[Jewelry making - Article 00231] - Re: [Orchid] Beaded Necklaces Keep Breaking

[Dave Arens]

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Hi,

>     They would usually break around the area where I had made the
>     crimp. I either crimped with beading pliers or crimping pliers.
>     Also, no matter how tightly I would string the necklace, there
>     would still be a little gap of beadalon showing once I was done. 

    Without seeing one of your broken necklaces, it's difficult to tell
    what exactly is causing the problem. However, the probability is the
    the beadalon is being cut, even if it's just a little, by the act of
    crimping. Cutting it even just a little reduces it's life
    expectancy. 

    Crimping requires the crimping sleeve to apply pressure to the
    cable/wire/thread being held. However the pressure needs to be
    controlled. If it's too great, the integrity of the
    cable/wire/thread will be compromised & it will fail prematurely. If
    the pressure isn't great enough, the cable/wire/thread won't be held
    securely & the crimp will fail by pulling loose. 

    A quality crimping pliers should have an adjustable stop on it that
    can be set to only allow the pliers to close a definite amount. The
    amount it needs to close is dependent on the size of the material
    being crimped & the dimensions of he crimp itself. The exact setting
    for each type of cable/wire/thread & crimp needs to be determined
    experimentally, but once established will always work for that
    combination of components. 

>     To make the ends of the necklace look nice, I would try cover the
>     part of the beadalon exposed over the class with those hollow tube
>     thingamajigs 

    Two terms I've heard for your 'thingamajigs' are: bullion & french
    wire. 

Dave
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