QuestionHi, I have a beaded necklace that broke. The wire came undone from the loop. It is a wire that was bent into a loop like shape and tucked into a very tiny "clamp like" bead. I think I can fix it myself but I want to purchase these little "clamp-like" beads. Do you know what these are called? Thanks so much.
Heidi
AnswerHeidi, thanks for the question. This one is easy and you should be able to find what you need at most any general crafts store.
These parts are called "crimp beads" or simply crimps. Essentially, the crimp bead is a short tube. The wire goes in one end from the necklace, is then looped through the clasp end and pushed back through the tube. A little bit of end that comes out through the tube is pulled gently with pliers while the wire is around the clasp ring to shorten the wire loop. Then, the bead is crimped or crushed flat to hold the wire securely.
You will find these in plated base metals and in sterling silver at crafts stores. Crimping pliers are also sold but unless you are doing beading all the time, any sort of flat pliers with a nose small enough for the bead will suffice to flatten the bead tightly on the wire.
Here is one online link where you can see these items. This happens to be the first link from a google search for "crimp beads" and I am not pushing any particular seller. As I said, most likely you can get these locally and the beads are not expensive.
http://www.artbeads.com/searchresult.html?txt=crimp&gclid=CP69neD685ACFQ2aOAodHC...
Oh, you may need to remove a few beads from the necklace to have enough of the original wire to work with. Once the necklace is strung and the crimp is tightened, the excess wire is snipped off as close to the crimp as you can get it. That is how it is done in the first place and the wire may be too short to work with unless you remove a few beads.
Thanks again. You can do this yourself with little problem.
God Bless and Peace. Thomas. January 13, 2008 2:44PM
