Clay
extruders
..
gen.info
Smaller clay guns
...plunger
type .......(see also Pushers for small guns)
...slightly-larger barrel,
squeeze trigger
...somehwat-larger barrel, screw handle
Medium
size clay guns/extruders
Other
small-medium extruders for soft regular clay (cookie presses,etc)
....icing
tips for soft clay
.......extruding liquid
clays or other liquids, very soft mediums
Very
large & Humongous (barrel) extruders
Pushers
for some small guns
......bellows
type & our bellows
......non-bellows
types
........various
........caulking gun
.....no
pusher? (some low-tech.solutions)
Disks
....types
and shapes... tips
....additional disks (for sale)
....making
your own disks
Preparing clay
for extruding
Clean-Barrel extruding
(no cleaning nec.)
(Regular
cleaning methods)
Misc. tips
Uses
for clay guns
.....canes
(also quilt canes) ... rows & layers...
.........automatically-wrapped
canes .....Extruded Mosaic... logs, sanding
....whole
canes or logs
Other uses
for extrusions
... Lettering
....Stained
glass
... Balinese Filigree
& other filigree
... Weaving,
crochet, braid, flex.springs
(more)
Websites
CLAY
EXTRUDERS
(clay "guns," cookie presses, etc. )
see
also the "condensed techniques list" page for more
ideas:
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/claygunTechniquesList.htm
gen. info
There
are a number of tools that can be used for extruding clay into long ropes of various
shapes (round, square, triangular, etc.).
...The original tool used for
polymer clay was actually a clay "gun" extruder which was made to be
used with earth clay (softer than polymer clay).
...Since then people have
come across or created other types of extruders, as well as "pushers"
to use with the extruder guns.
...There are also extruders which combine extruder-and-pusher,
and some very large extruders as well.
Lots of things can be done with extrusions from a clay gun !!!
SMALL
clay guns
costs, suppliers, brands
Small Barrel...PLUNGER-type guns
(cheap & easily available)
The
small clay guns available at craft stores cost around $10 or so (... the
larger ones cost more)
... most small guns come with about
20 disks which have differently shaped holes for creating
long extrusions which are round or square, rectangular (flat
noodle), tri-lobed, etc
(see Disks below for buying
different disks, or maybe making your own disks for these
small guns)
...photo of a typical clay gun plus
the 20 disks that come with it (top of page)
...other guns and pushers shown as well)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/cyclopedia/clayguns.html
...and at my photo lessons re using one with
a "pusher" (website
gone)
suppliers
for the (original small) type of clay gun (aka "clay extruder"):
...RETAIL.... Michaels, or other craft/hobby stores
...MAIL
ORDER... many polymer clay suppliers carry one or more brands of clay
gun (see Supply Sources > Clays... also
http://www.craftswholesale.com
has the Sculpey gun for $7-8)
(.....for suppliers for the medium-sized
guns, see just below)
brand names
of the plunger type metal clay guns are:
....Kemper... Sculpey
.... Darice/Catan (Joann's, etc.) ... and maybe others
NOTE:
some brands of these plunger guns aren't as well built as others, or don't work
with certain pushers, or have disks which are less sturdy than others
........some
extra disk sets will fit only in certain guns without
having to purchase a separate adapter ring... see Disks below
...Darice...
stronger disks ... thicker edges
...Sculpey gun... stronger disks than
Kemper? steel rather than aluminum? (will fit in Kemper gun)... but can't do "clean
barrel extruding" because of lip at end of barrel (see below)
...Kemper
Klay Gun (older ones had strong, rolled edge disks?, but newer
guns plunger doesnt fit well and threads not too good either)...disks may
not fit in other guns
...the gun "from Pro
Arts" at Michaels turned out to be by
Loew Cornell. And it was TERRIBLE.
...it was weirdly difficult to clean...only the last inch on either end of the
barrel had a smooth finish... the center section was very badly cast and
(rough?) not finished (see more details re this one under "Disks"
below)
It's very helpful to have a "pusher"
for these small guns to make them
easier to use
...especially if
you're doing a lot of extruding...or you're not
using a very very soft clay like Sculpey...or you want to make
extruding
easier on
the hands and fingers
(see
PUSHERS for small guns below)
slightly-larger Barrel... SQUEEZE TRIGGER
Sugar Craft
extruder ...intended for use with marzipan (almond paste) in cake decorating,
etc.
....this is a clay gun and sort-of-pusher in one unit)....
clay is extruded with trigger action (rachet)
.......would put most
squeezing pressure on
the joint between the thumb and index finger, the palm, and the outermost
joints of the fingers
...made from very heavy plastic....
I experimented with mine
... it does well with the softer clays (Sculpey,
FimoSoft, Premo and some Fimo Classic colors,
but not all. Kay
....it would not fit into any of the
pusher devices
we've come up with so far. Diane B.
...most are sold in the UK
though.. Jane Asher sells lots of wonderful sugar craft tools and things.
.........from their manager: $23.00 US dollars for the Sugarcraft gun and
shipping to the US?.... Caroline
....comes with 16 disks... can buy
another set?
http://www.sugarcraft.com/catalog/gumpaste/gptools.htm
......
or http://www.jane-asher.co.uk/ ...
then click on 'mail order sugarcraft' and then type 'gun'
in the search box ...
$29.. . http://beryls.safeshopper.com/216/7424.htm?931
$40 ...http://www.earlenescakes.com/store/tools.html
...it's at The Foodcrafter's Supply Catalog in the U.S.. phone: 800-776-0575
(more expensive though?)
somewhat-larger Barrel ... SCREW HANDLE
Professional
Ultimate Clay Extruder ... larger barrel than regular metal plunger type
clay guns, but smaller than medium-sized barrels
....it has a screw handle
for extruding the clay instead of a plunger
....good clay gun, if you don't
want to use a pusher with a small gun to get faster and easier results
........
or if twisting a screw handle repeatedly will be hard on your hands,
arms, etc.
....a new clay gun by Makin's ...the metal
version was made specifically for polymer clay
....somewhat
bigger barrel is 5 1/2" long (vs. 3 1/2" for the
plunger types), and about 3/4" in diameter (vs. 1/2" or so)
....$20
....made of (green) metal (except at Michaels?) and has a screw
handle bar mechanism at end which is about 4" long so you could even use
the palm or side of your hand to turn it
..... barrel could also easily be
held with either a couple of clamps or a mounted vise.
......the interior
disk which pushes the clay along has an 'O' ring around it that cleans
the barrel automatically (no scraping, baking, etc. to get
the clay out as there isn't much residue). Patty B..
.....comes with 20 ("strong")
flat, silver metal disks
http://clay-essentials.com/productpages/extruder.htm
http://www.makinsclay.com/US/eng/products/ultimate/images/extruder1.jpg
....can
also buy 2 more disk sets for it
.......can also buy 2
special disk sets which create make an automatic hole all the way
through the extruded log
http://www.theclaystore.com/pages-main-category-97/polymer-clay-extruders.html?zenid=abdf761d5f3ee6fcfcd180d76ed76fff
...Suzanne
I's video clip showing it being used http://youtube.com/watch?v=tW3xU4Ouppg
(at 6:40)
Don't
be confused ... Makin's also produces another
clay gun
which is green plastic and won't
work well with polymer
clay
... that one has hemispheric "disks" and is all green
(sold in craft stores); it's fine for their
air-dry clay though
........here's a photo
of the wrong "Clay
Gun Extruder" http://www.makinsclay.com/US/eng/products/gun_extruder.htm
)
MEDIUM size clay guns ...don't generally need pushers
Polymer
Clay Express Extruder Gun(s)
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/clay_extruder.html
PCE
seels two guns with barrels about 7" long
and 2" in diameter....squeeze trigger to extrude (like caulking
gun) ...barrel used to be acrylic?
1. "all-metal"
gun (PCE 2" M-Extruder) = $55
...strongest
barrel.... 26 thrust capacity in the trigger
...holds up to one lb
(8 small bars) of clay (can buy Accessory barrel below for smaller amounts of
clay)
...comes with
2 disks only ("floral")
2.
aluminum-barrel gun (PCE 2" Aluminum Extruder)
= $45 (just steel-not-aluminum barrel, or
other parts not made from metal?)
.....holds up to one lb
(8 small bars) of clay, in a 2" diameter barrel (can buy Accessory
barrel below for smaller amounts of clay)
...comes
with 2 disks
only ("floral")
ACCESSORIES:
Small
Shapes Extruder Accessory (a smaller barrel which fits inside
either? 2" regular barrel; shaped like
dumbbell)
....$19 ....holds up to one-half lb
of clay (4 small bars)
Bead Corers...for
making single holes in extrusions... can then make tube beads, rod
bracelets with single holes running through them, etc, automatically
.....a metal rod with metal shape at one end... placed inside the clay (rolled
up into a log) inside a barrel...when extruded, the clay extrusion
will have a hole through it in the shape of the rod's end (may be best to use
a release on rod --mineral oil, ArmorAll, etc.)
....can be used with any disk
which has only a single hole, located in the very center of the disk
Lifting
Disc ... makes it easier to remove the last bit of clay
left in the gun after extruding by lifting the bottom of the clay above the pusher
cup (inserted after cup and nut are threaded on, before clay inserted) ...disk
available for 2" barrels, or 1" barrel, or bead corers
"pusher"
for guns (Table Holster) = $25...allows gun to be attached to edge
of table (upside down) so that clay can be extruded with more leverage
......requires
two free sides
of a table corner... gun holder is attached to one side of a corner by
two (ordinary) long squeeze clamps; the gun is then strapped into the holder with
attached Velcro...person then stands on the clamped side of the corner,
and presses down repeatedly (with both hands for
best result) on the free lever of the gun to extrude the clay (downward)
...
requires many pushes and probably not great for those with
wrist-arm problems
DISKS
...all
disks are very thick (3/8") and made from laser-cut acrylic
...shapes: quilt block pieces, floral, "circular",
moulding for "frames", image silhouette shapes (butterflies,
etc.),
.........also "double-hole" disks for making extrusions
(in many shapes) with 2 holes built in automatically, for
making bracelets, beads, etc., with cording or wires strung through --see also
"Bead Corers" below for single hole extrusions)
...most disks
are available in both the 2" size and the 1" size gun-barrel
...
sets of additional disks are available in various numbers and groupings
....individual
disks for either? 2" gun = $7.50
....individual disks for small barrel accessory = $2.50
...38
disks set + small barrel accessory = $85
...38 disks
+ gun = $260 ...PCE-M (all metal) 2" barrel gun + 38
pre-selected disk set (General Shapes)
USING
(more info)
...to reload ... press
silver lever with thumb, pull back on plunger... remove end, load clay,
replace end
........(demonstrator always rolled up a sheet of
clay into log, then rolled and reshaped log to put into barrel)
......many
presses of trigger necessary to extrude clay (even after many squeezees
to move less than a barrelful of clay down to disk)
.............demonstrator
used both hands to
squeeze trigger
.............whole gun moves back and
forth with each squeeze of the trigger; and
flops back & forth when using holster (could be
annoying)
..... clay also doesn't
come out fast once it reaches the disk (in either 2" or 1"
barrel)
......fiddly to put parts
together and take apart and somewhat time-consuming
(... e.g, cap requires
many revolutions, pressing on small
lever then pulling on pull-back plunger require effort
and is not smooth... several disks
and a plastic cup have to also be dropped into the barrel)
...to
clean ...demonstator suggested using a small bit of (thin plastic)
"deli paper" around back end of clay to help remove excess
after extrusion ....(also, just on older version?...has "thick pad"
on plunger for helping keep clean --other
cleaning necessary?)
BOTTOM LINE?
Would
be great for clayers who:
.....make a
lot of certain
types of
items (e.g., tile or rod bracelets, frames of certain sizes, etc.),
or do production work of certain types
.....make items which require
larger extrusions, or longer extrusions without having to reload
.....make
quilt canes
.....want a huge variety of disks, and the most
options possible to play with using just one gun
Not as great for those
who:
......can't afford it (or
the accessories and disks they'd need
......have too much
trouble with fingers,
arms, wrists, etc (and also if using a holster,
are able to stand --and have a convenient 2-sided table corner to use)
for
large and humongous barrel extruders (extruder and pusher in one),
see below
in Very Large Barrel and Humongous Barrel
use with regular clay
I use a garlic press
(for multiple thin strands)..... I find it easier to clean out (than a clay
gun). Ruth
...Nancy Lotz's lesson
on using a garlic press to extrude a plain color, a Skinner Blend
plug (cut into short lengths), or a series of colors (thick disks)... she
uses the extrusions to make Balinese Filigree and has suggestions for other
things to use them for (plus tips on using)
......she says the diameter
of her round extrusions are about 1/8" (same as thickest setting of pasta
machine)... but photos of the red
ropes and forms look much larger (just for illustration purposes??)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2005fall/lotzer2.html
(also click on pg. 3 & pg. 4)
.....see
much more on Balinese Filigree below
.....some
of the ways to clean clay guns should also work for garlic presses (see Cleaning
below)
..square snakes can
be made with a square-hole garlic press ...saw wonderful canes
in cross-stitch patterns with them
........ I found a square-hole press
at one of the big local linen and kitchen ware stores...was a cheaper one
.........I've made clay 'cartoon' animals, then photographed them
and converted them
to cross-stitch patterns
........What a neat idea. ..I
had thought of using some of my old photos to make canes before, but never
thought of cross stitch or mosaics, etc.
(other patterns can
also be simulated with square or other extrusions... for those, see Mosaics
... and also Mixing Media
> Needlepoint & Seed Beads ...
and Canes-Instr. > Quilts --for
square patches, etc.)
We have
a run going here, (Seattle), on those old cookie press guns
for extruding clay.
...The ones that folks like best have a handle
that you rotate to push out the clay. It takes more hand
strength than I have to rotate the handle however.
....My personal favorite
is the ratchet handle where you squeeze the handle and each time
extrudes a little more. It looks like a long barrelled gun with a big squeeze
"trigger". These were made with aluminium bodies and disks back in the 50's and
60's and I find them in junk stores and antique malls for a dollar or three. .....You
have to use more clay to get it to extrude, but, it sure is simple to use.....
I have found lots of disks to use by cannabilizing other cookie presses
that were too big, etc. Meredith
....Wilton has an all metal cookie
press?
.....I have a new ratchet type cookie press. I bought it at a specialty
cooking store during one of my Christmas shopping trips a couple of years ago.
It's a really sturdy cookie press and seems like it would convert to polymer clay.
It is made by Marcato in Italy with a brand name of Atlas (sound familiar?).
It is distributed in the US by VillaWare Manufacturing Co., Cleveland, Ohio 44114.
... do a search for 'Atlas cookie press' you will find plenty of online sellers.
The price starts at around $12. Keep in mind that this is made for cookie dough,
considerably softer than clay. And that the holes in the discs are different than
the ones for the clay extruder. Valerie
....don't get
a cookie press gun with a push plunger
though -- you will hurt yourself trying to get the clay out of those!
........my
cookie gun works fine....it is approx. 2" diameter – obviously larger than
the Klay Gun diameter.... I haven't had any problems with either the threaded
handle screw-it-in kind or my ratchet handle one. Both are the same diameter.
I'm using Premo clay which is softer . . . Meredith
... If I
want to extrude smaller amounts of clay than a whole barrelful, I put a
"plug" of scrap clay nearest the plunger end, and the clay
that I want to extrude nearest the extrusion plate--then I don't have to fill
up the whole gun with more clay than I want. Meredith
....I have taped
individual Kemper clay gun disks onto larger-hole cookie
press disks --works wonderfully well in the cookie press. Meredith
....metal
icing tips work really well in a cookie press, too! ...the holes are bigger
in the press disks and so you don't have to modify anything to use the cones.
Just get a disk that has the right diameter hole. ....my cookie press came
with an adapter for icing tip cones, but, I haven't seen another
like this one in all my second hand/thrift store rovings... Meredith
....the
diameter of the tube is the key...the clay extruder gun
has a small diameter, thus the pressure psi
(pressure per square inch) is much greater allowing you to exert enough pressure
to move the fairly thick substance through the end. (I learned this lesson at
work when I was trying to treat a patient by clearing his IV. The patient was
a doctor and informed me that if I wanted to exert more pressure I should use
a smaller syringe). Sara
DH
made me something with PVC pipe, and caulking gun that had
worked well, but it is crude since he never perfected it
....he used PVC pipe
as the barrel holder of clay, and I used the disks from the
first dough extruder mentioned with my stained glass windows
... he
used the heavy duty caulking gun for as holder and mechanism to extrude.
....he threaded the PVC pipe himself on the bottom
(there are threaded pipes, but the pre-threaded ones do not have the proper threads
to fit the end piece of the old cookie press or dough extruder that I wanted to
use) and I used the same screw-on cap which holds the dies in place
from the first dough extruder mentioned.
....he
cut a piece of heavy duty plastic and put on top of the clay.... It fit
the diameter of the PVC pipe exactly.
The caulking gun was used just as with
caulk except the disc could be removed and more clay inserted. But it was a little
work to get the disc out until we discovered we could unscrew the bottom and it
is right there! DUH
... So far our experience has been that if one can get
the clay soft and keep it warm, then this one would definitely be workable. Jeanne
R.
Play-Doh-type-toy
tools for extruding (Play Doh Fun Factory and single extruder,
available at toy and discount stores)
... $4 at Wal-Mart, in the toy section
–OR deluxe version: Play-Doh One Stop Playshop (Deluxe work station - $19.95
at Toys 'R Us)
... Jeannie Havel uses this to make "elements"
for canes... after extruding, she lets them set for awhile, then combines
into canes
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/december2001/elements.html
....cleaning
the Fun Factory may appear daunting, but you can place tools in freezer for 15-20
minutes. Clay will pop right off. Jeannie H.
Childcraft
Education Corp's Clay Accessories Package (and Do-It-With Dough
kits) for play doh
http://marketplace.junebox.com/control/browseProductDescription?Prefitem=355405
various plastic guns and extruders, plus dies ... $20
....It
had a strip of plastic that had all those dies cut into it, with space in between.
....I have been thinking that it would be a simple thing to cut the shapes apart,
and tape each into a larger-shape die that I have for the cookie
press
. . . . For example, the triangle shape just fits into the "sun burst
star" shape that came with the cookie press, so it looks like I could tape the
play-doh die to the aluminium sun burst die --centered in the sunburst, so the
sunburst holes are all covered up.
...........then put the die, play-doh die
to the inside, into the cookie press like you normally would. Suddenly you have
the shape you want and can extrude it, too.
I have done this with the Kemper
clay gun dies (small, or larger ones too?) into the cookie press
- works wonderfully well. Meredith
with regular clay, etc.
YangYang’s
icing tip-extrusions http://www.myart.com/yayaju/
(gone), but check http://www.sdpcg.org/ later?
