Determining Holes and Bead Sizes
January 2, 2007 by Tammy Powley
Filed under Basics - Getting Started, Beading, Classes
I recently received the following question via email: When I look at the FireMountain site (or WigGig etc) I do not seem to find the size hole each type of bead has. For example, I bought some crochet silk type yarn for lanyards that is 1mm thick. Of course none of my beads fit it since the ones I have are more “typical” for jewelery. I wanted to buy some 1.5 mm bore beads but I cannot seem to find the bore size anywhere.
Unfortunately, there isn’t one answer to this because there are different companies who make nylon or silk cords used for bead stringing. Generally speaking, I usually try to keep Griffin #2 and #4 on hand and this usually works for most of my 2mm to 6mm bead needs.
I did manage to find some charts on line at Fire Mountain Gems, though. And these may be handy for those who are as confused as this person is. And, like I said, these are different depending on who makes the cord.
For more information on bead stringing, one of my free e-courses called Bead Stringing for Beginners. There is the slower version where you receive weekly lessons, or the crash course version where you receive daily lessons.
I string beads and pearls professionally and can advise you that usually, the more expensive a stone or pearl bead is , the smaller the hole is. Glass beads need to be wound onto a piece of wire called a mandrel, so the holes are usually pretty generous. There is no standard size for bead holes. It depends on where and who is drilling them, which is why the companies don’t put a bore size. someone would have to measure every bead they sold, as there is even variance from bead to bead in a lot of cases! There are also beads that have tapered holes. There are many kinds of bead reamers available. reamers are tapered points that are coated with diamond “crumbs” to cut holes bigger in beads. It takes a long time though…
Hi Julie – True, true, I agree that I find reamers to be a PIA. Though, with stone beads, good quality ones that is, there is a sort of semi-standard at least. I’m, of course, not talking about the low end beads that, as the guy at South Pacific says, were cut by a guy who needed glasses.