What findings would you use with this chain?

April 9, 2024 10:20 AM

I have a bunch of short lengths of a tubular metal jewelry chain and I'd like to figure out how best to cap them so I can use them in jewelry? Pics of an example of the chain on Imgur.

The chain is being upcycled from a commercially made necklace. In that necklace, it is capped by gluing a whole bunch of the same type of chain into a giant end cap, but I want to use individual segments of the chain.

The chain is about 3 mm in diameter. It is hollow, but I don't have the tools to cut it in a way that preserves its hollowness, so I can't string something through it. I would still need to cap it even if I could keep it hollow because the ends are scratchy and ugly. It can be crushed to a point at the end, but if you try to crush it flat on its own, it looks terrible and gets even more scratchy.

What kind of end cap would you use with this chain to transition to jump rings? A crimping end big enough for it to fit? A glue in end like for leather? A ribbon end small enough to capture it without looking ridiculous?

posted by jacquilynne to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (5 answers total)

Ooo yeah this is a challenging one. If it was me, I think I’d try winding thin wire or some kind of floss around the edges of the ends, kind of like how you’d finish a buttonhole, and then thread through more wire or floss to form an attachment point. This may not achieve the look you’re going for, but it seems like the best way to make the edges comfortable to wear without compromising the shape.
posted by showbiz_liz at 11:18 AM on April 9

Agree that this is a challenge! In this video, a wire is threaded through the ends so an end cap or cone can be attached.
posted by Ochre,Hugh at 1:01 PM on April 9

I would use a crimp end cap! If crimping the end doesn't work for you aesthetically, I think you could use glue to attach it to the chain and maintain the roundness
posted by (Over) Thinking at 3:12 PM on April 9

A black nickel finish end cap with attached jump ring...I would use 330 epoxy glue...The long cure version not the 5 minute cure one.
posted by Czjewel at 3:44 PM on April 9

Seconding Czjewel. They make end caps with jump rings.
posted by ananci at 7:13 AM on April 10