I use slotted spring pins as they have a nice circular outside with the perfect slot. I bought mine at Aubuchon hardware. Better than cotter pins because cotter pins are tougher to get in the slot and the bed looks warped. I teach crafts to senior citizens and they enjoy making them. I also put pencil grips on the handles, which helps them grasp with arthritic hands.
I have been looking for a tutorial on making your own bead roller. I made one from a pen tube and filed it with styrofoam and super glue using a cotter pin. I stood it up in a jar and taped it upright to set overnight. The service agent at Ace Hardware told me about tension rods and they come in a lot of different sizes and lengths. They have a single slot and are good for this type of use. Paid from $0.59 to $0.99 each. Hope this helps another budget conscious crafter.
Oh, goody! I have a dead tension rod in my closet and was about to toss it in the recycling bin, but I'll cut a couple of rollers from it first. I do want to make some larger beads for macrame projects.
Thank you for the awesome suggestions I am legally blind and not very good at using power tools just a suggestion if you apply a bit of glue to the end of your cotter pin and Scruff it up with sandpaper let it dry wrap air-dry clay around the end of your cotter pin and shape it with your hand into a comfortable handle and it dries nicely and seems to work quite well mine are not as nice looking as yours are but they still work within my ability thank you for the wonderful video hope you have a wonderful day and hope the suggestions help take care sorry for the lack of punctuation legally blind using speech recognition
When using speech recognition just use the words full stop And comma when you need them. If you’re American I guess you will need to use the word period.
Thanks for the idea. I purchased an assortment of sizes and used dowels for the small sizes and polymer clay for the bigger sizes to make the handles. Thank you again 😊!
You just saved me from purchasing some expensive rolling tools! Thank you so much!!! ❤ Also, I really loved your video. I know it’s been a while, but I’d love to see some of your work! Please come back to RU-vid! 😁
Thank you for all of your information for making paper bead rollers! I made 4 of the cotter pin bead rollers with the 2 part paper rolled handle. I bought cotter pins that are 1/8 X 1 1/2 inches in size. The rollers were fast and easy to make and work quite well. I coated the paper handle with fast drying clear nail polish.
Usually a cotter pin is used to secure something to another article. The cotter pin is inserted through a hole in each article, then the prongs are separated and pulled apart till you have a firm ‘link’. It prevents the two pieces from coming apart at an inopportune moment. If you purchase one, the sales person will be able to explain the normal use. I would never have thought of using a cotter pin, but agree it’s a great idea
This is just wonderful. I was hoping that someday I will be able to make my own beading tool. I was actually doing beads with a toothpick, which ended up hurting my fingers. Thank u so much for sharing. I just love it. Wow I'm so happy!!!. South Africa👍
THANK YOU for this hack. I had everything I needed on hand and immediately made one. I used a 3" cotter pin set into a scrap of dowel. Despite my best efforts, my hole is off-center, but that does not affect performance. The first bead I made with this new tool rolled up in seconds rather than minutes with no redos. I'm thrilled to be done with toothpicks and skewers. Thank you again.
Paper bead rollers are for sale all over the internet. It would have been very expensive to buy all these sizes thus the make your own video. Much more cost efficient.
Thanks for this info. But I prefer using the slotted style cotter pins rather than the style you are using. I find your style really difficult when using thick paper such as cardboard from cereal boxes. Years ago I made a set for myself that I am happily using to this day. But I sure would like to find the slotted style pin that is quite long. I see on YT crafters are selling sets with long pins but honestly, I would never pay what they want for them! I’m a cheapskate, I know! Would you know where I could find longer slotted pins, maybe 5-6cm ( not sure how many inches that is as I live in Europe). Thanks.
I only ever work with paper so the cotter pins worked great for me. I just did a search on the internet for the long cotter pins. I do not know what is current available out there. Good luck on your search.
I and my wife both needed to find this, so thank you Barbara DeNunzio! Woo Hoo!!! Now we can begin crafting for the holidays, the nephews and nieces with more precision. Oh my.
I'm glad it will help. I have so many craft hobbies and the tools can get expensive. I look at what is available out there and try to replicate using things I can easily get.
it might work if you use hot glue to glue it in. I've learned I learn nothing if I don't try. If it doesn't work it might give you another idea to try.
Thank you Mark.. It is the first time I tried to make an instructional video and it was definitely not easy, but ultimately rewarding to see so many people helped.
This was to make your own Mary. I don't make and sell them. You can do a search on the internet and find many places that sell them,. Unfortunately they can be pricey.
Hi Sandra. I am still here but no longer have a website. I have gone in and updated the video so others do not run into the problem you did. Hope the video instructions help you.
couple of questions for the larger ones can you use a wooden dowel instead of a metal one. I too am lucky enough to have a drill press, but feel more comfortable working with wood than metal. it's not the drillng part that makes me uncomfortable it's the gring part before hand that so that i have a smooth edge on both sides. i can do it, but not always that well. my skills at the grinder are beginner at best. with wood i can use a sander and my skills there are a LOT better. can the tube bead work on the bigger ones as well? or is it just not sturdy enough? and when finishing the beads for the handles would it be best to use the dip method for sealing them to help sealing the inside as well. even if it's not the way you usually do it? and could a person use cone method to make it cove the end of the pin or again is it not sturdy enough?
Your braver than I am Mary, I would not go near the grinder. I do not like working with metal but will cut small items with a hacksaw. I would think the tube bead would work on larger as well. It is only so you have something to grab onto while rolling the bead so it does not really need strength. I think if you just gave the handle a coat of sealer or poly that would be enough to help it hold up to use. I do not really make a lot of beads so I just leave mine plain paper.
round rollers make the best round beads. The hairpin will be flat so your hole will be tiny and flat and your bead a little ovalish rather than nicely round.
Thanks for a great video but I was wondering why you cut the cotter pins shorter ? I have been looking for bead rollers with longer slotted pins to make long beads but they are all short, I am a newbie….is there a reason for this that I haven’t come across yet ? Xx
On mine I only cut off the rounded end so they would go into the wooden dowels I was using.. The smaller cotter pins were shorter to begin with. I guess you would just have to search for the size you want in a longer length.
What sizes of cotter keys did you use??? I wanted to be able to put findings into the bead. I feel so dumb, you are so creative thinking of this! Lol love it
I love your paper bead rollers,where on earth did you get such long cotter / split pins. I’m in Australia. I’ve been trying to find long ones , but all the ones I find are all too short.
I found online but unfortunately did not write the site down. I found some on zoro, link below if you want to check out. www.zoro.com/cotter-pins/c/4938/
There are many brands of paper beadv rollers you can buy. They can be a bit expensive. Do a search on the internet or Amazon and you will find some. Goog luck.
This video just show how you can make your own, I do not make for sale. If you would like to purchase just run a search for paper bead rollers to find some for sale.
