Home Forums Explore Media Glass Art Let’s Talk Glass Class 101 Riveted and Silver Core Bead Tutorial

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  • #985581
    Tink
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        As presented at AGI 2004…

        Riveted Bead Caps

        Supplies

        Jeweler’s saw (or glass saw, for small diameter tubing)
        Dapping Block and Punches
        Steel Block
        Torch, Charcoal Block and Heatproof Surface
        Pickle
        Hand Punch or drill
        Transfer Punches
        Pre-cut metal disks from Rio Grande (24 or 26 gauge)
        Leather Mallet or Hammer
        Jeweler’s Files
        Buffing wheel and polish (White Diamond and Red Rouge)

        For an average bead, we use ½” disks. Use a transfer punch to mark the center of each disk. Use a hand punch or drill to make a hole in the center of each disk. The tubing should be a snug fit through the hole in the disk. Put the disk into the dapping block. Choose a punch that fits the hole in the dapping block and use a hammer to hit the punch a few times until the dome is a well-formed cap that fits nicely on your bead.

        Place a cap on each end of the bead. Insert tubing through the bead and both caps. Mark and cut the tubing so that you end up with 2-3mm of the tubing sticking out of each cap. Don’t forget to allow for the length you’ll lose when you file the ends of the cut tubing! If you anneal and pickle your tubing before the riveting process, the ends will flare more easily.

        Working on your steel block, begin with a dapping punch slightly larger than the inside dimensions of the tubing and use a hammer to gently start to flare the end of the tubing with a couple of taps. Turn the bead over and flare the opposite end. Return to the original end and repeat this sequence using increasingly larger punches.

        After the rivet is flared to your liking, polish the caps. Take care not to heat the bead too much in this process; it can unanneal your bead and/or cause it to crack. Use Emery paper to remove any scratches, then polish.

        Silver Core Beads

        Supplies

        7/16” OD Stainless Steel Tubing coated with bead release
        11 mm diamond core drill bit and Dremel®
        Jeweler’s Saw
        ½” diameter sterling silver tubing
        Torch, Charcoal Block and Heatproof Surface
        Pickle
        Corrugated cardboard
        Dapping Punches
        Leather Mallet or Hammer
        Steel Block
        Jeweler’s files
        Buffing and Polishing Supplies (White Diamond and Red Rouge)

        Make a bead on the stainless tubing. Experiment with various widths and thicknesses, but we’ve found that beads less than 9mm wide and 6mm thick tend to break during this process. Anneal. Use the core drill in water to open up the bead until the sterling tubing just fits through the hole.

        Cut the tubing so that 2mm extends on each side of the bead. File the ends until they are smooth. Anneal and pickle the tubing.

        Make a hole in the cardboard that is slightly larger than the diameter of the tubing. Place the cardboard on top of your steel block and place the tubing into the hole.

        Choose a dapping punch that is slightly bigger than the diameter of the tubing. Use the leather mallet to tap the punch into the tubing 3 or 4 times or until the silver starts to flare. Turn over and repeat. Choose a punch that is 3 or 4 sizes larger and repeat until the tubing is nicely flared.

        Turn the large punch over and use the flat side against the silver to finish hammering the silver down flush with the bead.

        Use Emery paper to remove any scratches, then polish.

        We first learned of these techniques through the articles listed below. We are indebted to Bronwen and Susan, and very grateful for their generosity! It still took a lot of trial and error, and lots of practice to end up with something we liked. We finally developed methods for creating these beads that suited us. We have formulated this demo for folks who, like us, have little or no metalsmithing experience.

        Lapidary Journal, Oct. 2002 – Capping Beads Step by Step by Bronwen Heilman

        Lapidary Journal, June 2001 – Silver Core Beads by Susan Silvy

        We purchase our silver and some jewelry supplies from:

        Rio Grande Santa Fe Jewelers Supply
        http://www.riogrande.com http://www.sfjssantafe.com
        800.545.6566 800.659.3835

        Metalliferous Metalliferous has a great
        http://www.metalliferous.com selection of goodies, at
        888.944.0909 pretty good prices

        http://www.widgetsupply.com Dapping blocks/punches at low prices:
        Brass Dapping Block – BKH38 – Price: $19.97
        There are various punch sets available

        We found the hand punch at Harbor Freight Tools. It comes with seven punch/dies ranging in size from 2mm to 7mm.
        ITEM 44060-1VGA
        It’s $16.99, but often goes on sale for $11.99
        http://www.harborfreight.com

        Tubing Reference List

        For Riveted Caps —
        Tubing for beads made on a 3/32” mandrel: 2 or 3mm OD
        Tubing for beads made on a 1/8” mandrel: 3 or 4mm OD

        For Silver Core Beads –
        Some folks use sterling tubing that is the same size as their mandrel. I find that the bead release makes the bead hole a little sloppy for a good fit. Your mandrel should be slightly smaller than your tubing.

