To use a stone for jewellery making it will either need to be top drilled to create a pendant or a hole needs to be drilled through the centre for stringing the stone. To achieve this you will need some equipment: a small electric drill, 3 diamond drill bits, one the desired hole size, one slightly larger and the other slightly smaller. You will also need a container, some water, a cutting board, some silly putty, 2 small elastic bands, a pencil and goggles for safety. If you require a 1mm hole through the stone you can use a .75mm bit, a 1mm bit and a 1.25mm drill bit (You can use a diamond ball burr instead of the larger drill bit).

Place the first elastic band over the pebble so that it runs vertically through the centre of the pebble and the second so that it runs again vertically but from the opposite side of the pebble to form a cross. The purpose of using the elastics is to work out the centre points for both the top and bottom of the stone. Mark the centre of the cross with the pen on both ends of the pebble, which will give you your positions for drilling.

Add a mound of putty to the centre of the cutting board and press the stone into the putty so that it’s held securely. Into the container you will need to place the cutting board and then add the water so that it covers the stone, which is there to reduce the heat friction build up from drilling and prevent the stone from cracking. If you are fortunate enough to have a vice you can use this instead of the putty and just make sure that you have a jet of water running over the stone throughout the drilling process. Also if it’s a clamp with metal jaws place a thin piece of wood or corrugated cardboard between the jaws and the stone to prevent the surface from being damaged.

Put on your protective goggles and insert the larger bit (or diamond ball burr) into the drill to create a small indent at both marked ends of the bead. The reason for using a larger drill bit to create a small hole is to provide a guide for the smaller drill bit that prevents it from slipping when we start to drill. Using the smaller drill bit set at a medium speed slowly start to drill through the stone about 3mm at a time and then withdrawing the drill from the stone to allow the water to flow into the hole and remove any debris and drill dust and cools the stone. Depending on the size of the stone in comparison to the drill bit, you may need to turn over the stone once you reach the half way point and drill from the opposite side. Once the stone has been drilled through completely start the process again with the middle sized drill bit to give the bead a nice clean hole.

When you buy pendants or gemstones from a bead or gemstone suppliers they will likely have been polished to give them that smooth desirable surface. This is something that can also be done to your beach pebbles and is relatively inexpensive. To give a polished smooth surface to your new pendant/bead you can use a piece of equipment called a tumble-polisher. These polishing machines can cost as little as £60 for a small tumbling machine that can hold up to 1.5kg of pebbles. They work by a motor continuously turning two small rods that are attached to two rubber barrels that continuously turn. Into the machine the pebbles, water and a coarse grinding grit is added, the machine then continuously tumbles the pebbles for about a week over which time their surface becomes polished to produce beautiful semi precious beads or pendants.

It’s important to note that beading wire is not the same as jewellery wire which is a solid strand of wire that is available in different hardnesses and thicknesses. Beading wire on the other hand comprises of a multitude of tiny wire strands that are twisted together to form a strong wire, that’s coated in a nylon sheath for protection. As a general rule of thumb the greater the number of strands the greater the flexibility and strength of the wire. So if you are looking to shape the wire in your design then choose a wire with less strands as it’s more likely to retain its shape once bent. On the flip side if you want flexibility so that the wire is more accommodating and bends smoothly or drapes elegantly choose a wire with a greater number of strands. The Beadalon range of wires comes in 7, 19 and 49 Strand.

Each of the manufacturer’s range of wires will vary slightly for instance Soft Flex is available in Very Fine, Fine, Medium and Heavy wire. The difference being that Very Fine for instance only has 7 strands and a much lower breaking strength than Heavy, which has 49 Strands. All of the wire ranges are available in different size diameters and spool lengths, the details of which are displayed on the reel.

Things to consider when starting your jewellery project

When starting your jewellery making project there are a few questions you will need to ask yourself?

1. How often will the jewellery item be worn?
2. What’s the smallest hole size of the beads to be used in the project?
3. How flexible does the wire need to be?
4. What kind of beads will be used in the design, are they light or heavy and if they are
   glass or semi-precious beads do they have abrasive edges?
5. What components will be used are they expensive Sterling Silver / Gold findings or
   something a lot cheaper.

If the items will be frequently worn then a stronger wire with more threads will ensure that the jewellery item has a longer life.

Choosing the right wire thickness is determined by the smallest bead hole being used for the jewellery piece. Ideally the wire selected should fill as much of the hole as possible to minimise any movement so that the wire doesn’t rub against the edge’s of the bead hole and wear unnecessarily.

If your jewellery design incorporates lampwork glass beads or semi precious beads which are quite heavy it’s recommended to use a wire with more strands which is stronger. Glass and gemstone beads can sometimes have abrasive edges which can rub against the wire and cut through the strands over time, to minimise this wear and tear is there are any abrasive edges its worth removing them with a small file.

Finally try and match the quality of the wire with the jewellery components being used. There is no point using 49 strand wire if the item of jewellery is only going to be worn once or if it’s just a test piece for demonstration. At the same time if the design incorporates expensive stones and findings use a higher quality beading wire as this will help to extend the life of the jewellery, as the wire if often the first thing to fail over time through wear and tear.

There are 4 basic types of pliers that are the most commonly used tools for jewellery making and these are side cutters, round nosed pliers, chain nosed pliers and flat nose pliers.