...Yang
Yang began using the metal icing tips intended for cake decorating in the
barrel of a clay gun a long time ago
Yang
Yang extruded the softest Sculpey (plain white Original Sculpey
in the box)
......created things like lacelike ruffled ribbons, and
all kinds of other things
..... she also used for embellishing her
baskets and other tiny sculptures
mixing
a clay with translucent clay will usually soften it too
...but for making
stiffer clays softer in various ways, see clay pusher instructions below for tips
on warming and softening the clay, or look in Conditioning,
Softeners)
clay could be slightly thinned with various liquids too (Softener-Diluent, liquid clay, veg oil, etc.).
(see also "doughs" below in Icing Tips with Liquid Clay, etc)
Karen's icing tip connector for
clay gun (Cake Decorating Tip Adaptor)
....screws onto
end of open clay gun (Kemper gun, or let them know which gun you have), and accepts
any of the standard small icing tips
... held in place with their metal
ring and a plastic icing ring coupler (the ones used for holding disposable
bags onto to interchangeable tip connectors)
... the white icing tip coupler
is easily removeable (just screw off) and you can change cake decorating
tips quickly and easily.. unscrew, place a new tip, screw on and you are ready
to go for another design. Karen
http://www.clayalley.com/tools.htm
....I'd
like to have more than one connector (I have more than one gun), so that
I could have several colors going at the same time. Then I could
change the tips all around, just like when decorating a cake, cookies, or gingerbread
house, etc.. Diane B.
...buying this item can make some
of the (GRAYED OUT) info
below unnecessary
....(thanks, Karen!)
Metal
icing tips work really well in a cookie press, too!
....the holes are
bigger in the press' disks so you don't have to modify
anything to use the cones. Just get a disk that has the right diameter
hole. My cookie press came with an adapter for the cones, but, I haven't seen
another like this one in all my second hand/thrift store rovings... Meredith
tiny
clever "icing tip" and icing "bag" for making "twisted
cookies"... should work for flowers and ridged ropes too if
not twisted
...metal tip made from a tiny cylinder of serrated metal
strip from a box of plastic-wrap + transparent tape attached
to it and upward as the icing "bag")
http://park2.wakwak.com/~pine/studio/howto/index.htm
(click on Cookie)
...to
view in English thru AltaVista's BabelFish, go to: http://babelfish.altavista.com
.....then enter url above in the Translate Page window ..select Japanese
to English ..click on Cookie
(see info on cutting down metal icing tips below)
(see
also using syringes as extruders below in "for liquid clays"...
can use with softened clay, modeling pastes, gel mediums or liquid clay)
I
purchased a plastic cake decorating kit for $1.00 that contained 8 different
tips from my local dollar store and it works beautifully. The outside
is a tube with a plunger and changable tips. CraftyM
.... I got my cheap
plastic tips from a kit at the grocery store that came with a white plastic
bag
I used my finger to push clay through some cheap
plastic icing tips and got different shapes than are possible
with regular clay gun disks
...then I chilled them in
the freezer a while (then cut the extruded logs into little star slices)
...
but you could instead bake the whole extrusion, then slice it while
warm (cuts easily). DB (add my photos)
We
could also extrude shapes from an icing tip
out onto aluminum foil ...like stars, leaves, etc.
....bake...then
add them to tiny cakes or gingerbread houses, the insides of eggs,
whatever.... good practice too. DB
(for ways to use icing tip extrusions
on gingerbread houses... xmas trees or wreaths... for candies..
or all kinds of embellishment, onlays, etc, see
Halloween
and Christmas
and Onlay
)
icing tips allow one to create objects like stars,
flowers, leaves, wavy or accordion-folded ribbons, and other
decorated-cake effects
....number of lessons for using icing
tips for diff. shapes & effects
http://www.wilton.com/ltd/bdtips.htm
(see books on making flowers,
leaves, and other decorations with icing tips, in Sculpture
> Flowers)
pages showing many icing tip shapes
http://www.ccwsupply.com/cakedec/dtips10.htm
...http://www.wiltonyearbook.com/feat_prod/decortips.asp
http://www.azcentral.com/home/food/cooking201/lesson2-2.shtml
Icing
tips are also good for certain shapes or embellishments that might get squished
while creating or adding to.
Could some of the shapes be used as mosaic tiles?
Could
some of the shapes be used as cane building elements?
like nesting shapes, or just any element shapes? ...some of the
oval shapes would be neat laid together alternating directions, e.g
........or
some of the tips would extrude almost flat ribbons, but could be larger than the
ones from an ordinary clay gun?
.... could we refeigerate the extrusions,
then add softened clay around them to make canes with background?
...I
wonder if I could either cut some of the icing tips shorter so they would
extrude a larger log (see grayed text for cutting info), or bend
some into another shape. I'm afraid they may be too strong for that, but it would
be a quick and dirty way to get some larger triangles especially. DB
I'm
itching to take a trip to the hardware store just to browse for
shaped things that might now fit into an icing tip... this
isn't an evolved idea yet, but there must be some things which could shape the
clay as it extrudes (though might have to use a wider-opening round tip, or cut
off one of the other tips, so the log wouldn't get messed up as it travelled all
the way out). DB
... for
example, very small hexagonal socket wrench tips could be set into a large
round icing tip to extrude hexagonal rods ... haven't tried it yet, but
looks like it would work... possibly the wrench tip would have to be baked in
a wad of clay formed by the inside of the icing tip?
....or
could we actually make clay shapes ourselves which could be baked and re-inserted
into an icing tip to make any shape we wanted???? (by inserting a wad of
clay into an large-opening icing tip, carefully removing and cutting a shape with
a knife or small cutter, then baking)
...Could we simply hold something
small and stiff in front of the gun, and press down on the bellows ....
(see
more ideas below in "Disks," under Darlin' Designer Disks)
I
bet liquid clay, or clay thinned with Diluent, can be used
in frosting bags with tips..Sarajane H.
.....Beckah
says that TLS and some black/pearl clays will make an extrudable slip after
3 or more days?? for stained glass leading (but could be used for anything).
http://www.ntpcg.net/tips.html
icing
tips with liquid clay
other liquids, or very
soft mediums
I bet liquid clay
--or regular clay thinned with Softener-Diluent-- can be used
in frosting bags with tips..Sarajane H.
.....Beckah
says that liquid clay and some black/pearl clays will make an extrudable slip
after 3 or more days?? for stained glass leading (but could be used
for anything). http://www.ntpcg.net/tips.html
"doughs" ... various
powders or particles could be mixed with enough liquid or very soft medium to
make an extrudable material
.....the powder-particles could be things
like ...mica powder (Pearl Ex, etc.) or microfine glitter, or maybe
even chalk powder, cornstarch, baking soda(?), play sand, ground spices
...
the wet ingredient could be things like.... a bit of liquid clay,
gel medium, white glue (tacky or not), acrylic paint, etc.
...or
regular clays highly softened with Softener-Diluent, liquid clay,
veg oil, etc, or translucent clay
(see more on extruding liquid clay in Liquid Clays > Containers & Applicators... and also Drizzling, Piping)
Might
waste some, but could also put the icing tip into a plastic
bag for extruding if clay is soft enough (or
if you're using any soft material)
....cut the tip off a thick
plastic bag wide enough for the tip to slip most of the way through (but
not all the way)
....drop the tip in the bag and push into hole
....fill
bag with softened clay, or dough, etc (try not to get on sides... put the
clay only at the bottom of the bag for least waste)
....twist bag so that all
clay is pressed into icing tip... secure tightly with twist-tie
... clench-press
back end of bag to extrude clay out other end... as clay is extruded, twist bag
tighter & tighter
syringes of various kinds (usually translucent
plastic) can be used to extrude
.......Betsy N. uses a curved tip glue
syringe to pipe "icing" embellishments on her miniature baked &
frosted cakes
...various mediums can be loaded into syringes to extrude-- liquid
clays, acrylic mediums, modeling pastes, and very soft clay
...Betsy N. uses
acrylic modeling paste (sometimes called structure paste)
(tinted if desired with acrylic paint, and a bit of well-stirred-in cornstarch
if it won't hold a peak) or Delta's Texture Magic, and holds the
syringe in her palm using her thumb to extrude (and supports that hand with the
other hand if necessary)
...acrylic texture paste is thicker than
acrylic modeling paste (?)
...acrylic
texture gel works too (but is transparent)
..........you can tint texture
gels with acrylic paint or paint pigments, but, since gel medium looks "milky"
before it dries, it often doesn't appear to be the right tint at first. It dries
clear, though, and the color shines through beautifully (which eliminates the
color limitation of "structural paint"). .... produced by both
"Golden" and "Liquitex" brands. Barb
clean
icing tips after use
...if the tips will be used only for polymer clay
again, just wipe out any color you don't want around next time (liquid clay and
solid clay don't "dry out" so not necessary to do anything further if
you don't want---perhaps keep in a plastic bag just to avoid touching other items
though)
(for a mix of liquid clay and solid clay)... first clean out
as much as you can from from the interior of the tip mechanically (with
a tissue, or a twisted tissue, etc.)
....... then use one of the solvent
substances that's used to clean liquid clays from paintbrushes to remove any
remaining liquid clay (see Liquid Clays >
Cleaning for a list of those)
.......afterward, it would be a good idea
to wash the tip well with soap and hot water and a toothbrush or something,
especially if it would be used to you for food later (must get all crevices
clean though!)
(for only softened solid clay)... remove most of
the clay mechanically, then just use alcohol or soap and hot water, etc, to remove
the rest
..the small, brush-like disposable
applicators by Lee Valley are also good for cleaning tiny areas...
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.asp?SID=&ccurrency=2&page=45857&category=1,110,42967
See
more on cleaning off
liquid and solid clay in Safety-Cleaning
> Cleaning > Hands
(same
stuff as a thick acrylic gel medium??) ....acylic modeling paste, or
a product called Form-it, a plastic mousse.... It's perfect
for light weight sculptures and landscapes. (see also
Liquid Sculpey, Diluent paste, etc.)--could also use as an armature?
....The brand (of modeling paste) I have used for a design class, and
as grout for some pc mosaics, is Liquitex. It is found in the
same area as the Gel Medium and Gesso... i.e. among the painting supplies. Kat
....I have done 3-d sculptures, etc on wood....using Modeling
Paste.....It is just the right consistency to go thru the cake decorating tubes.
An
AirPen is a gadget that uses air to extrude very soft materials
such as tinted liquid clay, paint, glue, or icing... It comes with
a variety of design tips. (it can also be used to decorate cakes or cookies, etc.
but of course not after it's been used for the clay)
....Some people use it
to extrude thick paints. The new Genesis paints will work with it, and
with the clay as they have to be heat set
….You can reverse the flow of air
and it acts like a vacuum to pick up small beads or other items so you can place
them where you want them. All kinds of uses for this little beauty. …. You can
also get additional tips and holders for the liquid clay (or whatever.)
Dotty
....It's a nifty new tool... we saw it at the HIA show. It has a little
electric air pump- 6 cartidges and 6 interchangeable applicator tips... and 6
cleaning plungers and 6 storage caps and plugs for each cartridge. ....You can
fill the cartridge with......liquid clay, paint, glue, or icing and apply precise
lines of varied sizes.
.....It can also be used as an air tweezer
(if you reverse the flow of air) - it will pick up tiny objects
(beads or stones) and hold them for precise placement. I'm hoping to buy a shipment
of them -12... for our guild- that will give us a savings of 50% (retails for
$140).. . . The air pen won't be polluted by the liquid sculpey... just the cartidge!
So you could have seperate cartidges for frosting... etc.!! Kathndolls
cutting
metal icing tips
(or buy Karen's adapter above)
cutting
the metal tips yourself
(lesson)..
. . I wrote to YangYang because I was having trouble cutting the tips…she
told me which kind of scissors she was using (tin snips?), but I'm
not sure if that term is exact (see above for using a Dremel cutting wheel?) .
Anyway, a number of cuts need to be made around the flared base
angled toward the tip. These need to be high enough to allow the icing tip to
fit and hold properly in the hole of the gun in place of the disk.... I believe
Yang Yang then bent these strips back and forth until they fell off.
(for
cutting icing tips, see also below in Cutting Disks)
...I
have taken some frosting tips and cut off part of the metal cone with my
dremel so that they fit into my claygun. Jackie W.
> Which cutting
wheel did you use for the icing tips?
I just used the flat round cutting
disks that came with my dremel. They cut through the metal okay but it is sharp
where you cut them so it helps to grind them down a bit after.
> How far
down did you find was best to cut them?
As far as how far down to cut
you sort of have to guess at this. I usually cut around them and then put them
into the clay gun to see how close I am to getting them fit. Basically you just
have to cut enough off so that you can still screw the end onto the clay gun.
> How did you hold them while cutting?
They get really hot when
you cut them. I would suggest holding on to them with a pair of pliers when cutting
them down to size. I suppose you probably could use a pair of tin snips to cut
them with also but it just seems like the dremel cuts them easy enough. I usually
cut them outside so that I don't have to worry about having metal filings all
over inside the house. Once you get the tip so that it fits in the clay gun then
you are good to go.
> What clay or softeners did you use in
your icing tips?
I didn't use anything to soften up the clay and it seemed
to work fine. You maybe can't do exactly the same things that you could with icing
but I'm had some great luck with it.
........Some icing tips work better
than others, you just have to experiment.. . .. Jackie W.
...Here
is my attempt to create a way to push clay through metal icing tips
with PVC connectors and wood dowels (website gone)
(one
is shown being held in between the two PVC connectors); I pushed down on the connectors
over a wood dowel
....... I tried once to make some "sort-of-clay-guns"
... I found that in order to extrude a large backup of clay through a small hole
(relative to the barrel size), the opening before the hole needed to be stepped
down or it was just too difficult ... I think I tried decreasing rings
stacked together, and various cone shapes. I ended up with something
that worked, but not well. Got to be some possibilities there though. Diane B.
(website gone)
...DH made me something that had worked well, but it is crude
since he never perfected it and used what we had around to work with. He used
PVC pipe as the holder of clay and I used the dies from the first
dough extruder mentioned with the stained glass windows. He used the
heavy duty caulking gun for the holder and mechanism to extrude. He threaded
the PVC pipe himself on the bottom (there are threaded pipes, but the pre-threaded
ones do not have the proper threads to fit the end piece of the old cookie press
or dough extruder that I wanted to use) and I used the same screw on cap which
holds the dies in place from the first dough extruder mentioned. He cut a
piece of heavy duty plastic and put on top of the clay. It fit the diameter
of the PVC pipe exactly. The caulking gun was used just as with caulk except the
disc could be removed and more clay inserted. But it was a little work to get
the disc out until we discovered we could unscrew the bottom and it is right there!
DUH So far our experience has been that if one can get the clay soft and keep
it warm, then this one would definitely be workable. Jeanne R.
There are also guns with much larger barrels, usually made for extruding earth clay. These look much like a grease gun or caulking gun (but with built-in barrel), and have squeeze trigger handles.
Kemper version
(gold barrel)--Industrial Clay Extruder Gun, shaped like a caulking gun
(for earth clay)http://www.clay-king.com/itemkikeg.html...
barrel
is 14-15"
..Sax 2002
catalog,... 3 aluminum dies, one of which sports a 1/2" diameter hole...other
two can be drilled to suit your needs. Cost is $39.95. Item # is 632-0097
and is on page 447.
Ceramic Supply version (gold barrel) Large Clay
Extrusion Gun & Die Kit (barrel is 14" x 2 1/4" diameter)...
comes with 3 precut dies and 1 blank; additional die kit available.
Gun with 4 dies $38, Die Kit $14" (for earth clay)
..Desiree
bought her (same?) Kemper at a local ceramic supply store ...including
handle? about 20" long and has a 2 1/8th" diameter tube..."works
like a dream") . . .she also shows some multiple-bullseye slices she cut
after extruding a log made with a stack of various colored cutouts
http://desiredcreations.com/Misc_PCExtruder.htm
--see wrapped" in Canes-Instr >
Wrapped for more details)
Scott
Creek version ---Super Duper Clay Gun (shorter barrel
than Kemper ...barrel is 8 1/2" in length and 2"
in diameter) (silver barrel, red handle) & Die Kit ("Medium Size" )
(for earth clay)
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/Supplies/ClayGuns.htm
http://kickwheel.com/ext.SC.gun.oe.html
(shows the 8 die accessory kit...Kickwheel Pottery Supply catalog)
...disks
are 1/8" aluminum; set of 3 dies come with it, or you can order additional
8 dies, or blank dies (more than one smaller shape can be cut in these and masked
off with a scrap of plastic or sheet metal, if desired)
....Looks
like the cheapest would be $39+SH for the gun and 3 dies, plus another
$20+SH for 8 more dies, plus another $2.50 or so for each
blank die. That would be a minumum of $65-70 for the gun plus 11 dies. (see below
in Cutting Disks for more info on cutting)
Nesco
"Jerky" gun (Nesco Jerky Works BJW-1P). . . used to make meat jerky
but might work for clay. ...3 "dies" which extrude
either a flat ribbon or two sizes of round rope .It looks like (the barrel)
might be easy to clean because it is larger.. . Cynthia
...(the first site
has a good photo, the second was the cheapest at $14.99).
http://www.epinions.com/hmgd-Dehydrators-Nesco-Jerky_Works/display_~full_specs
...There are 3 shapes it can extrude: thin and flattish (1
1/4" or so wide), small round (1/2 " ?), and larger round (3/4"
?). I can't tell if the barrel and tips are made from plastic or metal (if
certain kinds of plastic, that could be a problem). Also, the two round tips
seem to be elongated sort of like a funnel with a long tip; that might make the
clay harder to clean out. That flat one would be useful though in some situations.
Too bad there aren't more tip shapes! Diane B.
(same page as above)
humongous barrel extruders
VERY
large, expensive extruders... from Scott
Creek (Super Duper Clay Extruders),
North Star and Brent) . . .
&
many dies http://www.bigceramicstore.com/Supplies/extruders.htm
(middle and bottom of page)
--humongous aluminum pushers; come in 3",
4" and 5" diameters; the 3" one will make hollow or solid forms up
to 3". Includes a cast aluminum cap, inner die holder for hollow forms, a blank
die and a drilled aluminum die which makes 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" coils. Free
instructional video. (~$250-350, without extras)
"When
cutting your own dies from these blanks, just draw your design
on the die, drill a pilot hole in the center of the design, and cut it out with
a carpenter's coping saw. Finish the shape with a small file & emery cloth."
...I love the idea of having multiple cuts in one die though
--what a great idea!. . . And cleaning might be much easier since it's
so wide. DB
.....If a barrel does turn out to be 2-3" wide, the other problem
I can see would be the amount of clay necessary
to extrude a small amount. Would one package be enough? Would most
people want to put one package of clay in to get out only a small extrusion?
...Seems to me that an additional cylinder of clay, formed to the diameter,
wrapped with heavy plastic wrap, could be put behind the clay to be
extruded (to keep from having to use up so much clay). Rosie
Clay guns can be hard on your hands/fingers
if you want to extrude more than a little clay. That's where one of the
clay "pushers" come in.
