Onyx Beaded Bracelet Stainless Steel Cable Termination Help?

I have designed a clasp for an onyx 10mm bead bracelet. I am using a 1mm stainless cable. What I am trying to figure out is how did these jewellers terminate their ends in such a tight setting and get such a nice finish without any slack in the bracelet?

Hope someone can shed some light on termination techniques.

Thanks,

Richard

Hi!

…I do not know, but i have always been curious about this as well!

i cant wait to hear from others

i am going to make a guess here…

guess #1:
using a silk cord, not a cable…
maybe the bead cap has a loop inside…
maybe the last 3 beads have larger holes

…put cord through cap loop, then back thru 3 beads with bigger holes, knotting between each…

clip cord, and put glue into holes…

guess #2:
the bead cap has 1-2 posts that are glued into the last pearl, like a pearl ring…

julie

Julie’s guesses sound spot on. If you are going to use cable, the only other thing I could suggest is to slip a crimp tube on in between beads closer towards the end, so you would loop the wire around the ring on the inside of the clasp (like Julie described) & feed it back through the tube. Crimp & then add a cover so it will look like an intentional design element.

Hmm! Wouldn’t the stainless cable be stronger than the silk? Are they typically made with silk?
Thanks for the reply.

Julie explained how a strand of beads would be finished if they were strung on silk. Then Carolyn explained how you could modify Julie’s silk solution to work with cable, but some folks don’t like using crimps and crimp covers.

I hope someone has a solution.

If I understand your problem correctly, let me use silk in an example to help explain why I think there is no perfect solution:

When a strand of beads is knotted between each bead, there will be little to no slack in the cord. Without knots between the beads, when the bracelet is unclasped and is hanging from one end, the slack becomes apparent because the beads are taking up less space than they did when the bracelet was clasped into a circle. I think it’s the knots between the beads that solves the slack problem. If you are able to successfully get rid of the slack without having knots between the beads, then there will be no supple flexibility and it will be stiff like a bangle when worn.

Finishing a strand of beads is not as easy as it seems!

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I would like to make hoop earrings. Out of flat wire that will not go though an ear. I do not want to use the backing for a stud earring. Help.

Marilyn

A better description or picture would help. My first thought is to solder a half french wire to the side of the earring…Rob

Maybe make the bead cap separate and shaped like Pac-Man, then there is access to the clasp to tighten the cord or wire; the bead cap then is glued or closed around the bead

Thanks, Would silk be strong enough for 10mm onyx beads? I have had 2 break on me after about 8 months of wearing the bracelet with 1mm wire. The knot between the beads is an idea!

Unfortunately, my design does not afford a modification on the bead caps.

If your design would allow the beading flex wire like this, you would find it is very strong.
https://www.firemountaingems.com/search?keywords=beading+wire

The inside edge of the hole in your stone beads is probably sharp enough to cut with assistance from gravity and rolling. It might be possible to grind those edges …but a mask and good ventilation is top priority!

You had one question, and now you have two:
How to avoid slack?
What to use to string stone bead bracelets?

Fiber might not be the best choice, but if you use fiber, it must be stretched before stringing or else slack will eventually appear as the fiber relaxes. To stretch it, just wet the fiber, tie the ends around cans of food for weight and hang the string over a hanging garment rod until it dries.

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Thank you!

Ill post pictures in a week or so of my dilemma.