Side Cutters
Side cutters have sharp jaws that can come in a variety of shapes; these are used for cutting soft wires, threads or metal sheets. The shape of the cutters affect how the cut face will appear; general side cutters will leave the cut edge smooth and even.

Round Nosed Pliers
Round nose pliers have rounded jaws and are used to hold, shape and bend jewellery wire. They are used for creating loops, curves, circles and coils and are essential when making such items as earrings and adding bead charms to a bracelet amongst other things. The jaws of the pliers are tapered so this enables you to make a variety of different sized loops and gives a very professional finish to you jewellery. They can be purchased individually or as part of a set.

Chain Nosed Pliers
These are essential in any jewellery maker’s toolbox and are used for almost all aspects of jewellery making. They can be used for bending, holding, turning the wire and also opening and closing jump rings and crimping. Their small ends enable them to get into small spaces and grip the jewellery well.

Flat Nosed Pliers
Flat nose pliers have a slim flat service. They can be used for bending wire and also straightening any bends or kinks out of the wire. They can also be used for opening and closing jump rings and also for crimping crimp beads.

Specialist Pliers

Crimping Pliers
Crimping pliers are used to crush a metal crimp onto the wire to hold a bead or clasp into place. Although a chain nose pliers can be used for this a crimping pliers gives a much neater finish to you jewellery.

Round Nose Rosary Pliers
Rosary pliers are a combination of round nose pliers and side cutters. The round nose is used for making loops and curves and the side cutter is used for cutting wire or cord.

Plier’s Construction

Box Joint Versus Lap Joint Pliers
Most pliers are constructed with either box joints or lap joints to hinge and fasten the two halves of the pliers together. You will usually find that lesser quality budget pliers use a lap joint because their cheaper and easier to manufacture. Box joint pliers will always outlast and outperform lap joint pliers and are therefore a far superior type of pliers to choose for your jewellery making. Box joint pliers should retain precise alignment and experience no looseness or side play always open and close smoothly due to their joint construction. Lap joint pliers on the other hand tend to wear very quickly which will result in the pliers becoming loose and wobbly over time.

Spring Tension Pliers
When you close your pliers to pick something up or snip some wire with your cutters, if your pliers aren’t spring loaded they will stay shut once you release the tension. Some pliers have a single or double spring others have no spring at all to keep the jaws apart which means that you manually have to open and close the pliers. It’s worthy getting pliers with a single or double spring if you can afford them as they will help your hands from tiring so easily.

Material
Pliers are generally either made of stainless steel or hardened and tempered carbon steel. Stainless steel pliers have the benefit of never rusting, will have a good life span but aren’t as hard wearing as hardened steel, so will wear over time. Hardened and tempered carbon steel pliers are extremely tough and hard wearing but they do have a tendency to rust, so need to be oiled regularly.

Handles
Pliers can come with a range of handles including foam grip, PVC and ergonomically designed handles. A PVC grip is generally harder wearing than a foam grip but not as comfortable to use for long periods of time. Ergonomically designed pliers will cost more but if you’re doing repetitive work for long periods its well worth investing in a pair as they are more comfortable to use and less fatiguing.

Size
Pliers come in sizes ranging from miniature to Heavy Weight; miniature pliers are great for travelling with or occasional use, but not really suitable for prolonged use. Most jewellery making tasks can be successfully accomplished with light weight or medium weight pliers. Heavy weight pliers as the name suggests are more suitable for heavy duty work and are suitable for working with memory wire.

How to store Silver

There are simple measures that you can take when storing silver to help prevent it from tarnishing.

1. Store silver in an area free from dust, dirt or grime.
2. Add some Silica gel packets to the container where you store the silver. jewellery to keep the humidity levels low, these can be purchased from many places and are well worth having if you own a lot of Silver jewellery.
3. Pre-treat each piece of jewellery with tarnish retardant polish if you know that you will b storing the jewellery for a long time.
4. Whilst I recommend all the above, I’ve always stored my silver jewellery in grip seal bags inside an airtight plastic container and I’ve never had a problem with it tarnishing.

Cleaning tarnished silver

Cleaning tarnished silver is simple, all you need is water, salt, aluminium foil and baking soda.

Step 1: Cover a dish with a piece of aluminium foil.

Step 3: Pour some hot water into the dish and stir to dissolve the powders.

Step 4: Place your tarnished silver into the solution. If the silver is a little tarnished a few minutes should do the trick, but if the silver is badly tarnished leave it in the solution for about an hour.

Step 5: When removed from the solution wipe the silver with a dry clean cloth.

Out with the old in with the new

Hi and Welcome to crystal and Glass Beads Blog, we have just updated the look of the site, including new software that allows user accounts. After having done a small trial it would appear that not many people liked being forced into having to setup an account, so we have updated the original site to look like the new one. There is a link at the bottom of the page which will take you to the new part of the site. Once we have had a banner made it will sit in the site header so that regular customers to the site, who would rather setup their details just the once can access it.

I hope to start updating the blog and talking about the new stock we shall be adding along with what will hopefully be some useful advice for anyone who is starting to sell their own jewellery online. With some tips on setting up a website, photographing jewellery, creating an identity and business stationery.

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