Jump Rings - we all use them!

 

These useful little things can be very tricky to work with. They are also very versatile. BUT are you tied of them constantly opening up and letting your charms or drops ‘drop off’? Well let me enlighten you a little on the subject and give you a few ideas.

 

One of the things I hate when making a bracelet, is knowing that sooner or later I’ll have to check that the jump rings haven’t opened. It doesn’t seem to matter how careful you are with them, they just seem to magically open.

 

Well one day while working on a bracelet, I had an epiphany; so let me share it with you.

 

The strength of a jump ring (i.e. its ability to hold something without opening) relies on two things:-

  1. The size of the jump ring;
  2. The gauge of the wire used to create the jump ring.

So, all of those commercially available jump rings are really made out of inadequate wire. Hence the reason they constantly open.

 

I read a book by Scott Plumlee who describes in detail how he has found the correct gauge wire to use for jump rings for optimum strength based on the size needed. He uses this to design variations on the Byzantine chain, but the principle he describes is still appropriate.

 

So the theory basically goes............

 

The larger the jump ring, the thicker the wire required.

 

If you think about it, it makes sense. You can’t expect a thin 22ga wire to support the stresses a 10mm jump ring will endure. Yes 10mm is large, but so too must be the chain/beads it’s being used with. Therefore for a 10mm jump ring, you will probably need 14ga wire – which is thick and hard to bend out of shape.

 

So what do you think? Doesn’t it make sense? Keep this in mind next time you’re making something with jump rings and see what the difference is. I’ve already tried it with a few designs and found it works brilliantly.

 

Here is a table with my basic guideline for jump rings.

 

Wire Gauge Jump Ring Sizes to Use
22 ga 3-4 mm
20 ga 4-5 mm
18 ga 5-7 mm
16 ga 8-9 mm
14 ga 10 mm +

 

Remember this is my own guideline. Feel free to give it a go, but make your own judgement call.

 

If you want to ensure something definitely won’t open, I suggest you solder it (which I haven’t tried – yet).