| bead cap | A bead cap is a decorative cover, usually made of metal, for the top or bottom of a bead. |
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| bead dangle | A bead dangle is a combination of one or more beads on a head pin that has been shaped to allow the bead or beads to hang from a loop a the top. Select the picture at right for information on how to make a bead dangle. |
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| bead reamer | See reamers. | |
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bead stringing |
Highly flexible, multi-stranded stainless steel wire like Soft Flex and Soft Touch are used for stringing beads. These wire products are resistant to breaking due to the sawing action of the beads on the stringing material. |
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| bench block | A tool used to provide a hard flat surface for hammering wire, a bench block is normally a square shaped piece of hardened steel. View bench blocks in our store here. |
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| bent chain nose pliers |
Chain nose pliers have jaws with flat smooth surfaces in the inside of the jaws. These flat surfaces are used for griping and holding wire while leaving minimal marks on the wire. Bent chain nose pliers have these same flat smooth jaws, but the jaws are bent as shown at right. This facilitates keeping your wrist straight while you grip your jewelry project. View chain nose pliers in our store here. |
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| bezel | A bezel is a type of setting for a gemstone, where the face of the gemstone is encircled by the setting and held in place from the back. Because the entire face of the gemstone is held by the setting, bezel type settings are generally very secure. Unfortunately, bezel settings tend to make the gemstone appear smaller, as opposed to the Tiffany and other prong type settings where the entire gemstone is visible. You can view a bezel setting at right. Select here for instructions in how to set a bezel setting. |
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| bicone | Bicone is a shape of bead shown at right. Bicone beads are normally faceted to reflect more light. |
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| brass | Brass is a yellow metal alloy frequently made of about 55 to 65% copper and between 37-45% zinc. It is a soft metal and is suitable for casting and making jewelry wire. |
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| bugle beads | Bugle beads are small cylindrical beads. They are frequently either 2mm wide by 4mm long or 2mm wide by 7mm long. |
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| bur cup | A tool used to remove the burs or sharp corners or residue on the end of a cut piece of wire. View the bur cup in our store here. |
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