Glueing silver rivets onto BHB

[Lotti]

Not sure if this is the right place mods so please feel free to move if I have got it wrong.

I really really really hate glueing these fiddly little rivets onto BHB and one day when I have money again I will do Manda's course and treat myself to a corer (and go on all the other courses I want to do!!!!!).  In the meantime I have 10 BHB as a commission for a lady at the market tomorrow and have to go and get glueing.  I always seem to get in a mess and get the bxxxxy glue everywhere and make a mess of the bead.  I do try to rough up the hole a bit and then using a tooth pick try to put the glue round the hole and then press down on the rivets (I also done it the other way, ie putting glue on the rivet but seem to make more of a mess).  Has anyone got any hints and tips on how I can do this so that it is really nice and is less likely to stress me out (I wasn't going to do any more cored ones till I did the course but of course them someone goes and asks for them!)

[sarah t]

i find doing one end, waiting till the glue has gone off then doing the other end helps ...takes a bit longer but is far less messy as you have only glued your finger to one end not both   

and a cotton bud is my pokey, proddy, holdy,cleany tool of choice 

[Redhotsal]

I glue the rivets and my husband glues the bead(!) - but personally I think it's easier to do the rivets. Here's a small but very uselful tip:  Slip the rivet over a pair of needle nosed pliers. You can then hold the rivet from the inside and avoid getting glue on your own fingers. If you splay the pliers out a little they will hold the rivet securely and then you can apply the glue with a cocktail stick. Then, just drop it over the bead hole and release the pressure on the pliers which will allow the rivet to neatly drop straight in. No mess and just a minimum of alignment required. 

[Lotti]

i find doing one end, waiting till the glue has gone off then doing the other end helps ...takes a bit longer but is far less messy as you have only glued your finger to one end not both   

and a cotton bud is my pokey, proddy, holdy,cleany tool of choice 

Yes I learned quite quickly to do one end, let it go off and then do the other!  That did help a bit.  Do you use a cotton bud to put the glue on?

I glue the rivets and my husband glues the bead(!) - but personally I think it's easier to do the rivets. Here's a small but very uselful tip:  Slip the rivet over a pair of needle nosed pliers. You can then hold the rivet from the inside and avoid getting glue on your own fingers. If you splay the pliers out a little they will hold the rivet securely and then you can apply the glue with a cocktail stick. Then, just drop it over the bead hole and release the pressure on the pliers which will allow the rivet to neatly drop straight in. No mess and just a minimum of alignment required. 

Ah, I had thought about that trick with the pliers but for some reason never done it, will definately give that a go!

[Shirl]

I did a few of these but its not a nice job! I put mine over a pencil to hold it

I found it better if you put the glue on a bit thinner, so it doesnt squish out when you press down on the rivet.

[Blue Box Studio]

I use a cocktail stick to put the glue on and a cotton bud to clean up the mess, if I get any.  With the pliers trick, which I also recommend, you shouldn't get too much if you are mean with the glue.

I'm using the tubing Manda recommends for her corer but it will only fit up to Troll sized beads, need to find something bigger and hope it works with their dies so I can just core the beads, not play with glue.

[Lotti]

Thank folks for all your help.  Verdict is use pliers and put the glue on the rivet.  I did a couple where I put glue on the bead to do a comparison and glue on rivet was definately easier (when I could keep my hands still!).  I only made a muck up of one bead and luckily it wasn't one the lady had ordered but one I thought she might like so she will not get the option now!  The tricky bit was that they are just plain trans glass etched, so if you get the glue on it takes the etch off and then you can see the mess even more!  Don't think that re-etching after gluing would be a good idea as I am sure the etch liquid will destroy the glue - a place for the etching paste perhaps!  Thanks again, let's hope she turns up and pays the money, if she does it will be my best day at market to date!