What solder do I use???

[Wallace]

That is a very nice mix. I am not sure that soldering it would work. It looks like you would be too close to the beads and you would ruin them, unless you have a Puck welder.

Perhaps you could make them more secure by wire wrapping them, there would be no worries about the links catching and catching and breaking.

[t1ggerk1ns]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried the piece for a few days now, and it seems I may have been a little paranoid. The links don't catch. and the jump rings are closed enough that the .5mm wire the beads are on show no signs of pulling through the joints.
The technique I had in mind was fusing, and my order of fine silver wire arrived today.

[Kwant]

I would be a little worried that the simple loop on the 0.5mm wire will open at the slightest catch. When I have used 0.5mm wire for similar things I have made the loop into a tight spiral of quite a few loops just in case, so if it is pulled chances are it will not open enough for the piece to come apart.

[mizgeorge]

I'd definitely agree about wrapping the loops on the 0.5mm wire - they will pull open just too easily otherwise.

My other comment would be to ask about your jump rings. Are they saw cut? Only because from the picture, it does look like there are slight gaps at each closure, which might just be to do with needing a little bit more tension as they're closed, but may also be because the ends don't look completely flush.

It's a nice colour combination, and I like the varying textures.

[t1ggerk1ns]

I was a little worried about the .5 being too fragile, but I have given it a few good tugs, and it doesn't seem to show any signs of pulling apart. I have bought some .7 for my next one, though.
As to the jump rings, yes, they are saw cut.
They are my first attempt at making my own as up to now I have always bought them.
What did I do wrong?

[mizgeorge]

Even 0.7mm is pretty thin for a simple turned loop, I'd still be wrapping it to be sure. You only need 2 turns (which stops the units from looking too leggy), but it does make a difference, and will make the loops look rounder as well. You might find it helps to either make a sharpie mark on your round nosed pliers or get a notched pair of half round to ensure that every loop is exactly the same size.

For the jump rings, was your coil nice and tight before you started cutting? It just looks as though the edges aren't quite parallel, which means that they'll never join perfectly. It's not the easiest thing to do, but once you get the hang of it it's well worth the effort. I generally cut 'in the hand' rather than on a bench pin - ie holding the coil between the finger and thumb of my non-dominant hand, but not everyone finds this easy. It definitely helps to make a single flush cut with good cutters at the beginning of the coil to give yourself a guide point for your saw as you start cutting. A fine blade makes a big difference too - I generally cut mine with nothing thicker than a 5/0, and for finer gauges, an 8/0.

[Tabby66]

I find that cutting from the inside of the coil helps too, seems to give better support to the coil.

[t1ggerk1ns]

Phew, so much to learn!!!
I did cut them with the coil 'hand held', but I struggled to hold it still. Will try from the inside out next time.
I have another one to make tomorrow, so will see if I can improve .