Some people use a caulking gun or other metal
pusher of some kind (see below), but other people use a wood bellows affair which
literally makes the clay come flying out! DB
-–I’ve
used a caulking gun type pusher and I think it puts way too much
pressure on the thumb and index finger. mamadude
-- With the (bellows) wood & hinge set-up, removing the clay gun and reloading
is a lot faster than the chaulking gun set-up. Kathndolls
--Wow, Diane, I can't thank you enough. I have a health challenge which makes it difficult for me to use a clay gun. After reading your instructions and scrutinizing the photos, I visited Home Depot to purchase the materials to make a pusher of my very own. Put it together in about 30 minutes and tested it. Amazing. Now I'll be able to extrude clay with ease. Thank you, thank you, thank you. ...Okay everybody, you gotta make one. You don't have to wait for a man to do it for you. It's easy. I bought oak only because the pine boards were so shabby. ...Even so, it cost less than $5. Rachel (Alaska)
NOTE: We have not had the problem of barrels bending, or paint flaking or peeling from barrels, with our design for the bellows pusher (...though the WeeFolk version http://www.weefolk.com/pk45.jpg has had those problems, due to a slightly different design)
our
bellows pusher
(lesson
& advantages)
PHOTOS
& mini-how-to of our design
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l163/DianeBB/tools
(...photos of Kellie's longer
bellows pusher made from these instructions)
http://kelliesklay.homestead.com/pusher.html
It's really
simple ... and the total cost
is around $5.00.
.....we
just used two 11" boards (1"x 4")
.... we attached them
at one end with a strong 3" hinge
.... drilled a 7/8" hole near
the non-hinge end of the one board (leave enough room for a palm
to rest
.....optional: a small stop of
wood can be nailed on the bottom board to keep the barrel end from sliding, but
after awhile it will dig it's own depression in the soft wood, so it's really
not necessary)
When extruded, that clay just comes flying out
(...
I just made this clay pusher and I LOVE it! I am in no way a 'handy man' type person, but it was really easy to make! I just had to buy a 1 inch hole cutting bit for my drill, and a hinge set from the hardware store ....just screw in the hinges, cut the hole, and WOW a TERRIFIC extruder! What fun!! Ruth
This kind of pusher puts no stress *at all* on the hands
or fingers
...all the pushing comes from the palm of your
hand and also the weight of your upper body
leaning over the top board
....or you can
press on it with your foot if you place the pusher on the floor
. . . even faster
...or sit on it, or kneel,
etc. (particularly if the boards are made a little longer)
hole size:
...making the hole
larger ( 7/8"+
), as opposed to smaller, gives several advantages:
...allows the clay gun to be slipped in and out easily
for removal or refilling (without having to remove
& replace the cap)
...no pressure from the upper board will be
put on the side of the barrel during
extrusion, which might cause it to bend or
to scratch the paint off (...all the pressure is on the "wings"
where it's supposed to be)
hole placement:
... It's better to put the hole toward the open
end of the boards than at the hinged end, leaving just enough room for
the palm of your hand to be placed on the board sideways at the very end).
.......placing
the hole in the end which is a wider angle when open,
allows the barrel to stand more vertically, and that means the
upper board won't press on the side of the barrel
when the board is pushed down during extrusion.
...making the hole a tad
bigger also helps keep the barrel vertical during
extrusion because the barrel has the space to
self-correct to more vertical as the upper board is lowered....
......(for
the absolute least stress, make sure the gun is always as vertical as possible,
especially in the beginning of extrusion)
(the
hole in the weefolk bellows is smaller,
and it's located almost all the way to the hinged
end.)
..... There is actually
more "mechanical advantage" to having the hole closer to the hinged
end, but so much force is obtained naturally just from pressing down on the other
end of a 12" bellows that no more is needed.
..... (...if you wanted more
force for some reason however, the boards could be made a little longer).
round the corners and edges of the board with sandpaper at the end where your palm will rest, if desired
a "stop" for the base of the gun can be created, if
desired, by nailing a tiny piece of wood on the top of
the bottom board, but it's easy enough just to set the gun as straight as possible
for the first part of the push to get fa-a-st results.) .
.
.......p.s....in my (unavailable) photos of our first bellows unit,
the instruction to drill a
second hole
is not
needed.
to use
the pusher:
...insert the claygun from the under side
of the top board
...press board down with the palm of your hand or foot, etc.....
voila! clay comes flying out.
(make sure the gun barrel is as straight
up and down as possible for the very easiest extrusion;
you may have to readjust it once during extrusion if you've
begun with a really full barrel).
differences
in design from the original Weefolk bellows pusher:
...The
bellows pusher we designed works superbly and I've never had any problems at
all with it!
. . . .In fact, this whole conversation (and my posting of
our version) came about because I was wondering aloud why no one
seemed to recommend the bellows-type pusher ... it seemed to me that the
bellows pusher was so much faster, and easier on the hands/fingers/wrists.
....Well, someone wrote back to say that she had had a Weefolk bellows pusher,
but had actually bent the barrels of her clay guns with it. . . later another
person reported bending the plungers on every gun she had!
I was stunned since
this was so different from my experience, so I went to the weefolk site to look
at their pusher, and saw that it was a little different than ours:
1.
--our hole is slightly larger (or at least there is plenty of
extra room around the clay gun barrel) so that all the pressure
is on the wings, not the barrel----our hole is large enough to allow
the cap as well as the barrel to fit through it
2. --we placed our hole much farther toward the unhinged end
of the boards
3. --our hinge was on the inside rather than
the outside
4. --we nailed a small stop just past the thumb part of
the pusher (but prob. not necessary)
...Of
these differences, I think the size of the hole
is the most significant. ....the little stop may make a difference too but the
plunger digs more into the surface of the wood by itself than it seems to push
against the stop.
The DH designed ours from hearing the general idea and
he is a physics person, so maybe he just knew to built those features in? All
I can say is try it; it's very simple to make --the only unusual thing one might
need is a 7/8" or larger drill bit. Diane B.
...I
made one of these bellows pushers, and it made all the difference in the world
(I have wrist problems).. . .I did have to make a second one though
because I hadn't placed my holes well the first time, and bent the extruder.
Judy
...As for me I use the cheapest pusher out there a device made up of two
pieces of 2x4 (wood) hinged at one end and with a hole drilled for the extruder.
Can be used with hands or feet! Trina
... A friend just made me a bellows thing
like you described and it works great! I wrap the clay in waxed paper first but
make sure it's well conditioned and soft first, I've found that having it nice
and soft is the key. Then it just comes squirting out when I push on the wood.
I'm now looking for all kinds of things I can add something extruded to. LOL.
Nancy
more on bellows
The
longer you make the boards, the more torque
you will have (keeping the same distance from the end for the hole).
.... Those
with serious physcial problems might want to make
the boards especially long, even long enough to operate with a foot or by sitting
on it...also, if one were really long, it might even handle stiffer clay brands
though they would have to be well conditioned I suspect to avoid cracks on the
outside edges when extruded, and may even bend the disks (some people may put
a washer next to the disk on the inside to help strengthen it.)
Other
ways to use the bellows if you need to avoid having to use or stress a
particular body part:
(....usually I just lean over the top board with
my whole body --with palm on the board)
...but could use a foot... sit on it
(if I can to do this often, I'd build one with a longer board to make that easier
or see tesselene's design just below), kneel on it with one knee (maybe on a garden
knee pad, etc)
My husband Kris already made the wooden presser, and it works like a charm. . . .in fact, I don't even have to use foot or hand pressure if I don't wish; he just picked up a 10- pound hand weight, placed it on the end of the board ...and voila! Nice, steady pressure, no blow out of the disks, no bending. It's great! Pat O.
tesselene
and her husband have come up with a slightly differen type of wood pusher
for the clay gun, especially good for pressing with your feet (or
sitting on, etc.)
....an upsidedown U is created with two
2x4's (about 10" tall) nailed to an 8" or so long connecting
board
........a 1" hole is drilled in the top
of the connecting piece (wide enough for the clay gun barrel, but not for it's
wings)
....cut a 1x2" pusher board (a few inches
longer than the U top, and about the size of a foot)
.......add a plunger-top-size
groove (depression?) on the underside of the pusher-board, and gouge
holes next to the hole on either side (for the wings?), so the clay gun
wn't rock.
.....The sides (of
the 2 upright board?) are angled out in front (front?) to stabilize it (cut trapezoidal
so wider at their bottoms?)
.... to use, drop the clay gun through
the hole in the top... and put the pusher board over it
....
push down with your hands or foot (or sit on).
....The clay just whizzes out!
Very little effort at all... you're redistributing the pressure with the board,
and using the pressure of your foot to push it through. Very nice. My hands just
can't take doing that, so it's a blessing to me. tesselene
.......or, as above,
could use a 10-lb weight on top of the pusher board?
...Mia's photo
of a similarone like this, but hinged and bellows unit is raised on legs
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/cyclopedia/clayguns.html
also see below in
Non-Bellows, for using a donut weight (from
a barbell) alone to act as a pusher (slip over a filled clay gun --wings
downward... press slightly with hands or feet)
... and also Snapple bottle
and small cushion
I purchased a wooden ruler and using a good strong tape, taped it along one edge of the top (of my bellows pusher). So I could measure my strands as I was cutting them. Jenny P.
I've recently seen the bellows pusher hanging over the edge of a stack of books on a table, with the clay gun poiniting down, so when the clay came it it went onto the table. Sharon.
Some prefer the hinged boards, but I like to extrude clay into
a coil on my baking sheet to crochet with, and
the hinged wooden board pusher doesn't allow me that freedom. Patty B.
....I
don't see any reason you couldn't use the bellows for extruding a coil
.... I haven't tried this way, but the bellows could be held upside down and moved
in a circular motion while extruding... they're not very heavy or large, and the
gun is held firmly between the boards by its wings. The few times I have wanted
my strings in a coil in the past, I just held the string loosely in one hand as
it was quickly extruding, and directed it into a coil on the surface of the top
board just below ... then the coil can be moved to a baking sheet, or maybe a
paper could be used on the board to make that even easier.
Non-Bellows
pushers
(see http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/cyclopedia/clayguns.html
for some of the units described below)
Kim's
mostly metal pusher with push-down handle on wood base (Clay
Gun Assistant) . . . looks easy on the hands/arms (shorter footprint than
bellows or caulking gun, but taller); must remove and return cap before refills
...The
clay gun fits into the clay gun assistant through a hole in the bottom of the
assistant. You just remove the end cap of the clay gun, put it through the hole
and replace the end cap. . . . load with clay... and go. Karen
http://www.clayalley.com/tools.htm
Kathy
W's large, all-metal pusher (on a wood base), with two collapsible V-shaped
wings on either side which squeeze together depress the gun plunger... twist
the wing-type crank to extrude.. pusher can be used with one
hand only..... un-crank and re-crank to remove and replace the gun for
refilling... is strong enough to extrude firm clay but must cranked slowly because
the disks can be bent (as with any gun)
http://people.delphiforums.com/kkephart/clay_gun_pusher.htm
(no
longer made?) Cella (Cecelia Determan) offers small pusher for a
clay gun ....you must turn a handle (she calls hers a "squeezer",
but it only squeezes the gun in place) (website gone)
...it works great, the bit I've used it. It's also comfortable to use. I
haven't tried the converted caulking gun, but it seems that it would require squeezing,
which is not easy if you have limited strength in your hands/elbows. For Cella's,
you basically turn a handle the way you would turn on a faucet, and it
depresses handle of the clay gun. (author?)
I have one of Cecilia's clay extruders.
It's a screw-like motion. It works great and it's easy to carry for traveling.
If you're going to do lots of extruding at one time, a modified caulking gun is
the best, but I use Cecilia's extruder for little projects all the time.
Susan
caulking gun
type pushers
...and caulking gun modifications
Marie Williams's husband simply drilled a hole in the bottom of the barrel area of her caulking gun large enough for one of the clay gun's "finger grips" to drop down into (so it would be held securely and in the right place...eliminates need for putting a disk/plug/block to hold the front end orf the clay gun... she rests the barrel on a short glass, holds the the clay gun in position with one finger and squeezes the caulking gun trigger with the othe hand. (see polymerclaycentral link above)
Polymerclayexpress's
shorter (easier to use, and more powerful ) caulking gun
pusher $25; $27 for pusher plus plug adapter ..."Extra Thrust Caulking
Gun"
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/equip.html
Kemper's
EZ Squeeze (must use with Kemper brand clay gun
only) http://www.simplydarling.com/SDCPages/SDCDDDisks/ClayGuns/ClayGuns.htm
...differences from other caulking-type pushers: 1. doesn't need plug ("holder"
is built in to the end of caulking gun) and 2. doesn't use the plunger from the
clay gun itself; uses the plunger that's part of the caulking gun... 3. must stop
extruding short of full press because of design
.....(new . . .to be available
at the Clay Factory? http://www.clayfactory.net/
...not available yet, or
gone?)
using
a hardware store caulking gun as a pusher:
----(....Be
sure the caulking gun you get has an opening at the
front large enough for your
gun body, minus the disk holder, to go through. I had to exchange
caulking guns because of this when I first tried it... CC )
--Here's
the quickest adaptation for a caulking gun. Get a friend to cut you a piece of
1"dia. pvc pipe that's maybe 3" long. Slide this over the barrel of
your Clay gun. Lay the clay gun in the caulking gun so that the thread top is
outside the slot. The pvc pipe will hold the rest of the clay gun from moving.
This is how I use mine and I can empty a full clay gun in 5 or 6 squeezes of the
trigger. Sandy?
--Polyform's lesson
for (only) a 2" PVC plumbing "fitting"
or they
suggest a 3-way edging clamp to use with a caulking gun as a pusher http://www.sculpey.com/frameset_tipsandtechniques.html
--Nan Roche's lesson (see "steps 1-3") on using a Cox caulking
gun as a pusher (text instructions, photo doesn't show well), using
piece of: PVC pipe - 2" x 1" diameter - 7/8" diameter, rubber O-ring,
metal washer with 2" outside diameter and a 7/8" hole in the center, and
1/2" round rubber furniture caster
http://www.hgtv.com/HGTV/project/0,1158,CRHO_project_13529,00.html
--Sue Lee's wood disk with depressed hole in a caulking gun as a
pusher --bottom of page (but she says later she prefers the bellows?)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/cyclopedia/clayguns.html
mtdews' caulking gun with large washer to steady gun & extruding
with it (website gone)
adapter
plugs/disks (for caulking gun pushers)
Polyform (sells a?) ...2" PVC plumbing fitting which fits inside the slot of the caulking gun
adapter
plug disk ($2) for standard size caulking gun ...accepts the nose of a clay
gun, so can be inserted inside (Sue Lee's Polytools)
http://www.poly-tools.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=PI&Product_Code=AD&Category_Code=MISC
misc. info re pushers
Having to remove and
reload the gun from a pusher frequently
can be annoying, especially on larger projects or frequent changes of color. One
helpful idea is to have multiple clay guns which you can pre-load before
beginning.
..... Another
idea could be to buy one of the larger clay guns made for earth clay (maybe
the shorter one, or put some kind of baked or other plug behind
the clay to take up more space), then drill a *small* hole in one of their
customizable dies. Then you could extrude and extrude without having to
reload (which is even a pain for shorter projects . . . that's one reason I like
the bellows pusher though since as long as you make the wood hole large enough
to accommodate the cap as well as the barrel, it's simpler to pop out the whole
thing and reload).
.....I'm not sure of the physics of the thing but it seems
when I tried to make some "sort-of-clay-guns" with icing tips, PVC connectors,
and wood dowels, I found that in order to extrude a large backup of clay through
a small hole (relative to the barrel size), the opening before the hole needed
to be stepped down or it was just too difficult ... I think I tried decreasing
rings stacked together, and various cone shapes. I ended up with something that
worked, but not well. Got to be some possibilities there though. Diane B.
When using large barrel guns for clay extruders, there is the problem of keeping the clay warm ... maybe we could wrap them with microwaved gel packs or rice bags, or just wrap well to insulate). Diane B.
No Pusher?... low tech solutions
I
have found a way to get the clay out of the gun without killing my hands
...
I put the clay gun on the floor, with the opening that the clay comes out
of pointing straight at the ceiling. It helps to do it on carpet, because it tends
to slip on smooth surfaces..... I sit in a chair or on the couch, then put one
foot on each side of the clay gun wings (the part where your fingers usually
go). I make sure I'm wearing tennis shoes so I don't kill my feet.... I just push
down with my feet and use my hands to guide the clay out of the gun. It is
a little akward at first, but you get use to it. The clay comes out FAST
I
load the extruder and put it in a vice (which my husband has screwed
down to his work bench).... I line it up straight so that half of the "thumb
press" and one of the "finger grips" are between the claws of the vice.....then
I turn the handle and the clay extrudes as easily as toothpaste from a tube.
I took one of the weights ("donuts") off a barbell on my rarely used weight
bench. (It is the large, thinner, old fashioned metal kind.) ...the hole
is just big enough for the barrel of the clay gun to fit thru
...I
just fill the barrel with clay, push in the plunger
...slip the gun
in the hole of the donut .... stand the clay gun, holes-up, on the
floor
....the weight of the donut starts pushing on the wings (and I can
use my hands or feet very conveniently to help)
....the only thing you
have to do is guide the snakes of clay
to keep them off the floor as they grow!
The circumference of the donut means
the whole thing can't tip over. Works like a charm! Ronda in Oregon
I
got creative. Here's what I used:
1 clay gun + 1 rinsed-out Snapple bottle
+ something soft and small for cushioning
...stand the clay gun
up on a carpeted floor with extruding end facing up
...place the open mouth
of the bottle over the clay gun until it is stopped by the gun wing handles
...put
your cushion on top of the bottle and gently sit down on it, gradually
The clay will be easily extruded into the bottle. Lisa
(but
be careful with the glass!... or maybe use something
like a metal coffee can over the glass bottle?)
Most clay guns come with about 20 aluminum disks and cost around $10. Some of the disks are larger/smaller versions of the same shapes. (website gone)
I am working on (more shapes for) metal discs . . . .Karen http://www.clayalley.com
Re
the disks bending, I haven't had that problem with any of mine --although
I always warm the clay before extruding which helps. I have heard that some people
put a thin washer inside the cap just behind the disk, which should create
less stress on the disk itself. Some of the shapes don't work as well this way,
of course.
I've also heard that some of the disks (the later ones?) are being
made with a different metal or strength. I do notice that the one I have
that says Kemper on the barrel seem to be stronger all around (although
it seems their flatter disks are a tad too large to fit into the other guns.)
I thought I was always buying Kempers, so maybe they farmed out production to
Asia, or maybe they weren't actually Kempers. Diane B.
