Q.
I have been beading a long time and have never had trouble crimping until now. When sterling silver was less expensive, I always worked with sterling. But to save money, I have been working more with silver plate beads, etc. When I use silver plate crimps, they never hold. I have tried all wire sizes, all sizes of crimps, even bought micro-crimpers, etc. I am wondering if the base metal that is plated is so soft that it just won't keep a crimp and that's why everything falls apart. I never had this problem with sterling silver crimps and wonder if they are stronger because the sterling work hardens during the crimping process.
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