened with a bearing race.
The machine for the production of chain-link includes a feeding mechanism, which is based on industrial knitting equipment. A meter-long steel pin is fixed in the center of the base of the device. Two rods with a diameter of 10 mm are welded to it. A bearing with a ring and a driver is attached to the upper end of the pin.
The winding mechanism is a pipe with special spiral slots and a knife. The winding mechanism forms the desired cell size.
The tension mechanism of the device has the form of a right triangle, in which:
- a steel plate with holes for the rollers serves as the hypotenuse of the triangle;
- the remaining sides are made of steel angle.
For better tension, it is recommended to make about 30 holes in the hypotenuse plate.
Making a chain-link without a machine
It is not always possible to make a tool for weaving a mesh. You can make a chain-link without a machine.
This process will take more time, but the quality of the result will not be affected. The material can be the same wire or plastic.
In the latter case, the mesh is purely decorative due to its lower strength.
It's quite easy to make any amount of mesh this way. Manufacturing occurs according to the instructions:
- To begin with, you should choose a tool that will give the wire the desired bend.
- You need a working surface, the length of which will correspond to the width of the chain-link. You can even use a simple wooden board.
- Drive the nails into the work surface in a staggered pattern. The distance between them forms the size of future grid cells.
- Cut soft steel wire into equal pieces. These are a kind of blanks for weaving. You may need quite a lot of them, depending on the desired length of the chain-link.
- It is recommended to protect your hands with durable gloves.
- Take a piece of wire and carefully bend it around the nails.
- The rods are easily connected to each other by weaving. You can also simply rotate one workpiece around the second, as if screwing it in.
There is another way to make a mesh yourself without a machine. You will need wire cutters to cut pieces of wire. Aluminum or similar raw materials are used, which are easily deformed. You should also take wooden rulers or electrodes bent in half. The process of making a chain-link using this method is simple:
- Take a ruler or electrode and wind the wire tightly. There should be no free space between the turns. In this case, it is the width of the ruler that determines the size of the grid cells.
- It is recommended to double-check the quality of the bends.
- The finished workpiece is removed and the next one is wound. It is important to make turns in one direction, otherwise the weaving will not work.
- All twisted workpieces must be stretched to the same length.
- The resulting spirals are threaded one into one using rotational movements.
- The first and last row must be additionally secured. This will prevent the mesh from accidentally falling apart.
Making decorative chain-link from plastic bottles with your own hands requires a little preparation. You should prepare the tape or tube in advance. Blanks are easily made from bottles in just a few minutes. Usually a small size in the range of 2-5 mm is used. Additionally, you should prepare a ruler and an alcohol lamp.
The robot principle itself is quite similar to wire weaving. The production of chain-link from plastic takes place in several stages:
- Squares should be drawn on the ruler to serve as guides.
- The edge of the ribbon or plastic tube is attached to the ruler using a clothespin.
- The workpiece is wound gradually. Each bend needs to be warmed up a little.
- Secure the second edge. Place the entire structure over the alcohol lamp again to warm it up further. This way all the turns will be fixed.
- Remove the workpiece. Treat all subsequent parts of the plastic tape in the same way.
- Screw in the cooled pieces. It is recommended to secure the upper and lower parts additionally.
Recommendations for the production of chain-link mesh
Any machine for weaving mesh netting is installed on the table so that its handle can rotate comfortably.
To avoid tangling of the wire material during the manufacturing process of the mesh, it is necessary to place it on the pipe at one end and hang a load at the other. The end with the load is passed through tension rollers.
The machine for producing mesh mesh must be checked before starting work. The wire is inserted into the winding mechanism and scrolled. The output should be a string with cells of the correct shape. The evenness of the line is checked along the weight. If there are obvious unevennesses in the line, additional adjustment of the machine rollers will be required.
The choice of wire material matters. More often, steel wire with a polymer or galvanized coating is used.
Regular steel wire needs to be painted because it quickly rusts when exposed to rain. Galvanized is more expensive, but already has the necessary protection against rust. Polymer is used as a basis for chain-link mesh, but has a high price.