...I had heard from
Howard Segal that Kemper (I think) is now making the discs out of a heavier
metal that's rolled at the edges giving it extra strength. Does anyone have one
of these and do they last alot longer than those cheapy aluminum ones? Susan
...You can find the replacement disks at the ClayFactory. Look under Kemper
tools. They have to be by special order and sell for $2.49. http://www.clayfactory.net
I contacted Kemper [Kemper Mfg.,Inc. PO 696 Chino CA 91710 ... I can't find
a web site for them... ] about making a "new... improved.. stronger" set of discs
to prevent "blow outs"??? I bet Polyform and Amaco have a lot of influence at
Kemper! Maybe our favorite clay suppliers can help too?? Let them all know! The(ir)
extruder was intended for the ceramists but now that Kemper lists polymer
clay "first" in their "uses" for the extruder... pc must be the most popular use
for it?!?! Seems logical that since pc is more firm...the discs should be more
firm?!?! Cella in SDak
Polyform introduced the Sculpey clay gun. Its discs are definately stronger than the original Kemper ones. I haven't experienced blow out with them at all but I have with my Kemper one.. . . a set of kemper discs weighs 5 grams and a set of sculpey discs weighs 25 grams. ..as opposed to the aluminium type material used in the Kemper tool, these are listed as die cut steel. ..they will fit into the Kemper gun...but they're not sold separately at this time. Petra
I have found that the clay guns produced by Darice/Catan's have much stronger disks --they are reinforced with a thicker edge than those that Kemper makes . . . Darice/Catan's sells throughJo-Ann Fabrics as well as many craft stores. mamadude
I have a few very old Kemper clay guns and they are far superior to any of the newer ones that I have seen from Sculpey or Kemper. Don't know what has happened, but I find that with the newer clay guns the plunger does not fit very well and even threads are not very well done. Jeanne R.
I've been extruding clay a LOT lately and
when my tiny one hole (favorite) disk blew through the front of the gun last year,
he put 2 washers in; one on either side of the disk.....it's takin' a lickin'
and is still tickin'! ....er, extrudin' ;-) Patti
....
what I did was to get a washer the same size as the disk, then I had someone
drill out the hole bigger for me. I put this into the end of the
cap, then put the disk on top, now I never get blow outs. Jenny P.
My husband Kris already made the (bellows pusher), and it works like a charm. . . .In fact, I don't have to use foot or hand pressure (either works fairly easily) if I don't wish; he just picked up a ten pound hand weight, placed it on the end of the board, and voila! Nice, steady pressure, no blow out of the disks, no bending. It's great! Pat O.
I
needed a half circle that was smaller than the size that comes with the set of
Klay Gun disks. I ended up holding an X-Acto blade perpendicular to a circle
disk so that, as the clay was extruded from the gun, the blade sliced it
into two half circles. This is admittedly easier using Wee Folk's
Klay Gun Pusher, and a second person would have made it even simpler.
. ..
Maybe you could use this technique with the square disk and slice it on the
diagonal. That way, you would get two half-triangles extruded at once.
I'm now looking at all those assorted disks, wondering what other sliced shapes
I can come up. And what happens when you load two disks into the gun at once,
such that one disk covers part of another's pattern?
square
disk: I use mine to make small square canes to cut up for small 'real' mosaics,
and to use to assemble mosaic canes. Crafty Owl
also checkerboard
canes . . .and Trip Around the World quilt canes (see Canes-instr.
> Quilt)
....mudra's diagonal rows of colored square logs for beads
(same as 1/4 of TripAroundworld cane)
http://fotoforum.gazeta.pl/3,0,773930,2,76.html
I saw these real small brass stencils....and I bought a snowflake design.... I grabbed my Cut All shears (or tin snips if you have them), drew a circle around the small snowflakes and cut them out. Put them in the clay gun and bingo, it worked! Custom clay gun disc! I don't know how long it will last as I noticed a small bend after about 10 barrel fulls. But if you turn the design around, it could work for a while! There were 3 small snowflakes so I was able to cut them all out to use! Karen R.
...try putting thin, large-hole washers behind the "disk" in the clay gun barrel?
PVC
pipes cut in half lengthwise, or half-tubes of (various shapes)
made from other materials can be used to create long clay pieces
as well
...fill your
trough with clay, trim, and carefullly remove.
...or if you have
a decorative layer you want to use (cane slice sheet or transfer, e.g.),
do as Patty B. did and lay that #1 sheet in first, face down, and an acrylic
rod or cornstarched dowel to press it in well; then trim overhang;
lay in a narrower strips of clay until full, pressing down; remove carefully
and use
...(see
more in Beads>Rollers>Trough>Making
your own ...and details on making a hidden-channels, cuff or tile bracelet
(with a transfer) using this technique in Jewelry
> Bracelets)
any shapes of bead roller could work for long shapes as well, and may even be a supplement to the clay gun for even, though larger, "extrusions"
additional disks, for sale
My (old) Wish
List for Clay Guns and Disks .....(now
there ARE some...yay! ....see
just below )
hole SIZES
-- Disk holes any size larger than what's available now would be great.
Taking a wild guess I'd say the most useful size might be an average of 1/2 to
3/4" for the actual hole?? The idea would be to create *canes* most of all (there
are other uses of course, for twisted ropes, framing, etc.). If the price were
reasonable or if one could buy them a la carte, I'm sure there would be loads
of demand!
hole SHAPES (my wish list --there could be more though
that I can't think of right now though!) --round (several diameters) --half round
--quarter round (grat for pinching the pointed bottom out longer, and using between
round petals in a flower cane) --quarter moon (great for making eyelids, petal
outliners, etc.) --larger multi-hole one for extruding multi-colored hair, for
example, from 2 or more colors of clay put in the barrel at the same time
The next ones are similar to quilt piecing shapes; i.e., the sizes and proportions
would compatible for fitting together into one "block" to make lots of patterns:
--rectangular (maybe one similar to the proportion that exists now, plus at least
one longer, thinner one) --trianglar (half-triangles--2 make a square, AND quarter-triangles--4
make a square, AND long tapered triangles--3 make a rectangle) --square (either
4 or 9 of these would fit together to create the same size square as the triangle
combos above)
other shapes: Many of the shapes used in icing tips
would be great, especially things like the starburst-type shapes and the leaf
shape (imagine being able to create leaves with polymer like you would with icing
tips!). Of course, as long as we're dreaming here, how about interchangeable tips
like the icing tip couplers?? so one could easily switch colors/barrels or tips.
YES!
more --The disks would need to be really strong (steel?) in order
to sell well, I would think, or at least the demand would be higher. Some of these
sizes could be created for the guns that are out there now, but it would be even
better to have a larger gun too that could extrude more volume and have more torque.
If the gun were easier to clean than the existing ones (by having a really
tight fit for the plunger end area, for example), I can guarantee a great demand!
Perhaps even selling one or more easy-to-use tools for cleaning existing or new
clay guns would be a way to go. Diane B.
Quilted
in Clay Disk Set (now offered by Jenny Patterson!!!--- yay!! ) .....16
very strong steel disks
...extrusions from
these disks will fit together to create many, many block designs
...can
also combine extrusions from these disks with square and triangle extrusions
created with disks from other clay guns (standard Kemper
KlayGun and Sculpey Clay guns) to create an unlimited number of quilt designs...
also SugarCraft and Makin's gun if purchase special metal washer--adapter ring--
from Tamila's site (Jenny may eventually sell them too)
...can
also use for elements in any non-quilt canes too, of course
http://www.quiltedinclay.com/artist_tools/disc_set.htm
..........(Dec.
09, 2005.... MORE INFO TO COME HERE SHORTLY --DB:
from Misc-Temp2)
Polymer
Clay Express ... very strong steel disks, in sets
....
use in Polymer Clay Express extruder ...will those fit in other
guns though?
.... quilt shapes, floral shapes, and
moulding shapes available for
....more expensive
than most disks
see guns above in Clay Guns
> suppliers, brands--sizes,types > larger small guns
(Oct.02:)...
I am working on (more shapes for the) metal discs --so I printed
out your wish list!
Karen http://www.clayalley.com
(none yet?)
Darlin' Designer Disks
made and sold by Tamila Darling .....sets of plastic disks
...many different shapes (mostly pictorial...
animals, leaves, geometrics, Halloween, Xmas, body parts, etc.)
...disks come
only in 20 themed kits....($1 per disk, but can't be purchased separately)
http://www.simplydarling.com/SDCPages/SDCDDDisks/ThemeKits/ThemeKits.htm
...cleaning the Darlin' Designer Disks: since the plastic
of the disks is eaten into by raw clay, Tamilla recommends
cleaning them with a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol, then dish soap (to remove
the alcohol which could have a drying effect on the disks); the disks could probably
be left in a dish of alcohol for an hour or so, then washed at one time later.
....her disks may not fit all guns; however the edges can be sanded
to fit, or she sells an adapter ring for the Sugarcraft gun (smaller-barrel) ...
and for use with Jenny Patterson's extra disks in ________________ guns
....the
extrusions can be sliced after baking (while still warm) to best
preserve the shape, or they can be refrigerated or frozen first . . . Leigh partially
bakes the outside of her raw extrusions with a heat gun before slicing
...Stargazer made a yin-yang cane with the "comma"
disk.... she made her interior dots in the commas by using a needle to
make/enlarge a hole, but a small straw could be use to remove a round hole from
the comma shape and a rope of clay inserted/pressed down
...these shapes are
great for buttons for dolls...or other little embellishments for
figures, or for necklaces, barrettes...Anita
...could be little
spacer beads for almost anything. . .memory wire bracelets., etc. Kathy
...I have (many) containers filled with extruded shapes just waiting
to be used. Tammy
..see
many more samples of how similar pictorial extrusions could be used
at:
http://lincsminiworld.bizland.com/USAGEpics.chtml
(3-4 pages)
....Linc
sells the canes (not the disks for making the canes)... pre-baked
odd-shaped canes
(Chop 'M Stix) must
be warmed before cutting the slices
....order
page for Linc's
canes of tiny gingerbread people, stars, snowman, few animals, etc.
http://lincsminiworld.bizland.com/store/page1.html
someone suggested using some of your least-liked disks then cutting new shapes in them with a (hand) jewelers saw --Chris Hentz did this at Arrowmont
I
would use small needle files and rasps to make the triangle in an
aluminun disk
....first drill holes where needed, then just connect
the holes with the files
....aluminum
cuts fairly easily and quickly, and a hole of less than an inch
in a thin disk wouldn't take very long. Steve
or
could cut down the larger disks from other extruders?
... or
could solder, glue or tape a smaller disk to a larger disk to be
used in a larger extruder?
Also in regard to the dies
that Carl H(ornberger) made, all I remember is that he said he sweat soldered
these together somehow.
...can't recall what he made them out of - copper
or brass maybe? Geo in MI.
....He said he used
to drill holes in dimes before he came up with the copper(?) ones.
Carl was in Chris Hentz's class at Arrowmont in 1997. Chris is the one
who suggested using a dime and a jewelers saw. Chris had made two
dies which he used simultaneously to make hollow tubes that he cut with a
thick tin snips to create hollow, pillow shaped beads. He was using the same principle
as his baker father to make doughnuts/long johns. Cella in SD who was also in
the class....and who's dime didn't fit her extruder perfectly.....
(the bit I use for cutting most metal (with
my rotary cutter?) is a 'disk' (# 426) that is about
the size of a quarter. It cuts anything slick as a whistle. I can cut screws
in half with it. I thought it would cut a metal icing tip easier then trying
to cut by hand with wire cutters.)
...It's too big
though to cut inside the tiny clay gun disks....
the priority there, I would think, would be to hold that disk so it wouldn't fly
away (like into your eye), so wear goggles.
... I don't think the Dremel
is too fast, & mine has a slow speed also. Actually, I think fast would
be better with the soft metal & you won't have to push hard.
......maybe
using a stone
bit (#84922)
or a high speed cutter (#125) for carving & grooving,
would work.
.......the cutter #125 is cone shaped & could probably
cut a triangle?? Judy
Just a word of caution here! ....grinding
stones for the Dremel or other high speed tools are not
safe for
aluminum... this soft metal
clogs the stone. The stone will overheat
and explode!
....instead, to shape aluminum, use high speed steel cutters or
drills, and hand files
......and always
wear safety goggles when using a Dremel
type tool. I have been hit in the face several times over the years when cut off
disks break (fortunately no injuries) and cut
off disks always
break. Steve
I
just talked to my husband about cutting dies in thick aluminum
(re the Super Duper gun, et al.). He said several important things I needed to
understand:
To cut through thick aluminum *wouldn't* be simple for
most people.
....As they mentioned, you'd want to drill
a pilot hole first, but the actual sawing action (using a carpenter's coping saw,
but outfitted with a metal-cutting blade, or jeweler's saw?, possibly followed
by emery cloth) would be somewhat tedious and timely.
....He said if you saw
too quickly, it's easy to make an uneven
cut .....ditto with the filing rasps (though rasps do come in shapes like triangular
and round as well as flat which would make cutting triangles, e.g., easier).
...What one would really need (esp. to have a small business for making
these) would be something called an arbor press, so that the holes could
simply be punched out rather than drilled/filed. He said he thought one of these
machines would cost $100-200 ... some punch shapes may be available for sale,
but some of them may have to be machined (by the same person or at a machine shop).
The way this machine works is sort of like a hole puncher. If you were trying
to punch out a triangular hole from a die, the blank die (which may have a pilot
hole drilled in it) would be placed on a flat base piece having a triangular hole
in it; then a rack-and-pinion (non-electrical) lever would press a somewhat sharp
triangular-shaped rod down through the blank die (and through the matching hole
in the base). Presto! Diane B.
What about asking at the local high school shop class? They could probably make them there....bet they have the right tools and could drill a disk pretty quick. Sarajane H.
shrink plastic disks
... I made a disk with a sheet of shrink
plastic ....it took a few tries to figure out what size the original should
be to end up with the right shape after baking since it shrinks about 60%
....I
squeezed a small amount of clay through to try it
...it probably won't
hold up for long, but it was cheap & quick ...and maybe
good for specific or complex shapes you don't need much of
.... (they broke in half
. . . phooey!) ... maybe they would be stronger if they were two thicknesses
glued together, or if they were backed with a metal washer,
etc, or if the clays used were very very
soft? Diane B.
.... polymer clay cannot be left
on this type of plastic, as I remember
...think the plasticizer will begin begin to eat
through it (and could be what weakened mine even more?) ...but the disks could
be cleaned with alcohol just after use to prevent that?.
... is this what Darlin
Designer Disks are made from? (it's recommended to clean them off after
use too)
The clay needs to be soft enough to extrude.....
ALL clays should
be warm when extruded using one method or another.
If the clay sits in the barrel for a long time, it will be harder to extrude
(so remove it and re-warm it, or warm the from the outside,
as below)
--In general, if you're using Premo
or Sculpey, simply run the clay through the pasta machine (or twist and roll
with your hands) until it's fairly pliable before extruding (of course, leached
Premo may not work as well).
--If you're using Fimo Classic (or any
stiffer clays), or if it the ambient temperature is really cold,
you'll need to soften the clay even more:
.....mixing the clay with
a smear of Vaseline (or other diluents or softer clays)
is recommended for Fimo Classic.
.....otherwise, simply run the filled
barrel under hot water for a few seconds just before extruding, wave a
hair dryer at the filled barrel until it gets hot, or keep your gun (or
an extra gun) on a hot pad or clay warmer between uses (wrapping
with paper may insulate the clay a bit though)
(see more on softening
clays in Conditioning > Some Ways to
Warm Clay)
At first, extrude slowly to keep stress on the disk to a minimum. I haven't had any trouble with disks "blowing out" of any of my guns, but I always do warm the clay first.
washer
options (if you need them) ....the best washers I've found
are ¼-inch "hardened" washers --much stronger than
the thinner ones
1. don't use a washer (best, but you may need one if your
disks are bending and you can't soften your clay sufficiently)
... if using
one though, the outer parts of the multi-hole disks and the larger
clover shape disks will be masked off by it
(website gone)
2. insert washer into cap rounded
side first, then insert the disk rounded side first
3. if you need to cut
(or scrape across) the top of the disk cleanly, reverse washer & disk, and put
rounded sides down (someone mentioned having the washer hole enlarged; that would
be great, but who would do it?!)
If you
want to keep the inside of the barrel pristinely clean
(or
protect against other colors that may have been left in the barrel)
Makin's
Clay has come out with a new clay gun which may eliminate the need
for using this method, or for cleaning the barrel after use, because the interior
disk which pushes the clay has an 'O' ring around it that cleans the
barrel very well as it extrudes (...leaving little residue --but
still some residue???)
....see this gun above in .
LESSON..--Clean Barrel Extruding
with Paper:
--cut a piece of ordinary white paper, tracing paper,
patty paper, or parchment paper (waxed paper or others may also work), into a
rectangle approx. 2¼ x 3½" (website gone)
.......
(if you like this method, you may eventually want to cut a stack of paper
at one time . . . from stacks of 8½ x 11"sheets, I cut a tad less than
2¼" on the long side (x5), and 3½" on the short side (x2)
--roll the clay (or multicolor clay pieces) into a log narrower than the
clay gun barrel, and shorter than the barrel's length
...... (the
more clay in the barrel, the more difficult it will be to extrude the first
part of it)
--leaving the leading tip of clay sticking out just a bit,
roll the clay log up in the paper (about one and a half times around; more may
be better in some cases?)
--fold over the extra paper at the back
end, and cut off just past the side of the log
--then scrunch the extra
paper so that it isn't
hanging over the edges, but still completely
covers the clay (the better you do this, the easier the removal later!) (website
gone)
--insert the paper-covered log into either end of the barrel, attach disk and cap (& washer, if needed), and extrude
--remove cap and press firmly on the plunger all the
way to the end...or keep the gun in the pusher for this step; doing either will
pop out the whole compressed paper wad, wrapped around a pea-size amt.
of remaining clay
(--discard the whole thing, or open and retrieve the small
bit of clay)
This method may
not
work as well for techniques where you want
the clay to stick to the sides
...for
example, when using automatically wrapped logs for things like (sanded-back)
multi-color Balinese Filigree, sanded braids, or
dot slices canes ... because (at least when using the multi-hole
disk when making BF), the extruded colors tend not to switch quickly
from one color to the next, & ropes end up with streaks
of colors along their outsides. Saran might
work better though?
...However, you can do this with a slightly
diff. technique (and the barrel still stays clean).... I learned this at the
CT Retreat.
......Tightly wrap only the last inch or so of the
snake of clay you are putting in the clay gun (with a strip of wax paper).
......Twist
off the end leaving a paper "tail"..........Put the whole thing in the
clay gun, with the wax paper end last.
.....When you are extruding, watch
for the bit of wax paper to come through, and then stop.
.....(All
you'll have to clean out is the disk and a bit of the threaded piece
that holds the disk in.) It really works! Libby
Also, wrapping the clay with paper insulates it a bit from any heat in the metal barrel ...that's why it should only be wrapped once. This shouldn't be a problem if you use the clay right after conditioning or warming though.
**It turns out that the Sculpey clayguns have a slight lip at the front end of the barrel which prevents the plunger from pushing through and out the end!. This means that the clean extrusion method will not work with this gun (as well?) because the paper will get stuck at the end. It's possible that adding several washers (of smaller diameter than the lip) behind the log and paper will allow those washers to be pushed through and out, releasing the paper?
(--to extrude in the regular way, just don't use paper)
OTHER
RELEASE METHODS:
... How about running a cotton ball lightly coated with
mineral oil through the gun before adding clay?
