Using a bit just larger than your steel rod, drill holes in your 1- by 8-inch lumber, making sure these holes line up.
Attach the two pieces of 1- by 8-inch lumber to either end of the 4- by 8-inch lumber using carpenter's glue and wood screws. The end pieces should be attached at 90-degree angles base to edge to form uprights, so you wind up with something that looks like a block letter "C" lying on its back.
Drill a small hole at one end of the steel rod at least 1 1/2 to 2 inches from the end, then bend the other end into a crank shape. This rod is then inserted through the holes in the upright pieces. This is the device you will use to create your chainmail links.
Insert one end of your wire through the small hole in your mandrel, then start cranking with one hand as you guide the wire with the other. Essentially, you will wind up with a long, narrow spring. Once you have filled the length of the mandrel, use your cutters to cut off the wire, pull out your mandrel and set the spring aside. You will repeat this step several times.
Cut the springs lengthwise with your wire cutters, so you wind up with a bunch of rings (these will be open and the ends slightly off-center). You will probably want a coffee can or plastic bucket in which to put these.
Take four links and close the ends with your pliers, after which you will link them to a fifth. Lay this down on a flat surface and arrange it so that it resembles a four-leaf clover. This is the basic 4-in-1 pattern that is used for most chainmail shirts. Make several of these "clovers," laying them down side-by-side (this will make the pattern clearer to your eyes).
Begin linking your "clovers" together using the pliers, threading one link through the two outer "leaves." You should wind up with a strip of mail fabric with three rows. After this, the process becomes quite simple; just link one ring through two others, a row at a time (ultimately, each ring in the fabric is joined to four others).