Now you’re ready for your second crimp. You will be using the notch of the bead crimping tool that is closest to the tip. For simplicity, we’ll call this the “2nd crimping position”. The idea is now to fold over the two encapsulated wires like a book. To do this, take the bead crimping pliers and grasp the crimp bead in the 2nd crimping position. You want the wires to be lined up vertically with one on top of the other… not horizontal!
Once again, you may want to hold the wires straight with the fingers of your other hand, though it’s not as important for this crimp. When you’re ready, you want to squeeze down gently in the 2nd crimping position until the crimp bead is completely folded over. It is sort of weird; when I first did this step I didn’t think it would fold correctly.
And in fact, you may have some problems depending on what type of material your crimp bead is made of. I’ve actually found that some crimp beads (I use sterling silver, 2mm) have walls that are too “thin” and thus the 2nd crimp is a bit difficult. It tends not to fold over nicely, but folds slightly offcenter. It’s difficult to tell in advance the quality of crimp bead a manufacturer makes. Best thing to do is buy a small pack from one and then try it out, instead of buying a huge amount right away in bulk.
This is how the finished folded crimp will look like after it has been squeezed down. Notice how each wire is snug in its own side of the folded crimp tube. When squeezing down in the 2nd crimping position you may need to use quite a bit of force to get it tight enough. You might need to stop and readjust the position of the notch in order to get good purchase. If you have trouble getting it tight enough after it has folded over some, you can also take chain nose pliers and squeeze the folded crimp to get it tighter.
