How to seal a jump ring

Hi Everybody,

I am new to the Forum and I was hoping if one of you could help me with a quick question.
I would like to know how I could permanently seal jump rings without soldering them. When they are small and quite bendy, they sometimes open and little items like charms fall off... I was wondering if there was a product like a sealant (a bit like superglue?) which one could use for gold, silver or even dark coloured metals like brass?

Thanks in advance,

Lolinha

Hi Lolinha welcome to the forums.

I am afraid i am a noob so i cannot answer your question but no doubt one of the clever ones will be along any minute :D:~:

Hiya and welcome.

The bad news is that no, glue isn't advised, cheats never win!(as my Dad would say) The best thing is to solder them, I'm afraid. If they are not able to be soldered (due to enamel on the charm or suchlike) then I would suggest making your jumprings a lot heavier - say 0.5-0.75mm and work them well side to side, overlapping to close over well, give them spring and harden at the same time, do you know what I mean?
Hope this helps.


Nikki

Alternatively, and especially for charms, you could use a split ring. In places where you're needing to join a particularly fine wire or thread, an oval jump ring can be useful too.
(and welcome from me too :))

Hi again and thanks to everybody who took the time to reply and your warm welcome.
Sorry I was offline for a few hours...

I did suspect the answer was going to say that there was no alternative to soldering...
However, I will follow some of your advice - split rings and oval jump rings - thanks, Mizgeorge.

Nikki, I can't really go much heavier than the smallest (or almost the smallest) for the jump rings, as I am working with very fine gold thread and the rings I am using can't be too thick. I am not sure I understand what you mean in your last sentence (I understand the overlapping bit...)...

Any other suggestions, anyone out there?...

Lolinha

PS- Does anybody know where I could find some really interesting (I want to say 'funky', but certainly do not mean it in a blasphemous way) religious medals (colourful and bling) and some interesting charms (large, fun and colourful, not your usual sweet enamel slipper or pewter teddy bear)?
I have tried eBay and found some, but looking for ideas...
Thanks again,
L.

well, you know when you've got your jump ring in your two sets of pliers, and you push the two ends over each other, to the side to form an over lap, then bring it back to the centre to "ping" it shut with the spring pressure you've created? Do it another couple of times, to each side before you bring it back to the middle. Not too much or you'll snap it, but enough to workharden it a bit. Sorry it's really hard to explain with out showing you or drawing a pic, hope you acn understand my ramblings. The splitrings sound your best option, to be honest, Georege is the jumpring master!

Nikki

Ok, Nikki, much clearer, but that's what I thought I'd understood - so wasn't bad at all first time around!... Thank you.

Split rings. Ok, splitring master George (or Nikki!), can you explain how to use them without damaging them. I tend not to use split rings because I find that I can never close them back properly once I have slid something into them. They don't seem to 'spring' back into their original shape and stay slightly open. What I am doing wrong?
By the way, I am self-taught, so please bear with me if I am asking obvious questions...

Any thoughts on the 'PS' part of my last posting anyone?

Lolinha

hmm there is one more way which is take to your jewellers who has a lazer machine and then he can zap it closed for you.

................................

Thanks, Mat, I will bear that in mind next time I make a precious piece with just a few rings. The ones I am making at the moment have too many of them and it would probably end up costing me quite a lot...


Hi Ben,

Nice to see that the Forum members have a sense of humour!...
If I ever get to a point where I have to steal a jump ring, I shall certainly get in touch for advice...
In the meantime, nobody has picked up my request regarding funky medals and charms...
Any suggestions, anybody?

Lolinha

bijouxbeads.co.uk, thebeadshopscotland.co.uk and jillybeads, all have some 'funky' findings, the best thing to do though is buy a bead magazine and then scroll through the adverts or google charms i spend hours doing this no wonder i dont have time to make anything but remember to note down where you saw what you wanted or you will have to start again lol

emerald:)

Hi Emerald,
Thanks for your reply.
I have checked the websites and they seem good. Thebeadshopscotland didn't come up, though...
I am looking for more funky - almost wacky, like really unusual stuff.
Thank anyway and if you come across anything during your wander-arounds, please let me know...
Have a look at justbeads.co.uk and add it to your list... it's easy to navigate and quite cheap, I find... E-beads.co.uk is another good one.
Let me know what you think.
I also spend far too much time doing research, that's why I think it is quite nice and so useful when people are happy to share the fruit of their 'hard labour'...
Speak soon,
Lolinha

Sorry if this sounds really daft (Mocha and I are self-taught newbies, so..) but can you solder a jump ring with a soldering iron instead. Does it still oxidise? At least it would prevent the whole piece from fire stain...wouldn't it?...:confused:

No (I'm afraid). A soldering iron doesn't reach nearly high enough temperatures for silver. Unless you have access to a microflame or laser, then silver (and gold) soldering is actually not soldering at all, but brazing, and needs a nice hot flame. Which is great for the pyromaniacs amongst us!

Hi Lolinha,

Try these two places, I was sent the link by Barbara, as I was looking for clay pigeon shooting charms, but they might prove useful for you????

http://www.charmschooluk.com/sterlin...charms-1-c.asp
www.jewelleryenchantments.co.uk

Let me know if they work out..

[]

Jules

Thanks very much Mizgeorge for your advice!
It's really great to be able to hear from fellow jewellers. Hope we can help one day as well!:)

there is a thread somewhere else in here about charms, try searching for that, they had some pretty diverse stuff..... if you have to use glue use two part epoxy resin (such as araldite) but getting a clean join on a tiny jumpring nearly impossible. Trouble with glue is it nearly always becomes brittle...
E

you could use araldite glue, I've used it a few times in my work, not for jump rings tho, you can file away the excess so it shouldn't show up too much, give it a test run, worth a try!