(Or using the same
kind of saturated cotton ball to clean the barrel, possibly holding it with long
tweezers, running it up and down? DB)
Jaqueline finds that she can prevent
some sticking by smearing the inside of the barrel with a bit of Vaseline...
...Somebody
(forgive me for forgetting who it was) on these boards came up with the idea of
using Armor-All (which is a good release agent for molds) in the
clay gun. It should make the clay slide better, and not stick to the sides
where it's so hard to clean up. . . . or use mineral oil?
Molly: using
amor-all works great. clay doesnt stick to the inside much at all. I put it together
with the shape i am using and then squirt once into the barrel and put the plunger
in so it coats that as well …the extra runs out the end and then i put the clay
in…. a few bubbles of armor all comes out but doesnt effect the compisition of
the clay at all. (BUT... this will affect its ability to later accept sealers
or paint???)
I have noticed that Armor-all causes me lots of problems with the clay gun
when not used very carefully. Right now I am making "stain glass" with tinted
liquid sculpey. For the lead, I extruded black Premo. When I used it with Armor-all,
the liquid sculpey would not flow and adhere to any
spot that had been in contact with Armor-all. ...I've also noticed a distinct
weakening of clay when using Armor-all. If I used it on thin
pieces of clay, they often would not hold up to any stress. The same clay
was very strong without the Armor-all. Jeanne
…try adding cornstarch into Klay Gun barrel, then using toothbrush?
Other
ways to clean (summary):
... bake or freeze them.... use
nipple brushes or toothbrushes... hot water and soap...
baby oil, baby wipes... paper towels... Scotch Brite pads...
baked clay plugs.... raw sticky (boxed) Sculpey clay...
large drill bits.... tubs of alcohol, etc.
...Also, some
people coat the inside of the barrel with Vaseline or ArmorAll before inserting
the clay; this will keep it clean but ArmorAll at
least will prevent certain other things from sticking to the clay later (finishes,
paints? powders?, etc.), and some say it weakens the clay, so use care.
Do
whatever works best for you.
Some people have a number
of clay guns and use similar colors in each, or have one separate gun
for multi-color BF and other techniques where you might want
the clay to stick...
.....I use the same
gun for very similar colors. ....White has it's own gun... Reds..... so
on!!!!!....You can get the clay guns wholesale at a discount for quanities,so
they are really inexpensive that way
…if there is residual clay on the sides of the chamber, it is extremely difficult to push through, regardless of the type of clay used.
It isn't necessary to totally clean the gun after each use .....just slide the plunger in and out until it slides freely, then load....and don't overload, fill 1/2 way. Donna Kato
The
easiest way I've found so far to clean a barrel with clay in it is with alcohol.
--If you open a cotton ball, press it around the head of a toothbrush
(with short bristles) so that it covers the top of it and the cotton is somewhat
thinner just in front of the bristles, and pour a bit of alcohol on it, you can
then scrub and twist it a few times;
-Or scrub with an adhesive, cotton
panty-liner (7", extra long) rolled up over a nut pick, soaked in alcohol
(the nut pick grabs the inside of the roll).
...The DH also managed to clean
it pretty well with a very small piece of thin fabric, cut in circle just
larger than the barrel diameter & soaked in alcohol, then pushed through
with the plunger.
I have a small
jar filled w/ rubbing alcohol. I drop the gun in there and let
it soak a bit
....and then I have a nipple brush
from a baby bottle cleaning set and I scrub the heck out of it for a minute or
so. It work pretty well, as the alcohol sucks the oils out of the clay really
quickly! ANd the stuff just kind of crumbles. I change the alcohol about every
6 mos to a year, depending how grundy it is.
.....you can also use one of
those small round bristle hair brushes.since
the bristles are much tougher than on a bottle brush...
Running the outside of the tube under hot water softens any film clinging inside, too.
use plain white sculpey (from the box) ... It's really sticky and will grab all the crumbs of your previous color.... It works even better once the piece gets a little dirty and less sticky…(for clay gun too?)
When I want my clay gun nice and clean I pop it in the oven at about 250 for 10 minutes. When it cools the clay peels out very nicely. Not only is it easy to do this way but actually kinda fun! Sue in WA
put the clay gun in the freezer for an hour or so, then clean it ... the clay contracts and often falls off the interior of the gun. Barbe
I run the plunger up and down in the gun and rotate clockwise and the excess clay comes off on the plunger head.
I bought a 28 guage shotgun barrel cleaner at Walmart to clean the barrel of my clay gun. I remove as much clay as possible then plunge the barrel cleaner up and down inside the barrel. It seems to work OK. Chris
... largish drill bit just small enough to fit inside (9/16"). It could be a little tighter, but the next size was too big... Just turn the bit against the walls in the direction of the sharp edges - I do it towards me, but I'm left handed - and the clay just twists onto the bit. It takes a couple of passes, but it's the best way I've found so far. I'm now wondering if I should make a longer handle for more torque. With the strength needed to turn it, I don't think a polymer clay one would work, ...This bit was sort of expensive, but I'm sure if there's a home depot around they'd be cheaper. ...make sure you get a real drill bit, not a masonry bit because the masonary bit isn't very sharp. And then, speaking of sharp, be careful with this big bit because it is quite sharp. Jacqueline
I
bake a 1/2" cylinder of scrap clay in the gun which
makes it the exact size needed for a pusher plug. ...When I'm finished
with the first color in the gun, I remove the pattern disk and push the plug through
the barrel with the gun's plunger. Very quick and efficient. Diane V.
...make
a plug of clay about 1/2 the length of the clay gun tube ...and bake
it in the clay gun...it can be reinserted after each use to scrape the sides
of the clay gun. Patty B.
replacement plunger
(or a better one?)...I have a neighbor who manufactures parts, it turns
out one of the sensors they make fit into the clay gun perfectly! They fit
even better than the original plungers, leaving less clay on the inside of
the barrell. The only drawback is that there is no handle on them to pull it out
with, so I find using a pliers easier. Although it is NOT so tight that it could
not be pulled out by hand. It is really no harder than the original one. I have
uploaded a picture to my photopoint gallery so you can take a look. Jenny P.
(website gone)
...I use a workshop vise for my
"pusher". But it was so powerful the plunger kept breaking/bending.
So I replaced the plunger with a solid metal dowel bought at Home Depot.
They cut it to size for me. So that works pretty well for me. The only problem
is the dowel is a little bit smaller
than the barrel so there is more clay left in the barrel to clean-up.
Helen
When I switch to a new color to push through the little screen (disk), I push a tiny bit and scrape the first bit away. The new color pushes out the little bit of old color that is left.
a film cannister is a handy thing to store disks in
a wide rubber band wrapped loosely around the outside of the cap will help twist off a tight cap
re making a smooth join between connected ends of extruded) ropes, I cut both ends on a diagonal.... press together... then roll the joined section between my fingers to smooth. Desiree
I
now own four .gunsand use them
for different color groups of clay
...(one gun for white, one
for greens, one for reds, one for blues...I plan to buy a couple more, one for
silvers, one for golds)
Why clean them at all?....when I do need to
clean a gun for a new color, I pick the one closest to what I'm using, so if I
don't get it COMPLETELY clean, it won't ruin what I'm working on
...I found
a cheaper source for Sculpey clay guns, at $5 each (now $7-8): http://www.craftswholesale.com
... they are based in Seattle, Washington, so if you're on the East Coast,
expect the order to take 5 to 7 days to reach you.
Darla
(or...... just have two
separate guns for lights and darks)
can
also make logs using 2 guide rails
and a flat-sheet roller (without a clay
gun)
...I make small logs by using knitting needles
as guide rails on each side of the log ...(needles without
caps)
.....the log willl end up the same diameter as the needles
.....to do this, turn something ("large"and) flat
like a ceramic tile (or sheet of glass/acrylic) upside
down on top of your needles, so you'll be rolling over both
clay and needles with it. Didilarose
..for guide rails, can also
use other small round, square, or rectangular rods
or tubes-- like brass rods, wood skewers, or even small straws...
or use any two wood strips or books or other items which
are flat and of the same height (see
similar way to make clay sheets
using guiderails and a rod-type
roller in Pasta Machines >
No Pasta Machine)
....the guide
rails will need to be placed far enough apart to accommodate the
length of log you want to end up with
....the
flat-sheet "roller" will be rectangular or square... the
width of the tile should be at least as wide as the guiderails, and the
height of the tile should be
at least 3-4 times the diameter of the
guide rails
..also, to make larger log, you might be able to
use something else as your guides such as brass
tubes (if you get rectangular instead of square tubing, you'll get
two different sizes), acrlic rods, pieces of wood,
jewel cases from CD's... or taped-together playing cards,
stacks of paper etc!
...Sunni's
lesson on accordion-folded and taped paper as guide rails
http://sunnisan.com/crafts/jellyroll.html
USES for
clay guns
(see below for more details on techniques
used )
***click
on this link for a
condensed list of most
all the things I could think of to use a clay
gun for (.....part
of my handout for an old clay gun class, but may have been more added to
this page since that was written)***
http://www.glassattic.com/polymer/claygunTechniquesList.htm
There are a number of things one can use a clay gun extruder for:
Extrusions can be combined to make many, many patterns.
Julie Wisecraft's
lesson on making ears for a face cane with the clay
gun (disc with round hole)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_cane_faces.htm
quilt
canes and other geometric canes are also good to make with extrusions because
the component pieces will be very exact and even throughout their entire length
...Suzanne I's free online lesson(s) on making a equilateral
triangle cane pattern using a clay gun
http://youtube.com/watch?v=tW3xU4Ouppg
(hedgeapplecraft)
(see many more geometric canes and quilt canes in
Canes-Instr. > Symmetry and Geometrics and Quilt)
DVD
re makiing various canes with extrusions from a clay gun (by Cindy Beljan)
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/zoom_pce15.html
filling in background areas around flower petals (triangle
logs) or just anywhere needed
....can also use extruded shapes to add to
the outside of a cane to make it odd-shaped (like adding projecting,
triangular, ears to a round cat face cane... see Canes-Instr.
> Odd-Shaped Canes)
NOTE: if there are gaps
between the
extruded elements though, the clay will ooze into the spaces when you reduce
(also see Automatically Wrapped canes below, for times when those special extrusions are used as canes)
Rows & Layers (canes)
....extrusions can be laid next to
each other in various ways
...in rows, for example....or
spiraled or scrolled into various larger shapes
...if
placed on a base especially, the resulting rope sheet can then be
cut into various shapes
...try also the non-round dies
for extrusions used in these ways (e.g., the triangular disk makes very
interesting patterns when extrusions are laid next to each other)
........if
ropes are square and then twisted, they can look interesting
(could use various colors of clay in the clay gun for a variegated look
...and see Nan Roche's sanded braid below in "Braiding"), but can't
get the precision of two-sided color as with cutting the ropes from a two-sided
sheet or using mica clays like Mike B.'s beehive bead technique
...the ropes
can be laid over a base (bead, votive, etc.) just around and around
to cover, or laid in scrolled patterns as in Balinese Filigree (see
Onlay > Bal.Filigree)
...rows can also
be made without a base too ...freestanding
...one side of the ropes
can be colored (powdered, antiqued or filled with tinted liquid clay, patina-ed,
etc.) to create a contrast
...areas of contiguous rows can also be
manipulated
.....by bending up or down or folding over
or twisting or removing parts, etc.
......an old Fimo book shows
bending over the top few rows of a flat circle or other shape of spiraled
ropes as an accent, or to act as a bail
......melnik's use of
rows or accordion bends for small areas http://melnik.freeservers.com/pins.html
"Automatically-Wrapped" canes (bullseye)
(used as canes and in other ways)
There
is a nifty trick you can do with the clay gun to create bullseye type
canes automatically.
..."automatically wrapped" extrusions
from a clay gun can be created when more than one color of clay is used
in the clay gun at the same time ....the color in front (nearest
the disk) will wrap itself around the other colors behind it during extrusion
(in most circumstances)
... the wrap color is all that's seen from the outside...the
other colors are hiding inside until revealed by taking slices
(see
lessons just below)
For example,
put a wad of black clay in a claygun barrel, then add a wad of white clay behind
it... extrude.
...from the outside, the log will appear to be a solid
black log... but in cross-section, you'll get a length of clay where slices
at one end begin as a solid black, go to a little white surrounded
by lot of black, all the way to solid white ....in
other words, the proportion of wrap color to center color in all
the slices won't be the same
....... that may not matter if you're not
wanting exact duplications in your slices ... but if you do want exact
duplications, you can use slices from the same area of the cane (where
they should be almost duplicates, especially if using only one or two color
changes).
(...none of this is visible until
you slice the "cane" at various places along its length)
multi-wrapped
canes & slices... more than 2 colors can be placed in the
gun, which will result in more wraps (multi-bullseyes) around the central
color (these will also vary at diff. places along the cane like the others)
.....Desiree's
examples from doing this with many colors (in a larger clay gun) ...this
photo shows the sequence of changing
slices
........she used a stack of thin (relatively
speaking) round cut-outs to put in her clay gun, and got many wraps
and quick changes in the slices
http://desiredcreations.com/howTo_TLExtruder.htm
automatically wrapped canes can be:
....left as they are
...or all be
wrapped with the same color (for individual uses,
or for creating a simpler look if joined)
...or each wrapped
with a different color (creating a more varied, complex look
if joined)
... bundled to make more-complex canes
...
changed or added to in various ways
scraps or marbled
clay can also be used in the barrel to make interesting looking extrusions
....
(would mica clays be aligned on the outside??--see speculations
above) DB
clay gun disks....round or square, or any shape disks can be used in the clay gun to make various shapes of wrapped logs
some interesting uses for automatically-wrapped logs/canes
Extruded
Mosaic, or "Dot Slices"
(aka Mod Blocks, Retro Canes, etc.)
Nan
Roche introduced her Extruded Mosaic canes which used stacked colors in a clay
gun which automatically wrapped the colors around each during extrusion
...4
beautiful examples
http://homepage.mac.com/stanleyjp/polymerclay/PhotoAlbum39.html
Individual
slices from these extuded "canes" can be placed in any way you want
onto a base clay sheet, or onto an object to be covered
...or
some of the extruded "canes" can be placed together to create
a more complex cane, then sliced
If the canes are placed
in grids, certain colors can resemble the "mod" designs of the
1960's
...these are made by stacking
many layers of colored clay disks in the clay gun for each barrelful extrusion
.......the discs can be cut by slicing round logs of solid color,
or by using a cutter on a sheet of solid (or not) clay, or by pressing
balls of color together, etc.
.......the thicker these disks, the
more quickly the colors change, and the more often the slices will be
multi-bullseye
.......the round log of stacked colors is then extruded
through the clay gun (the colors inside the log will change throughout its length)
.......any
shape die (hole) could be used in the clay gun for extruding, but often it's
a square die (especially for making into a grid later) or a round die
(the round canes will become squared if pressed together, but may look a bit different)
...the
finished canes could be used for single slices, or as parts of more
complex canes
.......if at least 4 of the canes (or just lengths cut from
the same cane) are placed together in a grid (2x2, 3x3,etc) (randomly
or in patterns), they will form a new cane of "dot slices" which
can then be cut into slices and used as any other cane
Geraldine's lesson
using thin slices of the solid logs (for knitting stitch markers)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_StitchMarkers.htm
Ria's
lesson... using very thin cutouts from a sheet of thickest
pasta machine setting, which creates all multi-bullseye (calls them Retro
Canes)
http://www.dragonmagic.nl/website/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=96&Itemid=109
Kathy
G's lesson using thicker slices of the solid logs, which results
in simple bullseye and multi-bullseye (on lightswitch plate)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_other/article/0,1789,HGTV_3239_4246672,00.html
Naamaza's
lesson using thicker slices ... she then uses the canes in patterns
of stripes
http://www.naamaza.com/site/detail/detail/detailDetail.asp?detail_id=87094&depart_id=2431
(scroll bar is on left )
Penguintrax's
mini lesson on cane made from automatically wrapped extrusions randomly
pressed together ("Lazy Woman's Mokume Gane")
http://penguintrax.com/chatter/?p=113
Cynthia Tinapples's dot slices inlay in wood bowl rim (browns,
yellows)
http://www.tinapple.com/oldsite/cynthia/tetris.html
Babette's
dot slices used as top of pendant vessel
http://pic70.picturetrail.com/VOL1866/9642034/17803769/278008593.jpg
Cheryl's 2-color and 3-color dot slices
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_pins.html
(click on top right photo-- Cheryl)
mostly
brown square votive covered with offset strips of dot slices sheet
(plain clay on each end of stripe)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_votives.html
(click on Sandie's brown votive)
Kathy W's red, white & black dot cane slices, used on
jewelry pieces
http://www.kathyweinberg.com/jewelry.html
Lisa uses this pattern often --sometimes with various color backgrounds
but all centers the same-color(black), and sometimes
not
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/gifts/showSER_French%20Barrette%20-%20Large.html
(look all around... keep clicking)
Irene's
early examples of using several related colors (she calls hers Mod Blocks)
http://www.good-night-irene.com/Pens.html (now gone)
Carl
J's grids using multi-colored auto-wrapped canes (with gold clay?...more
subtle).. slices on Altoid tin & pendants
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4153008&a=31266991&p=68339803
...Nan
Roche used 2 golds plus black, yum yum, and lays slices on a
base sheet in a gradually changing color order in diff.
patterns (some mudcloth possibilities with this coloration) http://www.nwpcg.org/ravensdale/catalog/roche.shtml
(gone)
Nan's
example of using marbled or other non-solid colors in the disks
used for the stacks (she also onlays some lengthwise slices from the canes)
http://homepage.mac.com/stanleyjp/polymerclay/PhotoAlbum39.html
(click on Extruded Mosaic Pin )
Some
of the disks could also be Skinner Blend plugs, or inclusions, or
anything. . .
Donimique's auto-wrapped canes as pad
for "mokume gane"
lesson: http://domicreative.canalblog.com/archives/2007/05/13/index.html
...she
lays a number of fat auto-wrapped extrusions (diff, but same general colors) into
2 (offset) rows
...presses the rows into a rectangular pad
to create a "mokume gane" stack
...textures each side
of the pad (with long rectangular stamp in this case)
...then shaves
the top areas to reveal the patterns
more examples: http://domicreative.canalblog.com/archives/2007/05/17/index.html
http://domicreative.canalblog.com/archives/2007/05/12/index.html
http://domicreative.canalblog.com/archives/2007/05/11/index.html
Dominique's
auto-wrapped canes cut across with sheets inserted, and/or bundled
by 2's into more complex canes
...she
also has a string of beads made from thick slices of various auto-wrapped
canes
http://domicreative.canalblog.com/archives/2007/05/17/4982114.html
eye ball cane
...using white plus one color in the gun :
.....make a (log) of black...
roll a slab of blue (around the log) with a bit of white contioned in (remember
the clay darkens when baked}, then a slab of white around the outside ... cut
across this cane and round the edges a little... pierce a hole across the slab
and Viola!, an eye bead...if you are really worried a red slab around the blue
inside the white might resemble the blood shot eye? ............to make
an eye bead in a clay gun/pusher use the size Round (hole) you want as
bead size... put a white ball/cylinder in front of the tube a blue one behind
it and a little bit bigger (black?) one behind that... (extrude)...(if) you push
(out a few inches) you should have many "eyes" (if you) slice these
off and round em and bake em. . . you have eyeballs for little dolls or
a million eye beads for a leviation... ( you can also) use this premade
cane ...when making face canes. Faun
WHOLE logs or canes (more on) .....not their slices
logs could be any shape that can be extruded from a clay gun (round, half-round, triangular, square, 3-lobed, etc.)
these
logs/cane as components in more complex canes
.......for example,
anywhere you'd use a wrapped cane or Skinner blend bullseye cane
......
in special technique canes like "gear" canes, or between layers
of clay (rolled up in a spiral cane on another sheet, interspersed in a
folded cane, between Skinner blend layers for "faux fabric",
etc.)
logs could be oriented
.together in lots of ways before baking
...e.g.,
in rows, spirals, twists, braids, lettering,
etc.
