Advice on beading wire size?

I made a rosary, one of many designs, many months ago with 8 and 10 mm
glass beads. Yesterday the wire through the main strand, 54 beads
together with small metal bead and tube spacers, broke - towards the
center, not at either crimped loop end as I might have expected. I have
spools of 0.012, 21 strand, Accuflex and 0.014, 21 strand, SoftFlex and
don't remember which I used. The rosary was fairly gently used and was
carried loose in a pocket. It broke while carried, not in use,
fortunately.

You think it was a freak accident or should I be using 0.019 or 0.024
wire? I thought the 0.012 and 0.014 would be sufficiently strong. Maybe
because it was carried in a pocket? Alone, no coins, keys or other stuff.
Maybe it kinked and weakened? Or was damaged by the edge of a bead hole?
Maybe it should be carried enclosed in a small soft bag?

Any theories or similar experiences and solutions welcomed.

TIA.

Ken




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"Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty, but of certainty." Nietzche

I suspect that it was the 21 strand wire that gave out. For
something in constant use, like a rosary, I'd consider any of the 49
strand wires, or two of the 0.012 wires that you already have. That
way, if one strand breaks, you still have the other to hold the
rosary together until you can repair it.

I carry a rosary, too. I think that there is no such thing as "light
wear" for one. Think about it. Necklaces are almost never carried
around every day, and they're not touched all the time, as are
rosaries. Light wear for a rosary is extreme wear for almost any
other piece of jewelry.

I wouldn't put it in a little bag, because that would defeat the
purpose of carrying a rosary - that little touch that gives comfort
is so important to me. I'd double strand it and resign myself to the
idea that a constantly used rosary is going to need the occasional
repair. I'd check it every so often to see if there are specific
wear spots, and fix them before the stringing material failed.

HTH,

Kathy N-V

On Tue, 11 Jan 2005 9:14:32 -0500, Ken Knecht wrote
(in message ):

I made a rosary, one of many designs, many months ago with 8 and 10 mm
glass beads. Yesterday the wire through the main strand, 54 beads
together with small metal bead and tube spacers, broke - towards the
center, not at either crimped loop end as I might have expected. I have
spools of 0.012, 21 strand, Accuflex and 0.014, 21 strand, SoftFlex and
don't remember which I used. The rosary was fairly gently used and was
carried loose in a pocket. It broke while carried, not in use,
fortunately.

You think it was a freak accident or should I be using 0.019 or 0.024
wire? I thought the 0.012 and 0.014 would be sufficiently strong. Maybe
because it was carried in a pocket? Alone, no coins, keys or other stuff.
Maybe it kinked and weakened? Or was damaged by the edge of a bead hole?
Maybe it should be carried enclosed in a small soft bag?

Any theories or similar experiences and solutions welcomed.

TIA.

Ken

a rosary, ... with 8 and 10 mm glass beads. Yesterday the wire
through the main strand, 54 beads together with small metal bead and
tube spacers, broke - towards the center, not at either crimped loop
end as I might have expected. ... The rosary was fairly gently used and
was carried loose in a pocket. It broke while carried, not in use,
....."

One of your metal beads may be the culprit that cut through.... Also,
if the wire gets bent back and forth (as it would if it gets "folded"
at the center), that point will weaken and finally snap apart.

The rosary I made used 10# test GSP line, with 10/0 glass seed beads as
spacers between stone rounds; the only metal was the rosary center, the
cross and caps on the Pater Nosters. There were 4 strands of line
through all the beads (doubled strand through twice), and I got a
little silk bag for it to "live" in between uses. My "very Catholic"
friend to whom I gave it has used it daily (at least...) for over a
year with no problems, although I did tell her that if she notices any
little threads poking out, to send it back to me for restringing.

Kaytee
http://www.eclecticbeadery.com/simplexities.html
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/

Ken,
For larger beads, esp. stone or glass with an edge, I use .019 49-strand
Soft Touch.

Barbara


"Ken Knecht" wrote in message
...
I made a rosary, one of many designs, many months ago with 8 and 10 mm
glass beads. Yesterday the wire through the main strand, 54 beads
together with small metal bead and tube spacers, broke - towards the
center, not at either crimped loop end as I might have expected. I have
spools of 0.012, 21 strand, Accuflex and 0.014, 21 strand, SoftFlex and
don't remember which I used. The rosary was fairly gently used and was
carried loose in a pocket. It broke while carried, not in use,
fortunately.

