Making Metal Beads Techniques, Projects, Inspiration is a lovely book on all aspects of the making and creating of metal beads. The reader starts off with a splendid close up photo of a string of silver and gold beads, showing the smallest of detail. 

This reference book is brimming with close up color photographs, all the more to entice the reader. Everything is addressed about making the beads; there is even a chapter on transforming commercial bought beads. There maybe only eight chapters in this wonderful book but you will find this is all you need. The first chapter covers the basics of sawing, drilling, and forming to finishing and stringing. Each of these parts addressed is explained in precise detail giving materials needed, tools and supplies used followed by the step-by-step walk through. 

The Transforming Commercial Beads chapter is great way to start your bead making success. It shows the reader uncomplicated, quit and resourceful ways to turn store bought beads into beautiful hand made treasures. The author covers stamping, dimpling, reticulation and soldering the beads with sheet metal. In the cold-connected chapter, the author talks about ways to join the metal beads by using no solder at all. 

Their uses can be tube-rivets, interlocking notches, and weaving. All these methods are clever ways to connect the beads and still create beautiful works of art. The author follows with making tube beads, then give details and inspiration on embellishing them with jumps rings, wire, and hammering. Fused beads and using the hydraulic press along with matrix die-forms give the reader a wonderful array of options in their bead created designs. 

The chapters get progressive harder as the reader works through the book, with square, crescent shaped, and an eight-domed bead, this allows for growth in the creative mind. There are close up photographs and gallery shots through out the book along with all the tools, supplies and all step-by-step instructions. Template and charts finish the last chapters making this book a wealth of information. Pauline Warg is an author, instructor and has been a metal smith for thirty years.