Glass Bead Makers

3/16 is the size you need to be sure pandora will fit. This will allow for coring as long as you get the thin walled tubing. You ultimately need an internal diameter of 4.37 mm. If you use 3/16 without a silver core it will also be fine but people who are precious about their bracelets may say that it can scratch the bracelet. Troll bracelets are smaller. Their hole is around 3.6 mm I think.
Good luck. They start off wonky but you'll get it. A beadroller for pandora mandrels also really helps overcome the wonkiness. I love to look at my collection of "pandora" beads and think if I had bought them I would have spent thousands.

Cheers,
Sue

A fireclay coated mandrill needs to be about 7 mm [9/16"] in diameter - if you are to allow for the 1 mm wall thickness of the silver tube. This leaves a hole diameter of about 5mm to fit on to the bracelet. Some brands have a thread inside the metal tube so an extra 1 mm diameter must be added to the hole size to fit over the thread. We have the cheap oriental imports here and they sell for NZ$2 on the stalls! Am looking at one right now- tells me it is not worth the trouble time and effort to try and compete! In the samples I made it cost me NZ$2.83 just for the small length of pure silver tube! Then add glass and time, cost of the press to flatten the rim of the silver on to the bead. Result? Bankrupt! OK. I know you can get a better price for your handmade version with its "one off" design. Go for it!

Hi
I think you need a 5/32 mandrel (4mm hole) and they will also fit Biagi, Chamilia and a few others.

Pandoras are interchangeable threaded bead bracelets and they're actually how/why I got into lampworking. (Until recently, Pandora didn't make glass beads. Only silver & gold) Pandora beads and chains are threaded (the beads screw on) and the chain is 3mm with 3.8mm (aprox) ends and stops.
For more details once visit pandorausa.com/

Pandoras are a wee bit larger than the others and you need 3/16". This is a common size in stainless steel and it isn't terrible expensive. Stainless is a challenge to cut so unless you have an angle grinder, have the 4 meter long rod cut into 17 x 22 cm rods. Ask whay the cutting charges are as that will end up being more than the rod. http://www.edconsteel.com.au/locations.htm are very nice folks to deal with.

Tammy,

Quote....." 3/16 mandrels bundle of 10 for $50 from http://www.zooziis.com/316mandrelsbundleof10.aspx"

Here in good old Oz ......5/32"=3.95mm @ 1.80 and 3/16"=4.76mm @2.95 / $29 for10(that's Australian dollars)
....next day delivery.

Hope this helps

Sue

Pandora beads have a 5 mm [13/64] hole in the centre of the metal liner. Your mandrel must allow for the wall thickness of the metal tube - say tube wall is 0.8 mm [1/32"] then
you must have 5 + 0.8 + 0.8 mm = 6.6 mm. To allow for expansion of the tube when you press the flanges over bead ends - your minimum mandrel size must be 7 mm [9/32"]. If you do not allow gap for the metal tube to expand in the press you will split your bead when using the press. The mandrel size can go up to 7.5 mm if you are using thicker wall tubing.
One brand of bead has a "thread" on the solid spacers on the bracelet - so the hole size must be 5.5 mm minimum - designed to stop Pandora beads being fitted on to that brand of bracelet!

I followed the information I researched from another forum and this has worked perfectly for me.

Based upon reading this thread and using the instructions on the impress, here's what I decided to order for supplies for the impress:

1. 3/16 mandrels(bundle of 10 for $50) from http://www.zooziis.com/316mandrelsbundleof10.aspx

2. Sterling Silver Tubes from www.ijsinc.com part #STTB27x5mm. Recommended by Dave on his FAQ's page. I got 3 ft at $16.20 per foot. From their Home page, select the Catalog button, then under Guests, select Access our Public Catalog, enter in the above part number in the search box, change the unit to Ft/Yd.

3. Special Peg for 4.37 mm ID tubing from Art In the Round, You'll find that peg in the drop-down list under centering pegs on the Silver tools page of his site. http://host.pappapak17.com/~artinthe...d-Supplies.htm

4. Dave's Deburing Tool http://host.pappapak17.com/~artinthe...d-Supplies.htm

5. The electric cutter from Harbor Freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=42307

Apparently you can get an inexpensive non-electric cutter from a home hardware store instead.

Ok, I think that's all I ordered for a basic set up and I hope that helps.

Tammy, thanks so much for all that detailed information. It is a huge help for those of us who are also thinking about getting into making these sorts of beads. (Says she whose son bought a Pandora bracelet for his wife and asked whether I can make the beads to fit them... )

Your last three links aren't working properly for me tho.

Both the center pegs and the deburing tool can be found on this page:

http://www.artintheround.com/catalog.htm?keyword=&cond=advand&category=13
(Special peg is last item in the drop down box)

and just put the part number in for the electric cutter on the harbour freight page and it will come up too.

Debbie,

Sadly, Harbor Freight won't ship overseas so it doesn't really matter. I got my tube cutter at a place that sells refrigeration repair equipment as I wanted to be certain that it would cut smaller size tubing. Bunnings has a cutter but it is total rubbish as you can not replace the blades. Okay, technically, you can but Bunnings doesn't carry them. Plumbing supply places will sell one which will work but it's just at 3/16 for the smallest size. A good cutter with replaceable blades should set you back around $35.

If anyone has bought a Bunnings cutter, speak up and let us know what you think.

Thanks Tammy.

I have a tube cutter which will adjust to take any size tube so it should work ok. Can't replace the blades tho unfortunately.

I have the Bunnings one , its orange and it cost me 5 o 10 or 15 can't remember now, but I have had it for 2.5 years have cored over 400 beads and no probs, hubby even shortened my 316L hollow 6mm mandrels with it because they were too long for my kiln, still goes well, I must add tho that there is a technique that you only tighten very incrementally and tiny wise and just let the wheels do the work if you tighten too fast you squish the tubing a bit, they always need a little deburr after too, but I found that even with a jewellers saw I needed to deburr, I got Davés deburrer oh about 2 days after I got my impress, was not going to file down the edges with files when the deburrer took like 10secs
eta i have cut tiny tubing too with no probs with this cutter, don't ask me how i went dapping and flaring it tho

Jeweller in our local shopping mall has Pandora "starter kit" - one bracelet plus one bead - only NZ$99.00!

I just saw this, I bought a cheapo bunnings one for less than $10 from memory and it works fine. This is all that I've used for the past 2.5 years and I haven't had to replace it.

i've got a bunnings cutter - i think it might have been only $5, hell if the blade gets blunt i'll bin it and buy another one

Lots of very useful info here..thanks all! Just got an Impress tool!
I wondered which diameter silver tubing we'd need if I got it from A&E metals rather than from OS:

http://www.aemetal.com.au/Webstore/c-10 ... -tube.aspx

Grateful for any help!

Cherry