Silver coring - what else do I need?

[Jackson River Glass]

So I have the Retro bead lining tool, and I have some tubing ordered. What else do I need? I read about a leather hammer kind of thing. And I read how some people anneal the silver, some don't. Does that just depend on the particular batch of tubing and how soft it is?

[Gelly]

Susan, I haven't done any coring... just used the rivets so far, but from what I've read, it sounds like you have the basics. I think you just need to try a few first, then decide if you need anything else to finish them off.

I think the hammer thing is to get it to lay exactly how you want it to if the tool isn't able to.

Some people have to anneal their tubing, but I think that depends on the wall thickness and the length of tubing they are using... it will tend to crack if it's long or thick.

Some people also do some sort of polishing/tumbling after they core their beads...

A good saw/pipe cutter will prevent a lot of problems too.

Good luck!

[Jackson River Glass]

Hey thanks, Gelly!!! :) I've heard about rivets - what are those like?

[Gelly]

Hey thanks, Gelly!!! :) I've heard about rivets - what are those like?

they are just little bitty tubes with one end already flared... just glue one into each end of the bead and done! :grin:

They seemed to best solution for my critter beads... I couldn't imagine using a hammer on them, I'd probably knock off some limbs or ears or some other crucial body part.

[Jackson River Glass]

Cool - I'll have to do a search and see what those are all about! It might be nice to have some of both around. Thanks, Gelly!

[yeepers]

Total self promo but I have some of the rivets currently for sale in the Garage Sale :)

Oh...and you probably want a nice fine file to file down rough edges and to get a nice flat edge prior to flaring.

-Yee