Thai silver conical necklace end cap glued on to stringing material

[Alison]

I have been asked to reduce the size of a necklace purchased in Thailand. The necklace is strung on a thread ( perhaps cotton or silk) and secured into the end cap with a glue. Searches thus far suggest drilling it out rather than risk damaging the silver by soaking the whole end cap in a solvent. Any other thoughts or ideas?
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[Dennis]

I don't do beads, but it seems to me that the correct way to deal with this is to re-string the necklace to the correct size and use new findings. Cookson have a good beading section, including books on the subject.

If you wish to re-use the end caps and they are silver, Then gently heating under tension with a minitorch will undo most glues, but probably wreck the adjacent bead.

Lets hope members who do this regularly will chip in. Dennis.

[mizgeorge]

I agree with Dennis - I would simply cut off the end caps and start again. You will almost certainly lose the beads within the cap, but you did say you wanted it shorter, so that shouldn't be a problem. There are various ways of removing them, but, like Dennis again, I'd probably opt for heat first. If this isn't practical for you, then I'd suggest trying acetone first to remove the glue - this won't damage the silver, but ensure you wash it carefully afterwards.

You might also want to check with your customer whether they want the beads (I don't know if they're gemstones or something else) restrung on silk (or similar) or on a more durable alternative. Look at softflex (or equivalent) 49 strand for the best drape.

[Alison]

Thanks Dennis and George. This is very helpful.
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