The Process of Making Chains is Surprisingly Beautiful

I have to admit, I’ve learned a lot about how things I use everyday are made from the Science Channel show “How It’s Made”, and I’ve come to realize that even the simplest of items are sometimes incredibly complicated to make. However, some things are created by fairly simple, and surprisingly satisfying and beautiful processes.

Chains have been around since at least 225 BC, so chain makers have had a couple of thousand years to refine the process, and the manufacturing process has likely seen very few changes other than the addition of heavy duty machinery to handle the hard labor that had to be done by hand in the past.

All chains start life as a length of large diameter wire that is fed into the machines that shape and cut each link. The wire is fed into the previous link to join the two, then shaped around it and clamped shut. While many lighter duty chains will hold without further steps needed, heavier chains are welded to give them even more strength. You can see when the machines are slowed down just how intricate the process is and when they’re sped back up to normal operating speed, you can see how quickly they accomplish this process.

From the linking machines, the whole chain is heated to the point of glowing a bright orange, then cooled in a water bath. This process leaves the chain stronger, but brittle, so it is heated again, this time not as hot as the first, then cooled again. This process allows the chain to maintain its strength but gives the steel a slight amount of flex to help keep it from breaking under extremely heavy loads. So next time you grab a chain to pull your buddy out of the ditch, stop and look at it for a second and think back to the day you learned how it was made!