beading cable

Hi - I'm relatively new to beading, but have made quite a few pieces I'm pleased with and am planning to start selling in the fall.  I like the drape of the C-Flex 49-strand .012 beading cable as opposed to the heavier .018, but recently, a vintage German glass bead bracelet I'd made broke after just a few wearings.  The cable had frayed through in one spot and was almost through in another.  I was very surprised, esp. as the beads appear to have perfectly smooth holes.  
Now I'm thinking I should re-string the pieces I've made with heavier cable, or use a heavy Nymo thread.  Any thoughts from more experienced beaders?  I appreciate the help - thanks!

[Russ Nobbs]

Frayed in 2 particular places sounds like 2 sharp edged beads to me.

.012 is lighter than I'd suggest for heavy glass. OK maybe for 4mm Swarovski small beads. That's just a quick response. Let's see what my more knowledgable staff has to suggest.

When I restrung the bracelet after posting my message and examined the edges with a magnifying glass, I did indeed find that 2 of the beads had small, sharp chips near the holes.  I filed them as best I could with some wet/dry emery paper, but what would be the best way to deal with sharp edges on glass beads.....a bead reamer?

[marym]

Two things-

First, you can ream the holes in most beads but be careful, glass will break very easily, especially hand made stuff.  Submerging your bead in water while you ream will help to prevent stress type breakage (by keeping the bead cool).

Second, if you use a larger daimeter beading cable- the beads will have less room to rub against the wire.

The general rule of thumb is to use the largest diameter possible for the hole size of the bead. A snug fit just prevents added friction (but won't help much in the case of sharp edges).

And finally, I would probably check all the glass beads that came from the same vendor- there may be more sharp edges in other beads.

[Metalman]

For this sort of bead - you will want to use the diamond loaded type of bead reamer. Mary is right there, by power or hand, it is best to use with water. This protects you, your tool and your bead. Diamond 'sintered' tools work well on glass but the water helps lubricate and keep the tool cool [stays sharper laonger as well]. This also keeps the glass cool [avoids heat cracks] and no dust gets generated [glass dust or silica is very hard on our sinuses and lungs - best not to breath any]

OK - got it.  Can any of you recommend a book that covers more of these technical problems that come up in beading?  All the ones I have or have looked at mostly consist of various projects and are short on "best practices" stuff.

Thanks so much for all the help - this is a great feature of the site!

[marym]

I think that is the first time I've had someone actually ask that GREAT question!!

We actually have a "reference section" of books in our on-line store.

But I have two faithful resources that I'd rather recommend directly- every time I have a question these two books have answers... My all time fave for clear concise (and gorgeous) images: Findings & Finishings by Sharon Batman- lot's of tips tricks and explanations of what's what to get you WELL on your way to stringing projects perfectly.

The next fave is The Beader's companion. Again- lot's of useful stuff here- mainly geared toward seed beaders (with quite a few pages devoted to stitching) but it DOES cover the gamut of tips and how to's and has been helpful to me many times.

Thank you, Wonder Woman!  I'll go forth and bead....

[marym]

as it should be!!

[tanzanite]

this happened to me as well a few times and i didnt know how to file the sharp edges properly and i managed to break lots of my beads '> -till finally i had to change supplier. it seems that the beads he supplied were of poor quality. so i will add that be sure your supplier provides very finely filed beads! '>

[marym]

lol '> that always helps- but beads (even the same kind from the same supplier) can vary from batch to batch- and vary they do- a lot. Especially gemstones, but sometimes hand made glass items vary as well.

Most vendors can do very little about what's available so even the good sellers have trouble getting perfect stock every time.  

I have found that the best bet, really, is to find and stay with honest vendors. Vendors who are going to tell you when a stock item has varied or has reduced in quality.  And most importantly: find vendors with good or great customer service and return policies, in case you are unhappy with items you receive. You just want good people who are willing to help when an item is icky.

And that's my whoppin 2 cents worth.

-Welcome to the forum btw- glad you found us. '>