Home >> Hobbies >> Other Hobbies

How to Make a Gunter's Chain

A Gunter's chain is used for surveying, and is 66 feet long with 100 connected links. Each link of the chain is joined with a ring to make a total length of 7.92 inches. Making your own Gunter's chain means you must fabricate each link and connecting ring by using metal wire. A jig or form is required to accomplish this.

Things You'll Need

5-by-8-inch piece of wood
Power drill
Tape measure
Wood glue
Two 1/2-inch dowels
Spool of 14-gauge wire
1-inch diameter dowel
Wire cutters
Pliers

Instructions

- 1
  Drill two 1/2-inch holes into a 5-by-8 piece of wood with a power drill. The holes must be a 1/4-inch deep and 6.92 inches apart. Measure the distance using the tape measure.
- 2
  Fill the holes with wood glue and insert a 1/2-inch wood dowel. Allow four hours for the glue to dry. This will be the jig for the chain links.
- 3
  Wrap the 14-gauge wire around the 1-inch dowel. Cut 1-inch diameter rings from the chain using the wire cutters. Repeat this step until you have 100 rings.
- 4
  Wrap one end of the 14-gauge wire around one of the dowels on the jig twice to make a ring. Run the wire to the other dowel and make another ring and cut the wire. Repeat this step to make 100 links for the chain. Bend the cut end of the chain closed with the pliers.
- 5
  Measure each link of the chain with the ruler and verify that each link is 6.92 inches. Make bends in the wire if needed to adjust the length of the link.
- 6
  Insert one end of a link into a ring that you made in Step 2. Insert one end of a second link onto the ring to make the first length of chain. Attach links to rings to complete the 66 feet of chain.

Other Hobbies