Fellow Orchids; Lately I have been having problems with glue for
the end of knotting. The cord breaks at the end after about a
month of wear. Can anyone suggest a good pearl glue. Also , I’m
using 100% no 3 silk bead cord , somtimes it will break in the
middle , after a month of wearing the necklace. It could be that
I have some rough customers , but it has happened to 3 seperate
customers. Thanks ong77@aol.com
Try#4 Silk, and I use Hypo-Tube Cement by Germanow-Simon Corp in
Rochester, NY and been very happy. Hope this helps, Karran
I have always used superglue to glue up the knots at the end, I
have also used crystal cement. It sounds like the silk may be
to fine for the necklace you are stringing. Are you string
pearls or some other kind of beads? Some beads have a burr or a
rough hole drilled through them and this will cause the silk to
\wear and break. Hope this helps, Eileen
Silk can get old and brittle before it is ever used to string
pearls or beads. You probably need to get new thread. It is
probably not your fault nor the customers if it has happened
three times.
As for the glue to finish off the ends, try using watchmakers
crystal cement. It is more like a silicone substance rather than
a hard non giving glue such as crazy glue. It has a long tip
which makes getting into small places easy. This seems to work
well.
Regards,
Amber
Is it possible to have cord from a bad lot? Weak or poorly
formed? If all three were strung on cord that was from a new
supply (or supplier), you might consider that. I don’t use this
product, but have seen differences in performance in thread and
yarn lots.
I hope this message comes through; I have only recently entered
the computer age, and have had questionable success at responding
to e-mail. I’m definitely a hand-craft kinda person. Here
goes: I’ve been stringing jewelry for almost 17 years, so I hope
this will be useful. I use a glue called Hypo-Tube-Cement made
by G-S, the Germanow-Simon Corp. of Rochester, NY. It is made for
watch crystal gluing and has a tiny, hypo applicator. It seems
to be like an airplane (hobbiest’s) glue, but with this
applicator, you can be pretty precise with your placement. It
dries with a bit of flexability, as opposed to a superglue, which
will dry hard and break off. I can get it locally and through
most jewelry supplies dealers. I think I got my last supply
through Rio Grande’s catalogue, for example. It comes in a very
small tube (1/3 oz.) and one of the maddening things about it
is that the tube always seems to spring a leak about half-way
through its use. It does do a very good job of securing your
knots, though. Regarding your silk, I have always used Gudebrod
Bros. silk by the spool, where the thickness is expressed in
letters. For most pearl stringing I find the size “E” is
perfectly fine, but , of course, your drill holes will dictate
what thickness you need. Sometimes a slightly heavier cord will
work, (“F”), or you may need something finer (“D” or even “C”).
Colours are available through the “E” size, black and white only
in anything finer. Breakage happens no matter what, especially
with the finer silks, but certainly not on a regular basis. Maybe
the batch you got was defective or even old. Silk is a natural
fiber, and one of the strongest (remember parachute silk?), but
everything has its lifespan. Our grandmothers knew that they
should have their pearls restrung as preventive maintenance @
annually, (Judging by my clients through Saks, jewelry is
supposed to outlive fire, earthquake, and the family Schnauser!)
You could also try treating your cord with beeswax to strengthen
and protect it. It will discolour your white cord, though, and
the sticky wax will attract dirt. I generally avoid using it on
the more delicate - and more pastel - projects. Hope this helps.
Margery E.
…Can anyone suggest a good pearl glue. Also , I’m
using 100% no 3 silk bead cord , somtimes it will break in the
middle , after a month of wearing the necklace…
I have always used Elmers white glue on my knots and I have
never had one undo. I have had problems with some companies bead
tips, though, in that they have to large of a hole for the finer
pearl silk, and the knot can pull through.
As for the strands breaking, you may be having a problem with
your knotting tweezers. They tend to develop a sharp edge which
will partially cut through the silk while you are knotting. If
you don’t notice this happening, the strand is likely to break
during wear. I periodically run the corners of my tweezers on
fine grit sandpaper of even the edge of a pair of pliers to dull
them before use.
Hope this helps.
Sharon Ziemek
I suggest that you switch to some the the new nylon threads,
which are stronger than the silk. Silk is traditional only
because that was the strongest fiber available when stringing
was done in ancient times. But now there are new, stronger
fibers that are also much easier to unknot when you make a
mistake and want to reknot a little closer to the bead. You can
get nylon is lots of colors and it also dyes well with 1 tsp of
ritz dye in a saucer in the microwave.
I assume that you are using French wire at the ends at the
finding. Stringinmg thru the French wire (a little coiled wire)
protects your thread from the abrasive wear and tear on the
fiber at the finding. You can order French wire from Rio Grande.
It’s cheap.
For glue, I use clear fingernail polish. It’s just as good as
the much more expensive “specialty glue” for stringing. I put
just a tiny drop on the string between the last 3 pearls on each
end of the strand.
Good luck.
Virginia
Try#4 Silk, and I use Hypo-Tube Cement by Germanow-Simon Corp in
Rochester, NY and been very happy.
That’s interesting. Is the cement intended for watch crystals? I
think crystals are Germanow-Simon’s main product here in
Rochester.
Al
mailto:@Alan_Balmer
I use a glue called Hypo-Tube-Cement made by G-S, the Germanow-Simon Corp. of Rochester, NY. and one of the maddening things about it is that the tube always seems to spring a leak about half-way through its use.
You’re right about the tubes springing leaks. When this happens
to me, I wrap the tube in masking tape so I can keep using it
without getting glue all over my fingers.