Jewelry-Making How-To Videos

Secrets to Bead Tips with Accu-Flex® Beading Wire

Presented by Tammy Honaman, Author, Jewelry-Making Expert and Educator,
Instructions by Andrew, Content Development Group, Exclusively for Fire Mountain Gems and Beads®
F896

See how to use bead tips to hide crimp covers for a professional finish on beading wire in this short tutorial led by jewelry-making expert and instructor Tammy Honaman.

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STEP 1
Crimp one end of one length of Accu-Flex® beading wire to one clasp (or one loop of a multi-strand clasp) and trim the excess wire from the short end.
STEP 2
Thread one bead tip (hook-end first) onto the beading wire and position the bead tip over the crimp.
STEP 3
Use a pair of chain-nose pliers to gently close the bead tip over the crimp.

Position the hook of the bead tip over the loop of the clasp (or other finding) and gently close the loop using chain-nose pliers.

Note:
  • Be careful not to crush the bead tip
  • The bead tip is not used to secure the strand to the clasp, rather it is used to hide the crimp
STEP 4
For the opposite end of the strand, begin by threading one bead tip (bottom-end first) onto the beading wire and one crimp. Pass the beading wire through the loop of the second portion of the clasp (opposite of the loop used in Step 1) and back through the crimp.
STEP 5
Pull the beading wire snug then let wire loose as desired to give a nice drape to the beads.

Using chain-nose or crimping pliers, carefully close the crimp to secure the wire. Trim excess wire.
STEP 6
Repeat Step 3 to hide the crimp and finish the strand.

Tip: Use bead tips to hide crimp beads whenever the design allows it.

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