[NFB-Krafters-Korner] Lots of jewelry questions!

[Tracy Carcione]

Hi Ariana.
I can't answer all your questions, but I can tell you what I think about
some of them.  I made jewelry for a while for myself and my family, then I
stopped, and now I'm getting back into it, starting with repairing some
stuff I've bought over the years that has come apart. 

I have a braille tape measure, the kind with the rivets at the inch and
half-inch, and it works reasonably well.  Put the tape a bit loosely around
the wrist, because the beads need a little space too.  Remember that the
clasp will add some length, too. 

When I put on a clasp, I put the wire through a crimp bead, around the
attaching part of the clasp, then back through the crimp and, best, back
through a couple beads, then tighten it good, crimp, and cut the wire,
trying not to leave any sticking out to scratch the wearer.  I don't add any
jump rings to the clasp.  Don't know if that's wrong, but it's worked for
me. 

I've seen some toggle clasps where there are a few chain links on the loop
half, so the wearer can stick the toggle bar through wherever it fits best.
Perhaps that's what someone calls a toggle extender?

I haven't used silicon bumper beads.  I've used seed beads to separate
bigger beads and otherwise make a bit of space.  
The beads you describe sound nice, but big beads add weight, and, depending
on what they're made of, could break if the bracelet is worn daily while
doing lots of things.  I don't know; just something to consider.  Might be a
case where 1-3 big beads are all the bigness you need. 

I'm pretty sure I saw a jewelry-making toolkit on Amazon with various kinds
of pliers and a wire-cutter.  Me, I just bought the things I was sure I
needed.

I never used crimp covers.  

I found instructions on how to use my crimping tool on Youtube.  Amazon also
sometimes has manuals with the product.  And I bet there are instructions
printed on the package someone could read to you. 

I haven't used jump rings really, but I'd like to.  I'll be interested to
read any comments about them.

I bought a beading board long ago.  It's nice.  It has spaces where I can
put a bunch of beads, and rows of long indentations where I can lay out a
bracelet or necklace and arrange it to my liking before I start actually
working. 

I think that's it.  Good luck, and have fun!
Tracy


-----Original Message-----
From: NFB-Krafters-Korner [mailto:nfb-krafters-korner-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Arianna Sepulveda via NFB-Krafters-Korner
Sent: Sunday, August 14, 2022 12:34 AM
To: List for blind crafters and artists
Cc: Arianna Sepulveda
Subject: [NFB-Krafters-Korner] Lots of jewelry questions!

Hi, everyone,


It's been quite a while since I've posted to this list, but I have a ton of
jewelry questions. I've decided to work on this instead of the knitting, at
least for a while, since all the knitting is doing is frustrating me lol. I
just cannot get my stitches to be consistant! Anyhow, onto the questions.

For background, I'm working with simiprecious beads from Michaels, and
using 19 strand, 0.018 inch diameter beading wire by Beadalon.

1. I'm planning on using Beadalon EZ Crimps. I've watched some videos on
using them, which has helped somewhat, but I'm still confused on how they
look in terms of their shape, and how you actually close them with the EZ
Crimp pliers. Some people just use regular crimping pliers, but since
Beadalon has come out with a tool specifically for the EZ Crimps, I figure
I'll use that.

2. I haven't been able to find this anywhere on-line, but how much length
do they add to your project? I know the part that's going to be adding
length is actually the wire loop on them rather than the crimp itself,
since the end of the wire actually goes all the way through the crimp from
one side to the other, so I guess my question really should be, how big is
this wire loop in terms of diameter and length from the crimp end to the
oposite side of the loop?

3. How much allowence should I build into my project to comfortably add the
EZ Crimps? I'm making bracelets for myself, my husband, and my mom. I'm
going to be picking up a retractable tailers measuring tape from amazon so
I can only pull out as much tape as will fit around the person in
question's wrist, with the box of the measuring tape and the very end of
the tape acting as either ends of the measurement. I have a talking tape
measure which I can use to measure the length of the measurements I get
from the tailers tape. I'd just use the talking tape measure, but since
it's metal, it wouldn't exactly go well around someone's wrist. I know I
could use a string, but I'd need to put it down to handle the tape measure,
and when I do that, I'll lose the place where I was gripping the end when I
used it to measure the wrist. If anyone thinks they have a better solution
than the one I've come up with above, please do let me know.