        [FONT=Trebuchet MS]Tink
        Etsy

        #1067638
        !Karen
        Default

            Fantastic!!

            Great tutorial, thanks Tink!

            5 STARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

            #1067623
            Beth Myers
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                Expertly done Tink!
                Thank you for the time and efforts involved!
                I’ve given you all my votes for the day. :D
                Please remember to rate this thread if you found it helpful.
                Beth

                "In the South, the breeze blows softer...neighbors are friendlier, nosier, and more talkative. (By contrast with the Yankee, the Southerner never uses one word when ten or twenty will do)...This is a different place. Our way of thinking is different, as are our ways of seeing, laughing, singing, eating, meeting and parting. Nothing about us is quite the same as in the country to the north and west. What we carry in our memories is different too, and that may explain everything else." --Charles Kuralt in "Southerners: Portrait of a People"

                #1067635
                tulips
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                    OOOH, I want to try this someday! I rated it excellent! How or who do we ask to make it a sticky so I can find it again easily?

                    #1067637
                    lsking
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                        Yippee! :clap: I cannot wait to give this a try….Harbor Freight here I come!!

                        Thank you Tink!!!!!!!

                        Sue

                        [FONT=Palatino Linotype]Age is not important unless you are a cheese. ~ Helen Hayes Angelfire Art Glass (e)baying at the moon!..
                        #1067640
                        CharleneN
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                            Wow Tink….You make it sound so easy here….thanks for one of the best tutorials!!! :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:

                            Charlene
                            ebay

                            #1067641
                            jbriz
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                                I’ve always wondered about this! Thanks for such a great tutorial. Definitely on my list of things to try some day….

                                Jimmye
                                my Etsy

                                #1067631
                                GinnyHampton
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                                    Wow – thank you Tink. I appreciate the time you put into this :)

                                    #1067612
                                    Tink
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                                        I need to get some pics of the process, too, but just don’t have the time right now. Hope the text is helpful, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of your labors!

                                        [FONT=Trebuchet MS]Tink
                                        Etsy

                                        #1067626
                                        !ngridh
                                        Default

                                            I am taking a class up at the bead factory in Tacoma in a couple of weeks…will be looking for supplies on the net…but this helps a lot! make the bead ON the steel tubing~~~~~~` yeah~

                                            Regime change begins at home. (bumper sticker I saw today.)

                                            CATS! can't live with them, Can't live without them!
                                            Why do they lay in your path and refuse to move out of your way and then complain bitterly when you trip over them?

                                            #1067625
                                            paulette
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                                                Come on, Tink…show us yours!

                                                Paulette
                                                (Jump Ringer Saw Blades for the Foredom Flex Shaft)

                                                www.suncoastbeads.com
                                                #1067613
                                                Tink
                                                Default

                                                    When I started searching for some images of completed riveted and core beads, I realized how few of them I’ve actually photographed. The ones I make these days typically go to established customers who don’t need to see pics. (Oh how I love you guys! LOL!)

                                                    Here are two pics of my very first silver core bead (Teal Seeded Glass with enameled black trails) and one display pic of an etched riveted heart with some cool surface treatments.

                                                    [FONT=Trebuchet MS]Tink
                                                    Etsy

                                                    #1067614
                                                    Tink
                                                    Default

                                                        Here’s the one I finished today. The caps have a brushed finish. Two views of the same bead:

                                                        [FONT=Trebuchet MS]Tink
                                                        Etsy

                                                        #1067629
                                                        Nolly
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                                                            Tink,

                                                            I have the Harbor Freight punch and had trouble with it … I think because my sterling sheet was too light. What gauge are you having success with?

                                                            Thanks for this tutorial; I really appreciate your time & expertise!

                                                            Nolly

                                                            Ask me about the mission of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers.

                                                            People cannot live gracefully or peacefully, joyfully or justly, without celebration in their lives, without awe. Matthew Fox

                                                            #1067615
                                                            Tink
                                                            Default

                                                                Tink,

                                                                I have the Harbor Freight punch and had trouble with it … I think because my sterling sheet was too light. What gauge are you having success with?

                                                                Thanks for this tutorial; I really appreciate your time & expertise!

                                                                Nolly

                                                                Nolly, I’m using 24 gauge disks. I’d like to try something around 26 or 28 sometime to see how that works.

                                                                [FONT=Trebuchet MS]Tink
                                                                Etsy

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