Letter opener large bead project
I'm putting together a letter opener with large hole beads & they will not sit straight, they slide around on the shaft. Is there a trick to keeping them stacked straight?
Advice (1)
Hi Ms. Connie,
So it sounds like the beads are too wide for the shaft and they are shifting from side to side? I'm assuming you want them to sit straight so it's easier to hold on to when using the opener.
Using a crimp bead probably won't help, because that will only hold them straight up and down, and won't stop them from shifting back and forth.
Two things I can think of:
One, widen the shaft. Try wrapping the shaft in some thin gauge wire. Just coil the wire up really tightly around the shaft with no gaps between the coils. Depending on how much space there is, you may need to wrap it twice. The coils will add texture while thickening the shaft, holding everything in place.
Or, you can shrink the interior of the beads. This is tricky, but can be done. Pack the interior of each bead with a polymer clay that matches the color of the beads. Gently poke a hole through the center of the clay that will fit around the letter opener snuggly. Bake the beads at a very low temperature - 175 degrees F. for 30 minutes, then restring them.
Finally, you could also epoxy them into place. Mix up the epoxy, place a little at the end of the shaft where the first bead will go and slide it into place. The put the epoxy on the other end of the bead and slide on the next. The idea is to keep them all in a tight row and joined to the ends of the letter opener itself so nothing moves.
Good luck!