........ Balinese Filigree often uses rows or spirals
of logs (see below in "Bal. Filigree" for lessons & ex's
of auto-wrapped stands used for BF)
Donna
uses 3 rows of clay ropes to create an
Egyptian ankh symbol (thin black,
fatter gold, thin black)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=840776&uid=448958
sanding or carving
to reveal hidden interior colors ...sanding the sides of these whole
logs after baking
...braids
...5 of these wrapped logs can be braided (as Nan Roche did)... then
after baking, sand off the top areas of the braid
back to reveal the colors "inside" the logs (see below in "Braiding")
...logs could also
be carved before baking to reveal the color, rather than
sanded afterward
logs could touch, or could have spaces between
them (if spaces, they might resemble the onlaid strips used to simulate bargello
(see Onlay > Bargello)
(see also extruded single-color mica clays for a similar effect?, just above Automatically Wrapped Canes)
also all kinds of hair and other little things for sculptures, bezels and other finishing touches on vessels/boxes/stands with ropes/etc., onlays (by cutting little slices of the extrusions--cool first?; or using the whole length), braiding/weaving/crocheting, and many other things (most of which we probably haven't figured out yet). Diane B.
Eni's
wonderful faux metal bezels, and collage of clay rope doodles
(with real stones, molded items, mixed media, etc.)
http://www.oken3d.com/html/indsculpt.html
(see "New" especially)
Karen
G's random clay squiggles and shapes onlaid on animal shapes
etc (outlined with wire)
http://www.npcg.org/milehigh/MHPCG%20Images/Kgpins3.jpg
Marina's
bezels and multi-wraps around faux stones for pendants (lesson
for her opals in Faux--Many)
http://www.marieidraghi.itciondoli.htm
?
...(see also Jewelery > Renaissance
for more examples of using clay ropes, etc. to create heavily-embellished
faux metal effects)
Marcy's
use of different color ropes to used together in various shapes (some
with Balinese Filigree)
... and also ropes to separate her pieced
pattern sheets
http://www.marcysclaypen.com/hearts/heart4.html
byrd
uses long clay ropes to create or outline some of the elements
of her mandalas
http://www.pbase.com/revbyrd/image/191329
....you
could also use baked polymer cut-out shapes (slice of clay from
extruded shape, perhaps embedded at the end of a chopstick) to stamp with
(for example, stamping metallic powders or acrylic paint onto
raw clay, or even fabric paint onto t-shirts, etc.)
http://www.twisteez.com/products.html
(like these "cjopsticks")
Dukky's onlaid
"slices" from clay gun ropes used to make patterns
such as bargello, radial designs, etc.
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/0303march/0303dukky.html
(see Cutters,Blades > Wavy Blade for Jody B's "Ripple Ikat" sheet technique (using a ripple blade,and starting with either clay scraps on a base sheet, or clay extrusions from a clay gun)
I have also extruded strands of clay through the clay gun and laid those out and run them through the pasta machine, and it looks rather like wood grain. Patty
Clay gun extrusions
can even be used on top of things like needlepoint, weaving, etc.
Josephine
Kershner-Veal's wall hangings and collar-type necklace
made with clay & wire, beads, bone, feathers, stone, glass, grapevine,
etc.
http://www.npcg.org/milehigh/member.html
syndee's
lesson on making long, coiled spirals of clay as simple Christmas
ornaments by wrapping long clay ropes around forms like paper
cones or wood dowels for baking (and using a strong clay like Premo)
http://www.sculpey.com/Projects/projects_HolidayRibbons.htm
I
extruded gold clay through the (multiple-hole) template of the Kemper tool
to make little snakes
... then made some lacey Christmas ornaments from
them over glass balls (breaking out the glass after baking)
... (I
had also used hand-rolled snakes, with points at the ends, in scroll shapes
made from metallic clay. This worked well, too)
... some of the resulting strength
comes from how densely you apply the "lace"
...... re the "engineering"
aspects of the design, you could also add little decorative elements
(I used little flowers, berries) at the structural intersections
here and there .... the more clay, the more strength.)
hot
air balloons made over light bulbs. . . (not polymer, but inspirational,
and could be adapted)...created by onlaying and or painting (inside) light bulbs,
then attaching screw-threaded "baskets" underneath with strings of leading...
could cut off the metal screw-in part with glass cutter? or perhaps the metal
part just a bit lower to remove it? ...drizzling liquid clay or using strings
of extrduded clay could work, along with other onlays
http://www.hotairballoon.org/balloonatics/morephotos.htm
bangles
(thin bracelets, sometimes worn with other bangles)
First of all, for
strength, you want to use Premo clay, and at the section where you join your ends,
maybe add some tls -- that is the place where my bangles have broken before.
Do you own a clay gun? You can get some neat and tidy round and half-round
strands from a clay gun, great for making bangles. Darla
"molded" and arranged bunches of strands (of regular clay?) .. .. Nora Jean says you can take the baked strands hot from the oven and hold them in your hand (or other "mold") while cold water runs over them; this should set the shape.
Kimba's
"Gorkley" effect around a mirror (could be strings from clay gun which
have been pulled from the disk rather than cut, resulting
in pointed ends for the strands; these are onlaid around in squiggles
or other shapes)
http://hobbystage.net/art/kimba/gorkley
one
idea I have tried for making small frames is to use a clay gun with the
die that looks like a 4-leaf clover (or tri-lobe?)
...after
extruding, twist the strand ... it should look like twisted wires
...then you can wrap this twist around an oval or circle that you want
to use as the base for your setting…Darla
If
more than one color of clay is used in the clay gun at the same
time, a number of results are possible:
...marbled or chopped colors
will yield variegated strands
...one color behind another will
yield strands that either change color down their length (if the clay doesn't
stick to the sides of the inner barrel --particularly if using multi-hole
disks) ...(see Braiding below for more on this technique)
......or yield "automatically-wrapped"
logs with changing slices of "wrapped logs" if the clay does stick
(the first color will wrap all subsequent colors, so color changes &
wraps are seen only in slices from the cane--see
"Automatically Wrapped" category just below for more details
on that technique)
...Mia's lesson on making
bright strands composed of 5 colors along length by using a multi-hole
disk and loading her (5 colors, each marbled with white) into the gun barrel by
twisting and pushing with the plung so clay won't
stick to sides --her
plugs thicker than Kellie's; colors change less often
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/february2001/rainbow.html
..........if you load your
clay gun with just little bits of clay (say 1/8-1/4 inch) in a pleasing
mixture of colors, then use a (multi-hole) disk, you
get beautiful (small strands which may change colors several times along their
length). Irwin?
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/chall_jun02.html
(only the dimensional spirals)
single-color
mica clays extruded from a clay gun
....this is just a guess, but
it seems like the center of the extrusion would have it's
mica lined up perpendicular to the length of the barrel since it's being
pushed and scrunched by the plunger (not sure how well though)
... but when
the clay actually gets pushed through the opening in the disk, the outer parts
would get pushed parallel
....so if you cut a cross section
of a log, for example, maybe what you'd see would be a very shiny
center and a dull outer wrapping (with the center getting a bit duller
toward the wrapping)?? ... but the exterior of the wrapping would be shiny???
(also
see automatically-wrapped canes just below)
LETTERING
Write
(cursive or print) with various long clay snakes and use
them as onlays:
....Jeanne R's script
lettering with ropes of different colors put in clay gun together
http://www.heartofclay.com/pc/juggler.htm
....Josephine Kershner-Veal's art-ethnic lettering with ropes of diff.colors
as with Jean's; these letters have some doubling, dots, and culiques
http://www.npcg.org/milehigh/MHPCG%20Images/josephine/jose1.jpg
....Another way might be to draw the size and shape of lettering (or whatever) you want on a piece of paper, then lay a piece of patty paper or waxed paper on top of it. Create the lettering by going over the drawn sample with the clay snakes. Then either lay the xmas ornament on the clay writing, rolling it over to pick up all the lettering, or press the writing down a bit then pick up the waxed paper and lay it with the lettering where you want it to be on the ornament (oops, guess this way would require the writing to be backwards--in that case, write with dark ink then trace through on the back side of the paper, or write on waxed paper or a bit of transparency sheet, etc., then turn over before tracing).
Use letter stamps on raw clay, or draw the letters on the clay first with a ball stylus, to act as a guide for the ropes. . .
Another suggestion would be to use two parallel lines for writing *between* to help keep the letters the same height. You could draw lightly on the item with something erasable like pencil or chalk, or use two pieces of tape, rubber bands, etc. to form the lines.
....I made 40 or so personalized pens for the teachers at my school -- covered the pens with polyclay and sanded them, rubbed on a drop of Diluent with my finger (let sit a few minutes till tacky), then stuck on the names I formed with raw Premo extruded string in script. Worked great. LynnDel
(more on lettering made in various ways in Letters-Inks > Lettering)
ropes of regular clay for leading + tinted liquid clay for filling cells
See Jeanne's wonderful stained glass (she
uses tinted TLS & Pearl-Es powders for coloring ...)
http://www.heartofclay.com/sb/cat15.jpg (the piece is actually very clear--light
shines through.)
1. Draw or pick a picture which is much like a child's coloring book picture with just the black lines to color between. The less busy-the better. A 3"X5" size is a good size to work with. (Dover has a bunch in some stain glass designs which are copyright free and will make it simpler to do for a sample.) (If using the paper method, photocopy your picture so that the lines won't smear, or use permanent ink --not inkjet)
2.
Condition your choice of clay. I prefer Premo for the "leading." Premo
gold with black or some gold with black and a little green can make interesting
leading for the stained glass look too---especially if you are going for an older
look. Even black with pearl is better than solid black. If you want to make cloisonne,
use gold (or other metallic?) Premo.
--Add Sculpey Diluent to make
it very workable and for ease of extruding. You will get a feel for what works
the best. You want it so it is not dry at all. It also needs a little diluent
as it bends at curves much better. Store in a covered "Tupperware" type container
so it does not dry out or get dusty and it will remain workable for weeks.
-- Using a Kemper clay gun, squeeze out polymer clay in the small round
size. Need to use a size that is consistent with the size picture you are using.
The bigger, your picture, the bigger the piping should be. (Do not use Armor-all
in your gun as this will cause a problem when you are making the TLS flow up to
the piping and filling in the design.)
3. There are two
methods which can be used from this point on. (Using glass is actually the
easier method, but it does give a slightly different look to the back of the window.
It also allows you to reuse your pattern though.)
ON PLAIN GLASS:
Place your design under a piece of glass (I bought picture frame glass). Try to
use a thin glass because if your glass is too thick (1/4", e.g.) the lines will
be slightly distorted or may be hard to get a fine design from it. I use masking
tape and tape picture to glass so it does not move if I choose to turn the glass
to work at better angles.
ON TEXTURED GLASS: I found some textured
glass and it gives an even more "real" stained glass look as the TLS floats into
grooves and the "glass" allows a variation of light to come through just like
real stain glass. The trouble is the slight bumps make it a little more difficult
in preventing the TLS from flowing into the different areas. So if using textured
glass, the leading next to the texture also has the same texture to it. Also if
too textured, your pattern may be difficult to follow.
ON PAPER: (I
made only two with paper and after that, I used glass.) With a flat paintbrush
or your finger, brush a thin layer of TLS diluted with diluent right onto the
picture. (Hopefully, your print is of an ink that will not smear.) This makes
the paper waxy or oily and helps with releasing paper. It will also make the surface
tacky to hold the piping in place. Eventually, you will learn just exactly how
much you can do before it dries and no longer holds the piping while you work....
The secret with paper is to have diluent on the paper as that helps with separating
the paper from the clay when done. I had no trouble, but I may have just caught
the "moment" that it was easy to separate the paper....
4.
Using the Premo piping or rope, start laying it down following the lines.
Using a toothpick or your finger, press right onto the lines, sticking it to the
the glass (or to the TLS on the paper.)
-- Cut with a razor blade
at any point needed. Angle the cut if needed. Never overlap the piping because
then your colored TLS will flow under the edges and mix, and will not look like
stained glass. What you will be trying to do is to keep the different colors in
little puddles. (There may be a case at the end which you need to add dimension
such as my cat whiskers; those would be the last piping done and would go on top
of any of the other piping.)
5. Using TLS take just
a spoon full and put on a palette. (I use something with a wax like surface so
the TLS is not drawn into the paper.) Mix in Pearl-Ex pigments (Caution,
the less you can use and get the color you want, the better for the stained glass.)
If it is too thick add, Sculpey Diluent. You want it to barely flow off of your
toothpick into the sections. -- I pick up the tinted TLS with a toothpick
and let it flow into the areas that I want covered. I mix and do all of the same
color and then move on to the next color. I also use a straight pin to pull or
push the tinted TLS into the corners.
-- Let sit over night so it
is very smooth and no bubbles are in the TLS.
6. When finished,
bake right on the glass or the paper (if working on paper, after *about*
seven to ten minutes check your work. I was able to peel the paper right off of
the back and it is very smooth---but not as shiny as glass. Return to the oven
to finish the curing process.) This even though very thin is amazingly tough---almost
like leather or rubber.
Optional texturing: (Before filling
in with tinted TLS, you can use some kind of tool and make a pattern like the
gold filligree is usually on old cloisonne. The main outline areas are
solid, but the interior lines look like a rope although very fine. . . . though
now I see how taking two ropes and twisting them together would give a more accurate
look than the wheel --the roller tool wheel that I use is an old pottery marking
tool of some sort which I run on each side of the gold piping and it makes tiny
indentations in the clay in a very even pattern. I use smaller piping that what
I would normally use for the stained glass look.
I even used those tiny
holeless glass beads in some of the TLS as I could not get the right color
with the Pearl-ex powders. Worked very well. Jeanne
Terry
Lee C's stained glass (flowers) wall art with tinted liquid clay
and black clay ropes
http://www.pbase.com/tlccreates/image/214196
syndee's
lesson on a stained glass effect with thick gold ropes of
clay for leading over a silver clay base (on a light switch cover)
...
the inside of her leading isn't filled--it's simply textured
and powdered
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_other/article/0,,HGTV_3239_1385126,00.html
Donna
C's lesson on making freestanding flat xmas tree ornaments
with ropes of clay (hers from a clay gun) made on a tile or sheet of glass
...
"closed shapes" created, then filled in with liquid clay
(some colored with metallic acrylic paints, swirled Pearl Ex, etc.)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/tls_ornament.html
(rather
than using a clay gun) ...I bet that frosting bags could be filled
with liquid clay, or a clay paste made with Diluent-thinned
clay, then extruded through various tips to create leading??..Sarajane
H.
..... Beckah says that liquid clay
mixed with solid black or pearl clays will make an extrudable slip after
3 or more days (of sitting?) ...(for stained glass leading,
but could be used for anything).
ropes of regular clay for leading + regular clay for filling cells
Cat's
lesson on using clay for making both leading and filling for cells (+ liquid
clay as glue)
.....draw or copy a stained-glass pattern
on paper
.....transfer pattern to baked clay (translucent in this case)
with (dressmaker's) carbon paper
....apply liquid clay with toothpick,
following lines
......extrude and lay 1mm round ropes of FimoSoft
Gold clay on lines (starting at ctr) ..bake 20 min
... mix streaky
logs of various colors you'll want (semi-translucent), making several
shades
.......make each log into a 1 mm thick sheet of each color
...press one clay sheet onto a cell of baked leading... remove and
cut out shape from impression on back side
... apply a bit of liquid
clay with toothpick inside cell, then put clay shape into cell
......press
to remove any bubbles, and push any excess back from leading
... when all
cells of one color or one area are filled, smooth over all with just a
bit of aloe vera gel on finger... bake 10 min
..... (she also makes
dots impressions before baking, for later filling with black clay)
...repeat
with other colors, areas... bake all 30 min...ice water plunge 5 minutes
while hot for most clarity
....sand, then coat with a glossy finish ... or
antique (she made a domed barrette)
http://www.polkadotcreations.com/books/article.php?id=pdccat01
sunni's
lesson on making precise and realistic faux stained glass with tinted
translucent clays
.......(translucent clays don't create "clear"
faux glass, but do create partly translucent glass well)
...she
creates 2 copies of a line drawing pattern suitable for "stained
glass"
...and one sheet of tinted
translucent clay at #4 thickness, for each
"glass" color she'll use
....she
works from the center outward, so she begins with the color sheet which
will be used for one of the central images
(in this case, translucent red clay for the rose),
placing the sheet underneath the
drawing
......
then impresses the pattern onto the reddish sheet with a pointed
but blunt tool (tapestry needle, or blunted pencil lead, etc.)
through the paper, and now has a sheet of reddish clay with all pattern lines
impressed on it
...she cuts out each puzzle
piece by cutting along the impressed lines with a pointed Xacto
knife blade
...bakes the pieces for 10 min at regular temp.
under a tile to keep them flat during baking &
cooling (...if a ceramic tile or glass sheet is used rather than
a terra cotta tile, without a paper separation, the pieces will become shiny
as well)... cool .... reassembles the baked pieces
...cuts a number of leading
strips from a #4 sheet of black (or other color) clay, all the same
width (..or the clay gun also has a linguini shape "hole"
which could be used instead to extrude leading, but then the translucent sheets
would need to be created in the same height as the linguini extrusion is wide)
...she fills in all spaces between pieces of the central image with
leading, snugging them together (...leaving other reddish pieces to the side)
...puts a tile on top again, and rebakes for 10 min.
