pendant jump rings

rjw69215 · #1 2011-12-09, 1:26pm

Hey gals/guys,

I am having an issue with the jump rings on my boro pendants. If the pendant is worn with a thin necklace the weight of the pendant causes the opening in the jump ring to expand enough for the pendant to come off. I have soldered a couple with mixed results, is there any other soultions out there? I'm trying to avoid going to a bigger jump ring and i would rather not make a glass loop at th top of the pendant. Soldering is the most obvious solution but the amount of solder is so small its hard to keep control of it, any advise here would be great.

Thanks,
Bob Walters

5betsy · #2 2011-12-09, 1:44pm

Hoping for someone to answer - I run into this problem with the mobiles I make.

They start out fine but every once in awhile . . .

Starrr · #3 2011-12-09, 1:53pm

You could use a "Split Ring" http://splitrings.us/

I have never bought from this company, it was the first good picture I found.

rjw69215 · #4 2011-12-09, 2:26pm

That is actually a great idea, I'd be buying the 10 mm ones. Wonder how hard it will be to open those up and put it on a pendant? Guess I could try with the one on my car door unlocker thing-a-ma-bob, that's about 10 mm. This might be my solution, thanks a bunch.

mewkittie · #5 2011-12-09, 4:26pm

Depends on how thick the pendant is. It's still a hard to open them and thread an object on. There is a tool that will help open them but I use a tweezer that I wedge into it and then turn the tweezers a quarter turn to open up the split ring enough so I can get the object on it.

patienthand · #6 2011-12-09, 6:44pm

use a heavier gauge of wire, and try half hard wire rather than dead soft

rjw69215 · #7 2011-12-09, 7:28pm

Went to the bead shop and got the split rings, they work great. I also might go the thicker wire way too, when the pendant gets too big. Thanks for all the advise, love it that everyone is so helpful.

5betsy · #8 2011-12-12, 7:51am

Thanks! I have split rings!

Laura B · #9 2011-12-12, 9:06am

What is the objection to heavier gauge jump rings?

Karen Hardy · #10 2011-12-12, 9:18am

I use 16 gauge silver wire for my jump rings.
I do not solder them. I have never had a problem with
them coming loose or opening.

I prefer not to use split rings. They tend to catch in people's
hair and I don't like the way they look.

essiemessy · #11 2011-12-12, 3:02pm

Heavier jumprings can look pretty good, even on small beads.
I have 10 and 13mm jumprings in what looks like 18g wire. They are extremely strong, and challenging to work with, but worth it, I think.
Only downside is that they're steel (I think), so will discolour in time.

jaci · #12 2011-12-14, 9:01pm

I use split rings all the time.