You think it was a freak accident or should I be using 0.019 or 0.024
wire? I thought the 0.012 and 0.014 would be sufficiently strong. Maybe
because it was carried in a pocket? Alone, no coins, keys or other stuff.
Maybe it kinked and weakened? Or was damaged by the edge of a bead hole?
Maybe it should be carried enclosed in a small soft bag?

Any theories or similar experiences and solutions welcomed.

TIA.

Ken




--
Untie the two knots to email me

"Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty, but of certainty." Nietzche

I agree with Kathy that rosaries are heavily used items. When I think
"rosary", my hands move. I remember how rosaries feel more than how they
look, because they are constantly worked in the hand, "worried" one bead at
a time, or bunched in the hand and kneaded all together.

If I were making a rosary for myself, I'd use heavy silk and knot it. It
complies with my tactile sense of how a rosary behaves.

Tina


"Ken Knecht" wrote in message
...
I made a rosary, one of many designs, many months ago with 8 and 10 mm
glass beads. Yesterday the wire through the main strand, 54 beads
together with small metal bead and tube spacers, broke - towards the
center, not at either crimped loop end as I might have expected. I have
spools of 0.012, 21 strand, Accuflex and 0.014, 21 strand, SoftFlex and
don't remember which I used. The rosary was fairly gently used and was
carried loose in a pocket. It broke while carried, not in use,
fortunately.

You think it was a freak accident or should I be using 0.019 or 0.024
wire? I thought the 0.012 and 0.014 would be sufficiently strong. Maybe
because it was carried in a pocket? Alone, no coins, keys or other stuff.
Maybe it kinked and weakened? Or was damaged by the edge of a bead hole?
Maybe it should be carried enclosed in a small soft bag?

Any theories or similar experiences and solutions welcomed.

TIA.

Ken




--
Untie the two knots to email me

"Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty, but of certainty." Nietzche

Yes -- I wouldn't ever use wire for a rosary. GSP line, doubled silk,
etc. would work better...better feel, better wear (even though you'd
have to restring the silk one in a few years).

Dr. Sooz wrote:
Yes -- I wouldn't ever use wire for a rosary. GSP line, doubled silk,
etc. would work better...better feel, better wear (even though you'd
have to restring the silk one in a few years).


A lot of older rosaries are wire-wrapped... I don't know what to call
it, but when a piece of wire goes through the bead and acts as a link to
the next piece? Er yeah, I sound like a big dork, but I know someone
here knows what I mean!

-Kalera

Kalera Stratton wrote:
A lot of older rosaries are wire-wrapped... I don't know what to call
it, but when a piece of wire goes through the bead and acts as a link to
the next piece? Er yeah, I sound like a big dork, but I know someone
here knows what I mean!

I know what you mean... works very well as long as the wire is strong
enough.

Made a bracelet like that, with small amethyst nuggets, for my
grandson's other grandmother; she is an elementary school teacher and
really tough on her bracelets. She was skeptical because it looked
fragile but it has held up fine. She gets free bracelets and repairs!

Just finished some necklace sets with 'wired' small dark-red heart beads
with 5 links of small sterling chain between each 'wired' bead... not my
style but cute for valentine's day. I don't remember the gauge but I
used sterling wire in the beads.

Polly

I tried that on several but I think they have a different not-as-nice
feel. Also, they seem to be prone to tangling. I plan to try one more one
of these days, but keep everything tighter and more compact.

Ken

Kalera Stratton wrote in
:

A lot of older rosaries are wire-wrapped... I don't know what to call
it, but when a piece of wire goes through the bead and acts as a link
to
the next piece? Er yeah, I sound like a big dork, but I know someone
here knows what I mean!




--
Untie the two knots to email me

"Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty, but of certainty." Nietzche

The rosaries I made with lighter beads use that, 10#. But one with light
plastic beads broke the same way.

I guess I'll have to take others advice here and use more than one strand
of cord/wire in the future.

Ken

vj wrote in news:5lj8u058amfsufpuo8vod5asqfoh1v8kgc@
4ax.com:

try Berkley's Fireline, instead.




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Untie the two knots to email me

"Madness is not a consequence of uncertainty, but of certainty." Nietzche