...to strengthen
this unit, and also to fill any gaps, she pours a thick layer of
liquid clay onto the back of it and spreads evenly... then turns
it back over onto the tile, and bakes again for 8 min. (without
a top tile this time to allow liquid clay to stay thick) ...when cooled,
she removed unit with a tissue blade
...repeats for each unit (not
including any "background color")
...created background pieces
in same way as other pieces, but left raw
...laid 2nd drawing under sheet
of glass, then assembled all pieces, working from the inside out... adding
new leading in background where necessary
http://sunnisan.com/crafts/stainglass1.html
more ways to make "stained glass"
For
using (or making) a stamp to create leading, see
Stamping
...and also for using
reverse molds
to create faux stained glass, see
Molds > Reverse
Molds
For
more ways to create faux stained glass, see Liquid
Clay > Cloisonne
for
other types of
filigree,
see also Onlay
>
Molded or Non-Flat + Filigree and Ropey
...Eggs
> Vinegar Eggs
some
BASIC INFO:
...long ropes of clay can be spiraled, or laid next
to each other in rows, waves, etc., forming wonderful relief patterns... the ropes
can be stamped or textured in various ways, or not...small balls or other shapes
can be used in-between these ropes, or not
...the patterns/images formed can
be abstract/geometric or somewhat representational/realistic.
...coverage of
the BF can be complete or partial, and can be cut into shapes freehand or with
med-large cutters if desired
...the ropes can be laid directly on the object
(e.g., a glass bottle, mirror, metal tin), or on a thick fabric (canvas, etc.)
with liquid clay underneath or permanent white glue if on wood/papier mache/etc,
or they can be laid first on a base sheet of clay
...ropes can be square or
triangular as well as round for more effects (especially sets of lines)
(for
twisted, square ropes used as onlays, see Mike Buesseler's twisted mica
beehive technique in Mica)
(see
more below)
(BASIC LESSON) ... my method
is as follows:
...I loosely lay out the strands from the gun
on an aluminum foil covered styrofoam tray (I too use a clay gun, just so much
quicker...be sure to really condition the clay before putting it in the gun --see
above on this page.
... I wind up a number of strands
into coils and put them back on the tray.... (I make up a bunch
of coils,and different sizes before I start.... I also make up a
few teeny tiny little balls)
... then I start placing them on whatever
i am covering... and I cut away any over lap
....if I want to
add texture to a coil, i use my exacto knife
to cut lil teeny tiny segment impressions somewhere into the coil after
it is in place. . . .
....another method is to make a smaller coil,
then put a bunch of tiny balls in a row on the coil, then
continue with the strand around the coil.
. ...you can loosely fill
in any openings with either balls or segments of the strings.
That's it. –Byrd
SOME EXAMPLES &
LESSONS
polymerclayexpress' lesson
on making Balinese Filigree and some great tool ideas
http://polymerclayexpress.com/mar2001.html
Mia's lesson on Balinese Filigree:
bright strands composed of 5 colors in turn (bead also)--her plugs
thicker than Kellie's; colors change less often
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/february2001/rainbow.html
Mia's many filigree items (and showing them in progress)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=5679295&uid=531344
http://www.clayfulmingles.com/
(look all around) (gone?)
PolymerClayCentral's
many filigree items
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_filigree.html
http://polymerclaycentral.com/clayday_filigree.html
various examples of B. filigree
at ClayPen
http://gallery.gundo.com/gallery/album46
Eva E's filigree dress on lightbulb angel (spotlight
or track light shaped bulb)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/claypen_hol_stuff.html
2- or 3-colored clays used
for Balinese Filigree (covering the backs of wood hair brushes from
dollar store), as well as various inlays, onlays, stampings, etc,
http://s153.photobucket.com/albums/s201/Kimmermonroe
(look for several pictures showing the brushes)
Rachel A's many filigree boxes (interiors,
twisted ropes, granite, roses, balls with depressions)
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292456089
(see them all, click on Enter,
then on Next, Next...)
Sunni's BF around an outlined central transfer motif,
on a lid
http://www.sunnisan.com/crafts/02/dragon006b.jpg
Brigitte's indented BF spirals joined for a large, freeform
pendant
http://creaplastic.free.fr/08_03.htm
(check
out Donna Kato's book, The Art of Polymer Clay, for pictures of
the BF technique done by a master!)
(Balinese
Filigree is used on many "rock" vessels so see Vessels-Rock
for many more examples)
MORE POSSIBILITIES
clay ropes for Balinese Filigree can be rolled by
hand as well as extruded from clay gun
....
to get very even clay ropes, they can be rolled under a sheet of plexiglas,
etc, if needed
filigree
ropes/etc. can be applied directly onto an item to be covered (e.g.,
glass bottle, mirror, metal tin)
... or on a thick fabric (canvas, etc.) with
adhesive underneath (liquid clay, or permanent white glue
if on wood/papier mache/etc)
.......I
just read Kellie's post about reinforcing the bond with liquid clay as
you go on the eggshell. I wish I had done that. Claire
.....
Joanna S's lesson on covering
an egg shell with a layer of white glue (dried) rather than using a base
clay layer
http://www.hgtv.com/crafting/filigree-polymer-clay-egg/index.html
...or
they can be laid first on a base sheet of clay
... the base
sheet could also be textured or of a contrasting color, and
the BF not cover it completely, so that it shows in some places
lesson
by Lucia on making a drawing (of thin leaf-like shapes) on artist's canvas,
covered with liqiud clay
.......then laying glass bugle beads inside
the drawn shapes, and filling in the background with Balinese Filigree
http://mamalucia.deviantart.com/art/Filligree-Art-Tutorial-38791397
...photos
of creating outlines for a pattern first (on liquid clay-covered
canvas) and laying ropes along those lines.... then filling in
the areas inside or between the lines with Balinese Filigree ropes by teapotdnky
http://s86.photobucket.com/albums/k84/blogcraftster/?start=20
Rather than spiraling the rope into a round disk shape, it can be spiraled into rectangular, triangular, etc. shapes
Ropes can also be laid as rows, or accordion-folded so they lay
parallel to each other, and have their folded ends cut off, to create a quick
row of stripes (or folded over for decoration or a bail, or twisted, etc.)
....melnik's
use of rows or accordion bends for small areas http://melnik.freeservers.com/pins.html
Claire's
twisted square rope BF using pearl (mica)
clays (on an egg) --see
more on twisted ropes in Mica > Mike
Buesseler -beehive
.......I just read Kellie's
post about reinforcing the bond with TLS as
you go. I wish I had done that. Claire (picturetrail
gone)
Liz twisted 2 ropes together, then flattened
them slightly on her faux metal (black clay & silver Pearl Ex)-covered bottle
http://www.libzoid.com/files/filigreebottle303.jpg
Kim K's several-color twisted rope used to make a BF
spiral
http://www.tlcnet.com/~polyclay/mg_kim.jpg
Or any of these techniques can be used around or next to a
shape:
--around a disk, cookie cutter, or other shape to
leave a hole in the middle
--next to a disk or other shape (to create
a C-shape set of ropes, for example, or wavy lines)
You can also cut spirals into halves, quarters, crescents, arcs, etc., before placing on your base sheet or item to be covered.
You
can also use Balinese filigree to create a "picture" of something
(see
...e.g., a M.Mouse image at PCC (by TWINMOM2000) used BF circle elements
--eyes, muzzle, ears, etc.--to create the MM face
....see Kathy
G's butterflies --circular and folded elements --for something a bit similar
(website gone)
To insert other shapes
of filigree (or non-filigree) into an area of BF, use a cookie or canape
cutter to remove a portion from a prepared BF sheet or single spiral, then
fill in the hole left with the cutout from another color using the same cutter.
(...placing plastic wrap over the sheet before cutting should leave the edges
rounded rather than evenly cut, if that's what you want)
...Mia
used Skinner blend slices, wavy ropes,
and rhinestones
withinin the BF (website gone)
...Melnik put a flattened ball of contrasting clay in the
centers of her spirals (these could also be decorative "brads,"
etc.) (website gone)
tiles
for mosaics, or other "tiles"
......could use long or short
ropes ...or crosswise slices (esp. from larger diameter extrusions,
or joined extrusions) as components for mosaics
..... ropes or slices could
be raw or baked
..Trina's filigree mosaic technique (on
Easter egg pins, etc.), using larger ropes than usual B.filigree?, in different
colors to fill in mosaic pictures or patterns; (website
gone)
(refrigerate if nec. before slicing, or slice
after baking while warm)
...can bake on ceramic tile, glass, or alum foil,
for flat & shiny surface (or paint with gloss after baking,
or before? if tile’s edges are rounded)
lesson
suggesting some great ways to impress the applied strands,
from polymerclayexpress
--for example using small brass tubes
to simulate lines of tiny balls (brilliant idea!), screwdriver
tips, ballpoint pen tips, and anything else. . .
http://polymerclayexpress.com/mar2001.html
Nancy Lotz's lesson and tips
on making Balinese Filigree, and putting small beads on the extrusions
(after dimpling first with a ball-end stylus tool to create the
depressions)
...she also moistens the end of a raw strand of spaghetti
to pick up and place each bead
...she uses a garlic press rather than
a clay gun to extrude a plain color, a Skinner Blend plug (cut into
short lengths), or a series of colors (thick disks)... she uses the extrusions
to make and has suggestions for other things to use them for (plus tips
on using)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2005fall/lotzer2.html
(also click on pg. 3)
her
bowls, & beaded filigree coverings with gradient extrusions
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2005fall/lotzer4.html
round
ball-things like ball stylus tools (intended for embossing, etc.),
hat pins and other ball-headed sewing pins, marbles, ball
bearings, etc can also be used for making depressions (some can be glued or
mounted on handles, etc. for easier handling)
....or they can be used to make
a mold from which a positive is created so hemispheres (domes) can
be made
...make a row of "set-in pearls" by making depressions
with a ball stylus first, then fill each depression with a clay ball you make
..you can use the concave end of the Etch 'N Pearl tool
to pick up the clay ball and set it in place without deforming it)
...one
end of the Etch 'N Pearl tool by Studio by Sculpey has a concave
hemisphere-shaped indention in one end
http://www.studiobysculpey.com/tools_accessories/tools_accessories06.php
....when pressed into clay, it creates a raised hemisphere of clay
which could look like an embedded bead or row of balls
.........unfortunately,
my Etch N Pearl rods bent (right out of the package)
and I cannot get them straightened out. I believe they are aluminum Nancy C.
Cindy
P used undulating rows of real seed beads (embedded in neutral-colored
clay) between some of her ropes
http://pcpolyzine.com/april2001/booklace.html
(see
also example of using real bugle beads in Balinese Filigree in Lucia's
lesson above)
You could
highlight the high parts with Rub 'N Buff or a metallic
powder. Think I'd try both a silver/gold/or-copper, and also a lighter or
darker version of the same color as the base clay and see which I liked better.
Diane B.
....my Bal. filigree BOH, highlighted with gold metallic powder
(red clay with gold powder , and purple coils with gold)
http://www.glassattic.com/imagesCANES_COV/cov-BOH/BOH.htm
....Or
antiquing PLUS RubNBuff! You could have antiquing all
over, but, the "patina" or surface highlighting only in some areas. I tried this
balinese silver thing on some beads, and used black antiquing, just like
they do with the real beads... it seems to really bring out all that (tedious-to-make!)
detail. Elizabeth
...Lizboid made a beautiful faux old pewter
Balinese F. covered bottle using Silver Pearl Ex highlighting over black
clay.
partial covering
Cindy
P's put undulating "waves" of BF on the bottom part of the front of
a mini-book pendant
http://pcpolyzine.com/april2001/booklace.html
kellie's
partially covered a bottle ...also using Pearl Ex over scrap clay
...I
covered a glass bottle with scrap clay, then I extruded the same ugly scrap clay
thru my clay gun. I applied the BF a little at a time, a coil here, a strand there
...after I felt like it was finished, I applied pearlex powders (two different
colors, one on the filigree and one on the bottle). kellie
http://kelliesklay.homestead.com/misc.html
(gone --new site?)
...leave
some open spaces, or a lot! ....Flo's openwork
filigree eggs (not much open space) (website gone)
(see more partial covering below)
Suppose
you could also fill in the lower parts with a soft clay
after baking
... or some combination of Liquid Sculpey and clay or
a powder, for an inlaid effect too? Diane B.
Kathy W.'s backfilled?
Balinese Filigree
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/swap_egg02.html
...this
is what Kathy W. did?... backfilling with blue clay (after baking, &
sanded after baking again)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/swap_egg02.html
...Nae
has backfilled the depressions left on a Balinese Filigree egg with
a contrasting clay, then sanded
(a photo will eventually be
at her website? http://home.earthlink.net/~thenae/eggs.html)
Can
also multiple colors of clay in clay gun to create variegated
strands, or automatically wrapped strands with hidden variegation
underneath
VARIEGATED strands (...strand colors will blend
from one to the next color, visibly)
....make one log
from 2-6 colors of clay (using each color one only once)...
load into clay gun... extrude through a multi-hole disk
......Mia's
example using purple-blue-green-yellow-red (each mixed with a bit of white to
lighten)
http://www.pcpolyzine.com/february2001/rainbow.html
...*kellie's
examples of blended-color, Balinese filigree lids
(overlapped-cut design)
http://kelliesklay.homestead.com/Tins.html
....Nancy's
bowls with gradient extrusions (w/ garlic press) http://www.pcpolyzine.com/2005fall/lotzer4.html
...(using
lots of beautiful colors in the clay gun ...to make a freeform
filigree pendant ) ...to get the effect I took several metallics
(sculpey III because I am trying to use up all my S3) and chopped them up into
pea sized peices and put them into my clay gun...I made one of the bellows
pushers and I usually just put it on the floor and stand on the end.....the clay
will come out really fast and the broken look I think is from the speed
that it is going through the gun....I thought about sanding the peice some but
I liked that look so I didn't sand it....It was kinda an accident.....but
then some of the neatest things that come from PC comes by experimentation......
Sara
AUTOMATICALLY
WRAPPED (strands will be one color on the outside, with hidden
variegated colors inside
............or good way to use
up scraps (... here used to cover an egg)
... make logs
of 3 metallic colors of clay the diameter of a clay gun barrel
(...gold, copper, and metallic green --gold mixed w/ blue SculpeyIII)
...
cut each log into many 1/8" slices
....stack slices
into new multi-colored logs ...and extrude through clay gun with
one-hole disk
....... (the first color will wrap around all
the following colors, so the extruded strands will appear to
be the same color from the outside
Or to make these automatically
wrapped extrusions multi-colored... sand their surfaces (after baking)...
the colors inside the ropes will begin to appear ...(longer sanding = more
colors)
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/cyclopedia/filigree_egg.html
......(see also Nan Roche's
lesson below in "Braid" from which this sanding
of variegated strands was inspired)
...Joanna
S's lesson on using 5 analagous colors (of rose) in a clay gun to cover
an eggshell (after applying permanent white glue and drying rather than using
a base clay layer)
http://www.hgtv.com/crafting/filigree-polymer-clay-egg/index.html
could make a *big* sheet of filigree, then have lots of stuff to use for various cutouts, sections, etc.
filigree could be used with
any kind of mosaic patterns too, by filling in areas that have been
outlined, with folded ropes, or spirals formed in squares/triangles/etc.,
or meandering ropes. DB
you can also press down evenly on filigree spirals with an acrylic block, etc., to create a different appearance for the spirals, ropes, balls, etc.
make a mold of the Balinese Filigree pattern you create sometimes ...the molds not create casts that are quite as distinct as doing BF from scratch, but sure might sure come in handy! DB
Melnik's "faux"
BF?? . . . if not, could be . . .using slices of spiral canes (indentions
could be added or shapes could be cut from the slices and reassembled in various
ways to fill the space, etc.)??
http://www.tlcnet.com/~polyclay/rockgallery1.html
MORE POSSIBILITIES & EXAMPLES
beadizzygrl's
atc with Balinese Filigree clouds with shiny beads embedded
here and there
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k204/beadizzygrl/NewBeginnings003.jpg
Lizboid's
faux metal BF, on a triangular bottle, has large "sections"
marked off with straight ropes, in and around which are
many double-ended spiral shapes (more coils at one end than the other)...
also balls impressed with a center dot ...and flattened
twisted ropes on most edges
http://www.libzoid.com/files/filigreebottle303.jpg
Shane's
BF beads with some empty spaces... she also puts outlines of tiny-tiny
balls (or are those glass seed beads?) at the edges of all her
blank areas (gold clays on black base bead)
http://www.shanesangels.com/001/royalbead001b.jpg
(gone)
Kathy
W's pie-shaped BF circle (made by impressing rays on a spiral) ...and
also grid
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumList?u=4153008hyweinberg/1016045921-001399.html
Phyllis partially covered the top
of a frosted glass ball Christmas ornament with 4 large
S-shaped BF spirals of gold clay, each starting under the cap
and reaching down one of the 4 sides... at the center of the bottom spiral
of each, she attached a gold chain which swagged
to all 4 spirals... she also hung a small clay teardrop from the bottom of each
swag ... plus some fill-in ropes
Kimba's Balinese Filigree
Christmas glass balls (website gone)
Melnik's rattle (or xmas orn) with continuous wrapped rope; blue Pearl
Ex applied around center? (website gone)
Charles
Mayer's strips and wavy lines of filigree forming backgrounds
around transfers
http://simplydarling.com/SDCPages/SDCGuild/Gallery/CharlesMayer/CharlesMayer.htm
(click on each!!)
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=5679295&uid=531344
Rebecca
N's Balinese Filigree alternated with cane slices, on rock purse
http://members.aol.com/beccabeads/page7/index.htm
Helen
Breil showed a cool BF coaster in PolymerCafe, summer 2003... she made
some BF on a base sheet, then cut out a disk of it smaller than the diameter of
her purchased marble coaster, and attached it
. . . leaving a frame
of marble around the raised BF disk
Christy's
fold-over beads (like taco shells)---spirals of extruded clay colors
folded over a skewer, baked, then removed
lesson http://www.skygrazer.com/polymerclay/reference/foldoverbeads.htm
Looking at the photo
on this page of a Tibetan pattern made me think a "faux" mola made with
clay strings from a clay gun might be interesting
http://www.tinapple.com/cynthia/bowl2000.html
temari
balls ... see Mosaics
> Micro Mosaics for simulating these geometric
Japanese balls in clay ...in various ways
(here are some real ones:
http://www.temarikai.com ... http://temari.com
)
IDEAS ONLY... WEBSITES GONE:
thewildbunny's
BF (including musical notes) covering a real shoe (open-back high
heel) http://www.thewildbunny.com/polygallery/wurlitzer003.jpg
(gone?)
