Hi everyone,

As promised, here's my Bead Spinner review:

The Bead Spinner Review and Tips

It's a nifty little tool!

Please reply to this post to share your own experiences with this or other models of bead spinners, including any home-made varieties you have tried.

~Chris

I have had one for about 5 years and I love mine. I have the original http://www.beadspinner.com/Beadspinners.aspx it took me several tries to get it to fill up the needle correctly and now I just automatically get it to fill up the entire needle. This saves me alot of time.

Thanks so much for the review! I've often wanted to try this but thought it would be too complicated.

Beth

Chris,

For me, the key with using the bead spinner was to not spin it too fast. Of course, I learned that from experience! You know when the beads go flying all over the place that you're not doing something right.

A few weeks ago I created a quick video showing how to use a bead spinner. Here's the link if you are interested in having a look: http://jewelrymakinginformation.com/jewelry-making-video-tutorial-how-to-use-a-bead-spinner/

Thank you for the link to your video, Eri! That's very helpful.

what are the smallest sized seed beads you can use with the "J" needles? I am thinking about getting one but I mostly use 11/0 and 15/0 size seed beads. I also saw one that came wih straight needles but I believe you said that was harder for you to use in your review.

Thanks,
rikjog

Hi rikjog,

You can use the needles with any size of seed beads, including 15/0's - just make sure you have the right size needle. Here is an example of a multi-pack of needles of different sizes:

http://www.beadspinner.net/catalog/item/3443969/3084336.htm

You'll notice that those are not pre-made J needles, though. They are straight but easily bendable into the J shape.

If you read down that page, you'll also see that the seller herself prefers the straight needle method (even though I use the J method). So, you should experiment with both to see which you like best.

Also, I noticed that the bead spinner sold on this site apparently can be used *without* a needle:

http://www.7beads.com/info/beadspinnerinfo.htm

I haven't had the opportunity to test that model yet, but if I do, I'll definitely do a write-up about it.

I hope that helps!

Chris

I recently started making French Beaded flowers. I use mostly 24 ga wire and TONS of size 11 seed beads. It didn't take me long to figure out I needed a bead spinner! I absolutely love mine. It's a great way to create color blends, too. I don't use a needle at all - just the wire. I shape it into a fairly large "C" and just skim the surface of the beads. Since I'm right handed, I spin the bowl counter clockwise holding the wire with my right hand. Once the beads fill up to where I'm holding the wire, I scoot them down until I have about 5 feet filled. It goes really fast once you get the hang of it.

I've never tried using different sized/shaped beads in a mix with the spinner. It just didn't seem to me like it could work very well, especially with the bugles.

Happy beading!

Charm