Need help on deburring plastic beads

This may be one of the most unusual ever posted onto this site but we've nowhere else to turn.

We run a charity that raises money to support 501c3 Humane Animal Rescue facilities that save unwanted, suffering and abused animals and prepare them for adoption. We acknowledge every donation by giving the donor a free custom made beaded stretch bracelet similar to the one pictured.

Now . . . here's where we need your help. I understand that this is a message board for people who deal with rocks but the quality of the acrylic beads we buy is seriously deteriorating and the excessive raised mold lines on the beads and injection places on the beads leave sharp edges and points that irritate a wearer's wrist and we are getting complaints. Right now, what we are doing is have volunteers sand each bead to remove any sharp places prior to making the bracelets. We've changed suppliers over and over again but they all are the same.

We're hoping one of you can tell us that that there's some way we can tumble these beads using some type of medium that will chip away the sharp places and still leave the plastic beads smooth and shiny.

PLEASE use your expertise so we can solve this dilemma and continue to raise funds to save animals.

TO the one that solves the problem s/he can go to our website; www.HumaneTreatment.org and order a custom made bracelet as a gift from us.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and possibly coming up with the answer.

You can reach me at gene.levine.fl@gmail.com.

Gene

I suspect that any tumbling you do that will abrade away the sharp edges of your plastic will also remove any polish you have on your beads. To get the polish back on your beads may be a lot of work unless you can polish them chemically with a solvent like perhaps acetone or perhaps flame polish them like some people do with acrylic display stands. But unless someone steps up to the plate here with the answers you seek I think you will be left with lots of experimenting. How many of these bracelets do you go through each year anyway?

Rock Currier
Crystals not pistols.

Have you thought about a very simple home-made lathe to clean these beads?

stick a bunch of them on a metal spike, put something on the end to stop them flying off, then put the stick in the end of an electric drill. spin them, and use something with a sharp and flat edge (the flat edge of a metal sheet maybe) to remove the mould lines quickly, several at a time.

with a bit of practice it should be possible to do this without compromising the overall polish on the beads - certainly it should be better than hand sanding them.

Jolyon

Sadly I don't know of an easy way to remove the moulding marks without destroying the shiny surface of the bead. If you have explored all options and other supplies are equally poor quality, you might be wise to consider trying a different material?

Obviously pricing will be a factor, but you might find glass beads offer less problems. The beads you are using are often called "Pony beads" and some very nice glass versions of these beads exist, at prices not that different from their plastic counterparts.

You could use this actually as a chance to make a superior quality gift with nicer materials (for example a waxed cotton cord bracelet with just a few nice glass beads knotted on, might actually look nicer than all plastic beads and be cheaper to make in the long run)

Or why even do jewellery at all? How about key chains, zipper pulls or bag charms? Mobile / cell phone charms even?

You have volunteers at your disposal, so better they spend their time creating something really pretty and nice quality, than chipping the moulding marks off shoddy plastic beads. Consider using Fimo or another polymer clay to make your own charms that you could hang from chains, key fobs or cellphone charms. Those are easy to make and can be really effective. I know a lady who makes lovely little hens from Fimo which she sells to raise money for rescue battery-farmed hens - simple to make, but very cute and effective as donor gifts.

Also, as a charity, you might even have exisiting ethical concerns about using these plastic mass-produced beads from overseas anyway. Maybe creating something from polymer clay or another craft material would be beneficial in that respect also as you would have more control over ensuring fair labour throughout the process? Have you thought about using paper beads - so simple to make from old glossy magazines and very eco-friendly. Paper beads are hot news again - many fairtrade suppliers carry these now, made by womens collectives around the world or just set your own volunteers to work ,they are super easy to make!

I think this dilemma has presented you with a chance to think outside the box and explore different gifts for your donors, either jewellery with different beads or just something different altogether.

And to be honest, I think that would be a better avenue for you to explore than wasting too much time trying to make these cheap plastic beads look any better. They are what they are - cheap and cheerful, mass produced beads and I don't know of any domestic shortcuts to making them look or feel any better.

Hope that helps

Emma

EJR Beads

There some lovely cheap glass beads out there, or dare I say GEMSTONE beads

Amanda

Gene,
I would need a bit more information from you before I can dispense any advice to you.
Are these beads to remain polished or mat in finish?
Please get back to me and I will try to help you with your project.
Best,
Boris