Silver Cored Beads

I'm making silver cored beads to fit on those popular European charm bracelets... Troll, Pandora, Biagi etc. I have been buying silver tubing and doing the coring myself. But that takes time and yes I break some beads.

Metal Clay Findings just announced a new product .. the fine silver bead core. It allows you to make your own metal clay or lampworked glass bead directly on the core, and it fits all those bracelets. So I had to try it! I made up 8 beads pretty quickly. Here is a picture of some beads made on the core and the blank core before I put glass on it. Pretty neat. Of course you have to be careful not to melt the core in the flame. Ask me how I know this!!!

Here is a better picture of the beads.
but as all things in life there is a trade off. I have to clean out the bead release from the silver core and I can't use my regular diamond file to do that as I would scratch the silver. Ummmmm. I tried tumbling, and the mixed shot liked to wedge itself in the hole. Isn't it amazing how it can get in that hole but does not want to come out. So I need to find some kind of brush to use.

So I have to decide... core my own, or order more findings......