As a favor I am making beaded earrings to go with an antique necklace. The top bead needs to have end caps. Stuller shows different diameters for some of the end caps I’m interested in, but are the diameters the size of the end caps, or for the size of the beads they fit on? I need to use 7mm beads.
Any help appreciated!
Neil A
Neil,
I guess it depends on which Measurement that you’re looking at, as memory serves, they typically give the Outside and Inside Measurements and sometimes the actual Bead Width too (for the larger Domed End Caps), but for the slightly Domed End Caps, I believe the Measurements are just of the Width/Diameter of the End Cap itself - though it has been quite a while since I’ve seen/used a Stuller Catalogue…
Jonathan
Jonathan, thanks for the reply.
Both Rio and Stuller show only one size, likely the diameter of the end cap. That doesn’t help me to know which would fit 7mm beads. You’d think they would say. Or I think they would… I’ll buy a few and go with the best fit.
Neil A
Neil,
I was curious, so I just looked at the Online Stuller Catalogue under “End Caps” and when you click on one of them, the first photo and Listing does just show the Diameter Measurement, but when you scroll down below the “More Items To Consider” and “Popular Products”, it gives you more detailed “Specifications”… I would imagine that’s not in the Printed Catalogue…
I also looked at the Rio Online Catalogue too, but amazingly enough, when you click on “Specifications” they only give you the “Inside Diameter” Measurements… (shaking my head) Granted, if you think about it, that is probably the most helpful Measurement…
Can you try to measure the Bead’s Diameter at the point of where you want the End Cap to end/rest on the Bead, this would give you some idea as to the Inside Diameter of End Cap that you would need - Sorry if you have already done this… Anyway, good luck!
Jonathan
but when you scroll down below the “More Items To Consider” and “Popular Products”, it gives you more detailed “Specifications”…
Well that’s poor design. The detailed information belongs with the product, not after ‘other products you might like’. I never scrolled down past that. Even so, it makes no sense to me. “Bead width .01mm” ?
" Specifications
| Weight: | 0.051 DWT (0.08 grams) |
|---|---|
| Bead Width: | .01 mm |
| Hole Size: | .72 mm |
| Outside Diameter: | 6 mm |
Can you try to measure the Bead’s Diameter at the point of where you want the End Cap to end/rest on the Bead, this would give you some idea as to the Inside Diameter of End Cap that you would need
That’s what I will do. For a 7mm bead perhaps a 4mm or 5mm end cap would work. Curvature still would be unknown, could snuggly fit a 10mm bead if the curvature is shallow, a 6mm bead if more wrap-around. I have a 7mm dapping punch, if the shape isn’t quite right I will coerce it.
Neil A
Neil,
I believe what they are referring to with: “Bead width .01mm” - is that is the “Width” or Thickness of the Metal of the End Cap, they are simply calling it a “Bead” for some odd reason, though technically, you could use it as a Bead… Very poor wording and specification descriptions for sure - probably by someone with absolutely no knowledge of Jewellery and the Jewellers who work on it… (shaking my head) Anyway, that is what I’d do too, if it’s not the correct curvature, it can always be Dapped into the right curvature, just do it very lightly… I hope this helps…
Jonathan
Does not compute.* 34 gauge is .16mm. I measured aluminum foil at .02 - .03 mm.
I will place the end caps on softer urethane and tap the dapping rod into it. That should be as gentle as possible.
Neil A
*What old TV show was that line from?
Neil,
Lost In Space maybe…??? 
I agree, think their are several numerical errors in their “Specifications”, both on this listing and in many of the others that I looked at…One item was listed as having a Width of .012mm and it was quite clearly thicker Metal, so most likely 1.2mm+ and the one you commented on: “Bead width .01mm” is most likely 1mm… You have to remember that we live in a country that still uses Imperial Weights & Measures for most things, so Millimeters and their Decimal equivalents can be confusing to those who don’t use them…
Rio Grande is particularly bad with their Weights oftentimes being way off - several months ago, I tried to order some Mounted Stiff Bristle Brushes (12 per Package) from them and the Weight they had listed was something like 26lbs, thus my shipping quote was around $75.00! I was ordering quite a few Burs, Sanding Discs, etc. (nothing big and heavy) and couldn’t figure out why my shipping was so expensive, so I ended up going through each individual item until I found the item with the skewed weight and removed it from my cart and my shipping quote then changed to $12.50… (shaking my head) I sent them an e-mail about it and they said they would look into it and within a week or two, the weight was finally changed…
I’m sure that both of these companies, as well as most of the others that have Online Catalogues, use Data Entry People to enter the information that is contained within their Listings and these people will most likely have no knowledge of what they are listing (including the Metric Measurements) and won’t notice anything that looks “off” or incorrect, they’re simply typing what is on the page… I find errors like this all the time, but then again, I’m a little “obsessive-compulsive”, so I notice anything that’s even a little bit “off”, a blessing and a curse…
Jonathan
Yes! Thanks. A web search confirmed that. I remember the saying but not the show.
Given the number of items Rio Grande and Stuller list (among others), entering all that data must be a terrible chore. Disappointing when wrong, but understandable.
Neil A