The softness of the wire affects the type of knife used. If you plan to weave a chain-link mesh from soft wire, then take a flat knife. Hard requires the use of a knife curved around its axis. Stiff wire requires a larger bending angle.
Wire winding knife
For soft wire, you will need a flat knife, and for stiffer wire, the knife must have a large twist angle.
A knife for hard wire must be made of durable metals, but for a flat knife any kind will do. The knife must fit exactly the dimensions of the pipe so that there are no gaps. This may cause the mechanism to jam. However, the knife should rotate in the pipe without difficulty. For a twisted knife, you need to take a plate 1-2 mm wider than the required size. It is clamped vertically in a vice, heated and the upper part is turned to the required limit. The untwisted parts are cut off, the shank is attached, and then the required width is adjusted. Part of the knife near the shank is hardened, and the rest is ground.
When producing mesh, the machine must be stopped when the knife is positioned vertically.
And the correct position of the spirals during connection is facilitated by the position of the bottom wire in the desired direction, using the table board for installation.
Elastic wire can be annealed to make it more obedient. But this requires special skills, otherwise you may end up with different stiffness along the entire length.
You must remember to change the knife if, after working with a stiff wire, you have to curl a less rigid one. Also, their step length will be different, so you need to screw in the spiral more carefully.
Weaving technology
The scheme for weaving a chain-link mesh on a homemade machine includes drawings and steps based on them:
- the wire used is coated with machine oil or by using a special lubricating device on the machine itself;
- the wire end is bent with a hook;
- the product is pulled through the groove, secured to a knife inside the pipe;
- the shaft rotates due to the lever;
- the shaft is rotated until a waveform is obtained;
- the wire is divided into pieces of the required length;
- The wire is wound on an inverted bucket;
- 1.45 meters of wire gives 1 meter of chain-link mesh;
- before stretching the mesh, its parts are fastened to each other;
- the outermost wire is unscrewed, the ends of the chain-link are applied one to the other, the removed wire secures it;
- The finished bonded mesh is fixed to a fence or other object.
The tensioning and fastening of the chain-link is done with nails and slats. The stretched and secured mesh needs to be painted over with a brush. This will ensure complete penetration of the paint into the weave.
Mesh production
First you need to do a little preparatory work. The wire for weaving is lubricated with oil; you can use already used material.
Even this process can be slightly automated and simplified at home. To do this, a small mechanism is constructed from a box with a through hole, with a diameter slightly larger than the cross-section of the wire.
Oil is poured inside, and the raw material is passed through this device and lubricated in the process.
The manufacturing process itself is quite simple. The weaving sequence usually looks like this.
- The end of the wire is bent with a hook. The bend should be approximately half the width of the mandrel knife.
- The hook is inserted into a groove on the pipe and clings to the edge of the steel tool.
- The knife must be rotated. As a result, the wire will wind, curl and move further along the groove. The output is a wavy wire. Its length is equal to the width of the future canvas. It is worth noting that the working surface must be of a suitable size.
- After reaching the required length, the wire is cut with pliers at the bending unit.
- The finished workpiece should be moved away from you by the width of the cells of the future canvas.
- Next, the process of manufacturing the next segment begins. The new workpiece is independently screwed into the previous one. It is only important to always twist the knife in one direction. Otherwise, the workpiece will be damaged.
- The process is repeated until the canvas is ready.
During the manufacturing process, it is important to monitor quality. A well-made workpiece should lie absolutely flat on the table, without twisting into a spring.
If this is not the case, then the reason may lie in the elasticity and tension of the wire. Problems also arise with the angle of twist of the knife along the axis.
A homemade machine allows you to produce chain-link mesh in any quantity. A standard 1.5 m snake will require about 2.3 m of wire. One linear meter with cells 8x8 cm is made from 25 blanks. This amount of 2.5 mm wire mesh weighs about 2.5 kg.
The individual parts and canvases are easily fastened together. To make it easier to join the chain-link mesh, you don’t have to unscrew the outer wire. The finished canvas can be used immediately, for example, for a fence. For a longer service life, it is recommended to coat the mesh with paint after installation. The reliable layer is easy to apply with a brush and protects the wire from aggressive environmental influences.
