Adding Screw Eyes to Polymer Clay Charms and Pendants

Video #724: Have you ever lost a jewelry charm becasue the eyelet came loose? Well... today's video addresses that problem... More Info: http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?... Polymer Clay Tutor.

If you have ever made a polymer clay charm, pendant or earrings that you wanted to hang from something, you will need to add some sort of loop to it.

What a lot of people do is take their charm and stick an eye pin into it before baking, and leave it at that. But before long, that eye pin will fall out and you (or your customer) will lose the charm :(

I do have a tutorial on how to make those eye pins work better, by bending the end before inserting into the unbaked charm. But an even more secure way to attach a loop to a charm is to use a screw eye.

You may have seen them before... they are kind of an industrial looking little fastener that you wood get at the hardware store or jewelry supply store. They come in different sizes and finishes.

Here is a tiny one I found years ago at a jewelry supply place that is about 1/16" OD (Outside diameter)... and one that is about 3/16" OD I found at a hardware store (I mistakenly said 3/8" in the video)... and one that is about a 1/4" OD made by Tim Holtz that I got at Michaels. The nice thing about the Tim Holtz ones is that they come in three antique finishes and there are 36 in the pack.

There are lots of places you can buy screw eyes. The nice thing about them is that they screw into the polymer clay and are very secure.... especially if you put them in the way I show in today's video... by adding a drop of super glue to "lock" them in.

I show you some examples of how I used the screw eyes in a Leopard Cane Pendant with a Copper Tape wrap... and on a Happy Camper Cane charm bracelet.

The advantages of using screw eyes instead of eye pins on a polymer clay charm (especially charms that will go onto a charm bracelet)... (1) They are much sturdier and they don't get bent open with all the twisting that a charm does on a bracelet... and (2) they don't pull out since they are screwed into the clay and secured with a drop of glue.

There are different reasons why you may want to use a screw eye on a particular shape of polymer clay charm or pendant. Perhaps your piece is too large to drill all the way through... or an unusual shape that does not work well with a bail type finding. In these cases, a screw eye may be the perfect solution.

Just like putting a screw into wood, it is best if you pre-drill a small pilot hole into your polymer clay piece before threading in the screw eye. This will ensure that the finding goes in nice and straight without cracking the clay.

However, it is important that your drill bit is smaller than the outside diameter of the threads, so that the screw shank ends up with just enough material to "bite" into. If the hole is too big, the screw will just fall out.

In the video, I show you what drill bits I use, and how to drill into the polymer clay. I got a great set of tiny drill bits for only $6 at Contenti, which is a Jewelry Making Tool Store Online.

You will also need to add a drop of super glue or something similar, to secure the screw eye and keep it from turning and unscrewing from your piece. I show you how to do that as well in the video.

You have put a lot of effort into making your polymer clay jewelry and charms... so make sure you put some care and attention into installing eyelets that will keep your pieces secure.

Related Video: Securing Eye Pins in Your Polymer Clay Charms... http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...

Related Video: Polymer Clay Leopard Print Cane... http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...

Related Video: Copper Foil Wrapped Pendants... http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...

Related Video: Happy Camper Cane Polymer Clay Tutorial... http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...

Related Video: Aurora Northern Lights Polymer Clay Tutorial... http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...

And... more info about today's video is at my blog... http://www.beadsandbeading.com/blog/?...

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