Wire for beading not wrapping

It depends on what you want to. Do you want the finished product to drape well? Do you want it stiff to hold its shape? How much weight do you want it to hold? In other words, different wire for different types of projects. Good quality stringing wire is fairly expensive so it probably is not what is holding your beads. You will need crimps--2 and 3 mm work for most projects, crimping pliers which come in different sizes and probably crimp covers. I have Euro crimpers which can handle up to 3mm, as well as smaller. They have multiple ports for different sizes. Artbeads.com has good instructional videos for all of your questions.

susand24224 Again, I don’t know how I missed this. I do want it to drape well, not be stiff. I think you’re right. They probably aren’t using high dollar wire to send out with purchased beads. Thanks for the Art Beads info. I’ll look into them. I had previously started doing some reading and of course everyone had both good and bad things to say about the various brands so it didn’t really narrow it down for me. It is spendy stuff so I just need to try to determine the best brand for me to try.

Thanks for the resource susand24224 I went there last night before falling asleep. It does look like they have some extensive info so I’ll dig into that and see what I find.👍

I agree, although I don't buy from Fire Mountain unless I absolutely can't find it anywhere else. But--Fire Mountain's prices are much better unless you wait for a sale at Artbeads or Beadaholique. One thing I question though (don't know for sure, but question) is whether it works as well as the "wire" stuff with cheap beads. I've taken apart a few failing necklaces where it broke and found it very frayed--I think in large part because cheap gemstone and glass beads are not finished well on the inside so they cut into it. I also took apart one necklace that was on wire (couldn't identify the type) that was also frayed, I think for the same reason. Maybe fraying is not avoidable with any media when the beads are poorly made (?) (Just thinking out loud here.) But--I use Fireline for, for example, seed beads that are components in earrings and lighter-weight bracelets. I've *never* had Fireline break, but I've never used it for a moderate to heavy weight project. PS: I've never had a problem with orders from Fire Mountain, I'm just very environmentally oriented and I have a *real* problem with their excessive use of plastic in packing their stuff.

Thanks for the extra info., Tela. It is also entirely possible that the stuff I am repairing was not treated properly by its owners--perhaps they were reading the old "Hints from Heloise" that advocated using toothpaste as a cleaner. By way of explanation, lately I've gotten stuff that had fallen apart or close to falling apart to "redo" and put on the charity's website that I work with--on two occasions from the children of people who have passed. It's good to hear that you have had positive experiences with it, since it sure is easy to use. (Off to search for 14 lb test.)