Making Bead Caps for Big Hole Beads

cswilson53 · #1 2011-01-09, 6:30am

I would like to make my own bead caps for pandora style beads - BHB -- has anyone any experience doing this. So far the biggest challenge seems to be getting the hole centered and large enough to go around the tubing. Any suggestions?

carrieb · #2 2011-01-09, 6:47am

You could purchase washers that are pre-made or purchase a disc cutter & use centering pegs to get a nicely centered hole for the tubing. Sorry, I can't help you out on the sizes because I don't know them off the top of my head.

There are all kinds of disc cutter tools out there. I'm using a Pepe brand & really like it and I purchased centering pegs for it from Jim Moore tools. If you do a search on disc cutters here on LE there are a few threads about disc cutters with loads of helpful information.

Also there is a really good tutorial on bead caps & making them for sale in the tutorials section called Bead Caps 101. If you are interested in decorative beads caps be sure to check in the tutorials section where there is a great tutorial a member recently shared on etching bead caps that is awesome.

Hope this helps & have fun! CarrieB

Bobeche · #3 2011-01-09, 8:24am

Hi Christine!

I've been having this problem, too, and I've researched it to death this weekend. I think the solution lies in having a disc cutter that has a centering peg that allows one to center & punch the inside hole.

I am probably going to get this one
http://www.ottofrei.com/store//produ...roductid=16867
altho I'd really like to have this one...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccUR17SFxCo
just not in my budget at $220.

Also, as Carrie mentioned, I hear that Jim Moore makes a centering peg for $50 to use with your existing disc cutter. Since mine is a cheap-o Harbor Freight cutter that leaves rough edges, I don't think that option is worth it for me.

Love to see what you come up with.....Good luck!

echeveria · #4 2011-01-09, 8:26am

Disc cutter with centering pegs is the most reliable method

prort50 · #5 2011-01-09, 8:41am

BeadAddicts make their own bead caps. You may want to get tips from them.
Renee

artiegirl · #6 2011-01-09, 8:54am

Ronnierenee has a great tutorial on how to make them and put them on the beads
written very well

Alaska · #7 2011-01-09, 3:31pm

Noticed that the disc cutter require that the center hole is punched first.

What are the suggestions for using a pre made .5 inch OD copper disc and then punching in a .2 inch ID hole in the exact center?

Some have indicated a punch sold by Harbor Freight, but the edges are not clean.

Seems that at 15 to 18 cents each it would less costly to purchase pre made than to purchase the necessary sheet stock IMO. And it would be one less operation to perform.

yeepers · #8 2011-01-09, 7:46pm

I think the issue with premade disks is that it's often very difficult to find the exact center to punch the inner hole

Alaska · #9 2011-01-09, 9:22pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeepers

I think the issue with premade disks is that it's often very difficult to find the exact center to punch the inner hole

You hit on the exact issue. Now to find the solution.

artwhim · #10 2011-01-10, 7:49pm

You want the center hole to be slightly smaller than your tubing because the hole will stretch when you dome the piece. If you don't want to make your own disc blanks you can buy the correct size from Ginko on Etsy. She also sells the tubing. Although I make my own, sometimes I'm lazy and purchase her blanks because it makes the whole process more enjoyable since punching out the discs is my least favorite part of capping and coring beads.

To make the best use of my silver, I use fine line permanent markers to layout a grid. I use more than one color so it is easy to line up the silver.

Then I punch a center hole. Next I line up the center hole in the outer dimension punch hole. Since my punch doesn't tighten down on the metal, I use cardboard shims as necessary to make the silver fit tight. By doing this, I can hold the whole thing up to the light to verify the center hole is really centered. Punch the disc out, then texture if desired. Dome in a doming block and tumble to polish. Add patina if you want, then seal with wax.

Lots of steps, but the beads look so good when they are capped!

SadiesJewels · #11 2011-01-10, 10:21pm

Kathy ... which tool are you using to punch the center hole? Finding the punch to punch out the right size for the odd sized pandora tubing is key to getting it to fit, and the thing I have the most issues with.

I do have a punch that does this from the guy who make the bead coring tool that comes in a nifty box that Rio sells (forgot the name - sorry) ... but it's limited to 26 gauge and if the sheet has some pretexturing it's too thick to place in the punch.

The system that Swanstrom has where you prepunch the center hole is more flexible and perfectly centered but does not punch out the odd pandora sized tubing hole ... 1/4" is what you get.

And for me the pre cut discs I buy I find the holes are not big enough (as I dome less I think) and I have to ream out each one to fit (major pain).

artwhim · #12 2011-01-10, 11:53pm

Sadie, I use the 3/16" in my disc cutter, no idea what brand since I bought it used in the Garage a year or two before the Pandora craze started. I'm pretty sure it creates a center hole the same size Ginko sells.

As long as your metal is fully annealed, it will stretch quite a bit while it is being domed. Once it is domed, I test that it will go on a Pandora sized tube. It's not unusual that it won't fit, but instead of filing, I put it back in the doming block and give it a couple more strikes to stretch it further. That almost always solves the problem on 26 ga, but on 24 ga I sometimes switch to a doming peg that is just slightly larger than the center hole. Put it in the center hole, and as it's hammered, slightly change the direction of the peg working all the way around the hole. Make sure the hit is on the cap and not just hitting the doming block. This puts more concentrated movement on the area right around the hole.

If your cap doesn't have a stamped design, or if the design is so deep that you don't have to worry about loosing it, you can stretch it faster by using a larger doming peg and concentrate the hits out and around. Hope that makes sense. This is also the way a cap can be corrected it the hole is slightly off center, but then it needs to have the short side stretched.

If you've heavily stamped your caps, it would help to re-anneal them before stretching but I've not found it necessary.

The file is the last resort. I always need to file the caps if I am using the copper tube since it is a little wider than the silver. Just a few seconds with a small round file usually does the trick. Rarely do I need to file to fit the silver tube.

One of my new toys for Christmas was a hand punch, but I haven't had a chance to play with it yet.

Hope this helps!