Important Notes on Silicon Bronze

Our Si bronze wire is offered in two tempers: half hard and three quarters hard.

Both have been annealed from an ultra hard welding temper. The half hard

requires several additional steps from three quarters, including hand polishing and waxing.

If you plan on using three quarters hard, please expect a permanent, slight spring-back at

the loop closure. You must also use a great amount of caution with your stones, because

three quarters Si will chip the bead holes of even hard agates if bent directly against them.

For this reason, we strongly recommend that three quarters only be used with ring caps

or with bead caps having a wide enough hole to feed the cut end of the loop back into, with the

initial bend of the wire always made against the protective metal.

22g Si three quarters hard works nicely for wire wrapped loops. We do not recommend

this temper for artistic wire wrapping across the bead surface.

The looping in the photo below was accomplished with three quarters hard Si bronze

to show the three safe and attractive ways to use it. The rings and caps are solid Si Bronze.

When used with these cautions in mind, 20g Si bronze three quarters H wire will

result in a rosary with very strong connections, at least on par with 18g, but at a wire

diameter that fits a much larger range of bead drills. It's also very resistant to tooling

dents--a nice quality to give your completed piece a professional appearance.

Phosphor bronze wire is great to work with, and it is actually the most expensive wire in raw material

of these alloys. However, we are able to purchase it in these two gauges at the half hard temper,

and not put it through a costly tempering and redrawing process. The price reflects this savings.

Our specialty jump rings are hand cut & tumble polished to a gorgous finish by

a wonderful ring artist, Gena of Preciousmaille.com.

Why are they specialty? First because they're solid bronze alloy. Second, because of their size.

And third, because after asking dozens of ring-makers to try real bronze, only Gena had the guts to do it!

To be useful to rosary makers as rings for capping beads, jump rings need to be a medium-heavy

gauge with a small, 2mm inner diameter (ID). Strong gauges make for better connections at

the centerpiece, but these rings also need to be small so the center isn't visually overpowered.

These rings, especially silicon bronze, are very strong.

Please visit our Materials & Sizing page in the construction section for information

on how to use rings as caps for your beads to achieve a true "classic style" rosary design!

We have in stock larger, heavy phosphor bronze rings for making your crucifix or medal connections.

However, these were not cut by Gena and were not tumbled to remove slight burrs at the saw line.

A quick filing removes the burr, but we don't have the manpower to accomplish this for every customer,

so if you purchase phosphor bronze rings, we'll add a few extra rings of these larger sizes free of charge

so that you may complete your design with a matching connection for your crucifix or end medal.

Before purchasing rings to connect centerpieces, be sure that the 3 loops of the center will

accomodate the specified gauge of jump ring, as not every center is created equal!

For precision saw cut and tumble polished jump rings

in Sterling silver, Argentium silver, gold filled, rose gold filled, and copper,

please visit Gena at her online storefront:

www.preciousmaille.com

If you have special ring size needs, Gena welcomes email inquiries, so don't hesitate to write!