4. I'm considering getting locking jump rings, as I feel they would be more
secure than open jump rings, since they actually snap shut with some kind
of pin. I've heard that you need some kind of pliers with plastic tips so
you won't scratch or dent either kind of jump ring or something. I'm
planning on using ones that match my clasp hardware, which are gold and
silver toggle clasps. Has anyone used locking or open jump rings? Do you
know the kind of pliers I'm talking about? Do I really need two sets of
them? With the opening of the jump ring at 12 o'clock, you're supposed to
grab the jump ring with pliers at 3 and 9 o'clock and push one hand away
from you while pulling the other hand toward you, which twists the jump
ring open rather than pulling it open like a chip bag, if that makes sense
lol. I'm wanting to use locking jump rings because I've had keychains just
fall off split rings, so it seems like they're kind of prone to failure,
and I think that I would feel more secure with the locking kind. They're
pricier than open jump rings, and finding them in both the colors I need is
prooving a little difficult. I've only really checked Amazon, though, so
maybe somewhere like Joanns might have them.

5. Since the beadalon EZ Crimps already come in both gold and silver,
should I even need a crimp cover? I get the impression that they look more
like beads when crimped into place, unlike crimp beads, which people seem
to think don't really look like beads when you're done crimping them.

6. Should I get wire guardians? Would they even work with EZ Crimps?

7. I've heard about so many things for cutting wire, and I'm confused.
There's wire nippers, and quite a few different types of wire cutters. What
should I get? I have something already, but I'm not sure if it's okay.
Amazon link

8. Has anyone used silicone bead bumpers? Do I need them if I'm using both
glass and stone beads in one project? Do they work with thin, flat beads?
There's these really cool turtle print beads that I got from Michaels, but
they're really flat. They're about the size of one of those little
bite-sized chocolate bars that come rapped in paper--the really flat kind
that are probably only about 1/8 or 1/4 inch thick. I also have some beads
that are shaped like owls, but flat, like a cookie you cut out with a
cookie cutter. Lol I'm on a role tonight with comparing beads to food.
Anyhow, they're thinner than the turtles.

9. Should I use more than one jump ring to connect the bar of the toggle
clasp? I'm worried about building in enough wiggle room to make putting the
bracelet on easy.

10. I've recently learned of toggle extenders, but am confused about them.
When I Googled it, what I was seeing were little lengths of jump rings all
connected together, which you would presumably put on between your clasp
and the bracelet, which would necessitate you opening up the jump rings you
already have on your bracelet so you could add this. What the Reddit post
seemed to be talking about was rather something that somehow connected to
your existing toggle clasp, no deconstruction of the bracelet needed. This
woman sold jewelry with toggle clasps, so sometimes ran into the situation
of a customer wanting a piece but it not being able to fit because it was
too small. I'm toying around with the idea of selling jewelry, if I get
good enough, and think this no deconstruction needed toggle clasp extender
is a great idea! Apparently, you can also get something similar for lobster
claw clasps.

11. Keeping with the theme of selling jewelry, how would I make the same
bracelet design in different sizes if I didn't use the clasp extenders?
Let's say I've worked out a design for a 7 inch bracelet; how would I then
keep that design and make it a 7 and a half or 8 inch bracelet? How could I
extend the length while keeping the design fundimentally the same and not
spoil the simitry?

12. Has anyone ever used bead reamers? How the heck do I know what size to
get? I have no idea how big the holes on any of my beads are, since
Michaels doesn't put the hole sizes on their products! I'm just wanting to
get something to make the holes smooth, in case I ever get into making
bracelets using elastic instead of wire. I wouldn't want a bracelet to come
apart because of a rough edge. I've done some research on bead reamers, and
it seems like you use different types depending on what material you're
working with. I like the idea of a battery-powered reamer (I saw a video
about the battery-powered reamer by Beadalon). I need to do some more
research on that one, though, since I'm not sure what kinds of materials it
can be used on.

I'm sorry this email is so long! I just wanted to make everything easier by
keeping things altogether and not have too many threads. :)


Thanks,
Ari
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