Cynthia Tinapple's
strip of BF inlaid into a wooden bowl (gone)
http://www.tinapple.com/cynthia/bowl2000.html
Karen's
filigree+ beads (gone) http://members.delphi.com/JANRUH/web/clay/karens.jpg
Krista's filigree beads; some not coils (gone)
(yellow beads) http://www.drizzle.com/~kshufelt/gallery/metallic_clays.shtml
Terry's
Balinese filigree box (gone)
http://www.cerridwencreations.com/art/xmas%20gifts/box_front.JPG
Bunny's
Balinese Filigreed Altoid boxes (gone) http://thewildbunny.homepage.com/gallery_2.htm
*Debi's
filigree+ pins and boxes (gone)
http://www.debiscott.com/crafts/invlist.cfm?s=n
Darla's Balinese Filigree barrettes (website gone)
Heather
R's tiny filigree on beads . . . . antiqued with white or black
(gone) http://members.home.com/claythings/beads4.htm
Kim C's
BF barrettes and containers (white, blue, purple), one symmetrical
(website gone)
Trina's
her partial frame pendant
(website gone)
Cathy D's filigree eggs, dual pattern metallic
powder & gold?, few seed beads (website gone)
Kathy's BF eggs with some powders here and there
(website gone)
Darla's
BF around a central transfer? motif, on an Altoid lid; no outlining
(gone) http://hobbystage
Sara J's cut/reassembled filigree pendant
(gone) http://www.sarajenkins.com/Item%20811-4.htm
.....look in Blends for a different way to do Balinese Filigree --not using ropes, but using long, very flattened Skinner Blend slices-cool
"turntable bearing" --can use to make spirals more quickly
To help create spirals
quickly and easily, a lazy susan bearing can be used with
a small ceramic tile or acrylic block, etc., placed on top.
http://pcpolyzine.com/december2001/tools.html
(--near the bottom of the page...my photo of the small plastic turntable bearing
I use; it's on the left side of the photo, and has a square acrylic block on top
of it and a couple of small strips of rubberized drawer liner beneath for traction.)
lesson:
-- roll one end of an extruded rope into a taper and make the first rotation
with your fingers, then press it slightly to the surface of the
middle of the block. I used my right hand to push/rotate the turntable
and the other hand to hold the tail or gently guide it.
--When it's as large
as you want, it can be lifted and placed on a base sheet, or straight
onto an item you're covering; I didn't have any trouble lifting them but you might
want to use a palette knife or blade if necessary.
--Or, you can make a second spiral continuous with the first by lifting the first spiral and treating it as the "tail" above; the length of the second spiral will have to be estimated and the rope cut before rotating (if you want to make the 2 spirals the same length or particular proportions, mark the whole rope slightly before rotating the first one; the mark can always be turned to the underside as you roll it up if it shows). DB
BUYING:
(These mechanisms may also be known as "turntable bearings," "single
direction thrust bearings"?, "swivels"?)
...I got mine
at my local plastics store (look under Plastics
in the yellow pages) --("plastic revolving display base, clear" available
at tapplastics.com eventually?). . . .but some sizes of the all-metal ones can
be found at hardware stores.
--Lee
Valley: http://www.leevalley.com/hardware (for the plastic ones,
click on Swivels & Bearings, then on Plastic Lazy Susan Turntables, approx
$2 ea....for the smaller and larger zinc ones, click on Zinc LazyST, approx
$1.00 ea.)
--American Science & Surplus has several kinds and sizes, plastic
and metal
http://www.sciplus.com/category.cfm?subsection=19
--"Lazy Scott Bearing". . . I don't know if the smaller round ones can
be used as well
.......Sep 02: Right now, there
seems to be a sale on their plastic one them at American Science and Surplus
... 2 of them for $2.00 . . . the shipping is probably more than that! Excellent
price! but I guess their being on clearance means they won't always have them
in stock...boohoo. http://www.sciplus.com/clearance.cfm
(30176 Plastic Turntable)
These small rotating disks are better than using a regular (Rubbermaid?) turntable (for spices, etc.) because your hands will be closer to the spiral as it's made, and the disks also take up less space on the work table. (I put a bit of Blue Tac or strips of rubbery drawer liner underneath the acrylic block to keep it from sliding around.)
polymerclayexpress
is also offering a 4-5" tall, all-metal?, elevated turntable (AMACO
Banding Stand $23.50) ...also puts clay work closer to eye level (intended for
painting bands of color on vessels or other objects)
http://polymerclayexpress.com/equip.html
Also
the rose-building platforms** are great to form your BF on before transfering
it to your piece. Trina
.....**a tool for making roses from icing, petal by
petal; it's a disk on top of a short rod which is twirled with the fingers
while applying the petals (could easily make your own though)
WEAVING ....CROCHETING, Knitting,Macrame ....SPRINGS, Coils .... BRAIDING
weaving
(see also simple Celtic Knot lesson below in More Websites)
Barbara P's
woven strips on black backing sheet ...cut into various
shapes, like heart, triangle (then framed)
...for magnets
http://tinyurl.com/5q3uu
Kellie's (flat noodle) woven barettes
http://www.kelliesklay.homestead.com/clayribbonbarrettes.html
Evelyn's
open weave square of clay ropes, embellished with a clay flower
(for pin)
http://www.geocities.com/evelynspoly/galleri/juli01/bead36.jpg
Cindy's
(flat noodle) weaving vessels (one faux ivory)
http://www.cindysartandsoul.com/gallery1.html
lukabara used
wide flat noodles of clay to weave a sheet
with... she placed and pressed the woven sheet over a base
heart shape made of clay (or wood?) ...then baked and antiqued
to bring out the depressions
V.R.James'
woven "basket" vase hung as a pendant
http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/chall_sep04.html
Tamara's woven
vessels
http://go.to/polymerclay
(gone) (click on door,
Gallery, Objects d'Art)
Marie's shallow wide "basket"
made from flat noodles woven together as bottom + fat twisted ropes
around top edge (with onlaid flowers & leaves_ ..."Easter basket"?
http://www.marieidraghi.it/immagini/pasqua/cestomedio.JPG
flyte's lesson on making a simple trisket Celtic
knot with a length of round clay rope
http://members.tripod.com/littlechurchcottage/id23.htm
(gone)
Karen in
FL wove wide strips of semi-wood-like mokume gane
into her (real wood) split ash basket
. . . simply using the polymer strips as just another set of strips
.... her polymer ones were all vertical... (calmlakebasketry)
Yep,
I (stacked disks of?) Premo in my clay gun --purple, gold, turquoise, and
copper
..... after baking, I sanded
the tops to expose the underlying colors with the wet/dry sandpaper up to
1500 grit and the buffed with a Foredom Bench Lathe. That's it. No lacquer of
any kind. ...It was alot of fun to make! Kay (woven breastplate-type necklace
--website?) (see more below in Braiding)
see just below in Crocheting for avoiding breakage when weaving after baking
clay
"memory" & breakage
+
crocheting, knitting, macrame
NOTE:
the flexible clay used for these techniques (all produced by Polyform) is now
called Bake and Bend (or Sculpey Super Flex Bake
and Bend)
... it was previously called SuperFlex
clay (and is still called Super Flex in larger bars?)
EXAMPLES:
Patti’s
crocheting with Super Flex clay ... and also weaving
in circles around an asterisk-shaped base, with thin round extrusions
http://patticlay.freeservers.com/sflex.html
Violette's
loosely crocheted clay ... "doily" shape
http://creaplastic.free.fr/10vio_05.htm
Marie's
photos of various crocheted and knitted clay items...
purses & jackets (size?)
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/gallery5.htm
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_exhibits_shows/article/0,1789,HGTV_3246_2698290,00.html
Nancy's knitted
items made with Super Flex
http://www.mindspring.com/~randomacts/polymer.htm
Marie's lanyard woven-braided
cords made from clay??
http://www.clayfactory.net/marie/gallery4.htm
large "loops" of clay ...for choker (actually
probably figure 8's using 2 ropes, with a cane slice hiding each
overlap)
http://members.tripod.com/~ctrottier/clay3.html
lesson on crocheting + examples (and
also other rope-like uses)... by Marie & syndee
http://expressionartmagazine.com/FTRND02.html
cording
lesson
....I use it 1:1 with
Premo to make cording for necklaces... it's soft and comfortable
to wear (esp. like it around the back of my neck)
lesson:...extrude
a thick rope with a clay gun... roll in Pearl Ex
... insert
rope ends into premade holes in pendant with liquid clay
....bake
in the shape that's expected when laying on the body
...after
baking, just wipe down with a damp cloth (to remove any excess powder
--rather than sealing the Pearl Ex, and possibly cracking finish).
...(most
of my cording now is either black (flex clay?) w/ black Premo (duh), or a color
with gold Premo) syn
http://expressionartmagazine.com/sctColMJ04.html
. .different? lesson:
http://expressionartmagazine.com/FTRND02.html
info and purchasing: http://www.sculpey.com/Products/products_poly_superflex.htm
...wherever you buy, be aware that it may be called SuperFlex
...
.......if online esp., make sure you let them know you want the brand
new formula, not the old stuff!
....available in either 6 or 8 color sets in retail stores
(it's usually on the hanging racks along with the Sculpey III kids' kits) Patti
K.
........by mail order... sets as well as individual 2 oz
bars of the 8 colors, are available (at some websites)
..............at
sculpey.com (see link just above) ...indiv.
2oz bars
..............at the Clay Factory http://www.clayfactory.net/sculpey/flex.htm
(indiv. 2 oz bars... or x 8 = 1 lb)
..............at http://www.allartsupplies.com/item.php?articleId=1399
(indiv. 2 oz bars, and sets)
This clay can be mixed with
regular clays too
...it can be mixed with other clays to
get the best flex for a particular project
........for durability,
the 1-to-4 ratio (flexible clay to plain Premo clay)
........for fluidity,
4 parts Flex to 1 part Premo
....... for.macrame, 1-to-1 ratio ...
Marie S.
....mix with some regular Premo and you've got a very nice
clay, for many uses
....I experimented with three batches -- one to
one (one part Flex to two parts Premo)... and one part Flex to three parts
Premo.
.......all those blends proved easy
to control and eminently flexible after baking (all passed the fold
it in half test, though the 3 to 1blend exhibited some stress). Katherine
Dewey
...weaker clays like Sculpey III (and new formulation of FimoSoft?)
can be strengthened by mixing with Bake and Bend. Garie
If
you mix any of the Bend-and-Bake colors with mica clays (e.g., gold,
silver or Pearl Premo), the mixed color is gorgeous. syn
problems
my experience with SuperFlex has been that it's very stretchy - almost gumlike
While baking, the extruded
ropes must not
touch
the tray if the tray is metal
or glass (or ceramic?),
so use few sheets of paper on tray
...clay ropes must also not
touch each other
....so use sheets of paper, etc, between the layers
of clay ropes, and/or extrude the ropes in a spiral of one flat layer
so that the parts don't touch, then while still hot after baking, gently
stretch and wiggle to straighten them...(Marie S.)
...what about
using cornstarch like Jody B suggests?
.......you don't have to powder
the clay, it will pull apart while still warm if you don't smash
it to itself. Valerie
Re-baking
this clay can be a problem ...the
second baking makes the clay brittle
.....it's
important to note this flexibility is fused into the clay's memory....so
once it's been baked, it will hold the original shape ... efforts to change
the shape and re-bake
produced cracking. Katherine
Dewey
...Flexiclay and
Eraser clay are problematic; you can only bake
them once --
the second baking makes them brittle.... In fact,
if you make something thin (like an extruded cord or even a snake or sheet), bake
it, flex it, and rebake it in the flexed position, it will break in the oven!
Georgia S.
....I
had some pieces that I had knitted and tried to put back
in the oven to attach findings, but they broke
in a zillion places -- looked like wherever the string was under
tension it couldn't take the heat. Nancy
...that's true for re-baking
any braided, twisted, etc. clay.....it will fall completely apart
if re-baked UNLESS completely straight....or
close to that condition anyway! :-) Patricia
... Uh oh! At my Katherine Dewey
class she had us use flex for the claws on our dragons and griffins and
they were baked before our creatures. I suppose they will break now? ........(&
also.. I rebaked something I had make with sculpey flex about a year ago, a dolls
skirt....it did break.) Cindy P
...No, think that the claws will be
OK... it's that when you take baked clay, and put some sort of constant
pressure on it, the heat loosens the clay during baking such that
it can't stay together at the points where the clay is being stretched
...... a clay skirt would break however unless it was being stretched across
the doll WHILE being baked. Was that the case? Patti
...has anybody tried rebaking
crocheted flex strands that were rolled by hand rather
than forced through the clay gun (since it stresses the clay to push it through
the gun, leaving tiny cracks)? ....When cutting out flex shapes, I have to be
careful of over-cutting the corners because if there is a slit
there, that's where it can tear pretty easily. If you roll the strings,
they'd be smoothly compressed with the "fiber" of the clay aligned and hopefully
stronger. Jody B
...I have noticed that if you stop extruding and a
bend develops in the clay AFTER you begin extruding
again...you need to smooth it or it will break
while crocheting, but that was the only breakage I got...and I'm pretty tough
on it - on purpose!
SuperFlex (if baked in curves) should work for crochet as long as you are working with the curvature and not against it. Meredith
Rebaking can be a problem, but when I hear of brittle behavior, it's usually because the clay is not completely baked. Meredith
While
crocheting after baking, though, I get too
much breakage...
....
I've heard that baked clay has a memory! ... in other
words, if it's been baked while in
a certain shape, it will remember
that shape
......if you later try to manipulate
the baked clay into another shape (such as in crocheting
or basket weaving), it will "snap" because it want to go back to the original
shape. Shelly
http://www.mindspring.com/~randomacts/polymer.htm
.....I
am Patricia Echeagaray who wrote the article in Bead and Button, and I
can tell you that the clay I used for that article was
stiffer than that which many others had used. This was what I WANTED (of course,
I didn't fully realize how soft and sticky this stuff can get until I bought a
different, fresher maybe?, lot just a week ago!)
.......I also had some breakage
with this stiffer clay, but far less if I extruded the clay immediately
after conditioning it (...when softer, it went through the gun better).
I think also it helps not to extrude
too quickly as well. Patricia
I also found that the extruding clay droops a
bit and stretches, but the softer,
warmer, or fresher the
clay, the more pronounced that stretching might be. Patricia
I've
had SO much fun playing with my new (baked) strings of Sculpey Flex ...last
night I baked up my first batch, crocheted with it and that stuff
does NOT break!
....however, then for fun...I crocheted
a few rows of raw clay,
and then baked it... .the thing just broke and stuck
straight out in the places where it HAD been in a nice "bend"...
.....so COULD
you stop some or all of the "straightening" of the bended parts by wrapping
the worked piece in something before baking again?... because I noticed that the
bottom --the portion next to the paper while baking-- hardly straightened out
(and broke) at all. Laurie
UT
What are
the best ways to extrude longer strands and to join 2
strands together? Laurie UT
...to make longer extrusions,
just add more raw clay to the clay gun before it's completely empty
from the previous extruding
....baked
ends of strings can be superglued together, or inserted into other
clay with liquid clay
Triche's demo of preparing, extruding, baking... also wrapped cylinder, basket pendant, etc. (website gone)
to make the loop clasps of my necklaces, I add this clay, 1:1, to my regular clay ..makes the clasps much more flexible and almost springy. (I also add it anywhere else I particularly need a bit of flelxibility or resilience) ... Katherine Dewey
(for info on using Bake and Bend clay for flexible items other than ropes and crochet, see Characeristics > Flexible Clays)
(for combining real macrame with polymer clay beads, etc., see Mixing Media > Needlearts, Weavings, Macrame
springs + coils ....chain....+ misc.
I made polymer (covers)
sleeves (in the form of springs or coils)
to put over leather cording ...I wanted a cording that was simple
yet more interesting than leather or buna cord, plus I wanted to be able to match
the pendant colors.
...lesson: Extrude a bunch of
clay with the second smallest round die of your clay gun. Powder it well
with cornstarch so it can't stick to itself. Wrap it around a
skewer the right diameter for the cord and bake it. When it's cool, slide
it off the skewer. You should have a long flexible polymer clay spring!
. . . .I ended mine with a round bead of clay at each end, blending in the end
of the spring. To put together the necklace, I crimp and glue a bead tip to the
leather, pull it into the end bead so it's embedded, string the sleves and pendant
and finish the other end with another bead tip. The leather cord supports the
weight of the necklace and the spiraled clay flexes beautifully.
...The springs
are pretty cool to play with, though they aren't very strong
by themselves. ...I took a length of it and coiled it into a little
basket by adding a string of raw clay between the layers.
I figured that if I posted this, all you clever clayers would go off and invent
a bunch more uses for these nifty polymer springs! Jody B.
...Toine's mini-lesson
on long chains made entirely with Premo and Sculpey Flex
http://www.geocities.com/dutchaccent/jewelry.html
I
cut up the (springs/coils) and use 'em as beads.
.........try
using acrylics to contrast the coils...looks great.
.........I made
a bunch with to look like bone, then used burnt umber to antique....got
wonderfully old looking bone beads.
...I cut wire hangers to wrap
the clay around for baking. Great uniform holes and a cheap source.
...And
you don't have to powder the clay, it will pull apart while still warm if you
don't smash it to itself.
...Use all the different shaped disks
that come with the clay gun for different effects... Extruding and wrapping
is great FUN!! Valerie
Twisteeze has a lesson on making a "rod"
type of coil bracelet by winding two colors of wire around the length of
3 or more bunched wires (at the same time)--for strength/support
... should
be possible to use polymer clay strands instead of the 2 wires to
do the same thing?... could try raw clay strands, or baked ones (wrapping with
the curve)
http://www.twisteez.com/lessons.html
(click on "Jewelry")
Banu's
lesson on making coil basket and carrying handle with rope
of clay... adds flower to side
http://tutorials.theclaystore.com/1/coiled-basket
Maria's
lesson on a making openwork basket (not-woven) with radiating
(and ovelapping) loops of clay gun ropes pressed onto a central disk...
twisted rope circle is added over the joins... then the whole (daisy looking)
shape is turned upside down and draped over a
form (small jelly glass?) and baked .. she also adds a twisted-rope
handle and flower embellishment over join of handle
http://guide.supereva.it/hobby_femminili/interventi/2002/01/87224.shtml
(see
more baskets in Woven, or could use clay braid or crochet, etc.)
Cheryl's
connected rings of Super Flex (chokers, etc.)
http://members.tripod.com/~ctrottier/clay3.html
Nan Roche video: Ancient Structures and Surfaces
(7 projects and includes material from 3 days of Nan's workshops.)
...ancient
jewelry techniques such as chain mail... loop-in-loop chains...
braids and (other?) plaits
....extrude polymer clay with layers
of color within and use these as your 'wire' or 'fiber'. ...
....learn how
to rivet with polymer clay while making a neckpiece from components made
with these surfaces.... and more.
http://www.abbadabbavideo.com/NanRoche/nrpages/nan.html
temari balls ... a Japanese
technique in which thin strands of different colors are wrapped around a base
ball shape, resulting in geometric patterns
some real temari balls : http://www.temarikai.com
... http://temari.com ...seems to me there could
be various ways to simulate these using clay:
...could
actually wrap base balls of some kind with thin extrusions from a clay
gun (using Flex clay if you needed to)
...or create "tiles"
to replicate the sections instead:
.....e.g., .could use actual clay gun
strands ---a quickie way would be to fold a strand
back and forth on a backing sheet of clay... then cut
out whatever shapes you need from the sheet (the folded
ends wouldn't be included). ...repeat for all the other colors... then put all
the pieces together puzzle style like we do mosaic tiles (some Balinese
Filigree methods could work here too).
...(see Mosaics
> Micro Mosaics for other
ways to simulate these with caning or texturing
Alan
V. used thread to create "string art" around the exteriors of polymer
pendants (more info and lessons in Mixing Media
> Fabric > Threads... could very thin baked flexible polymer clay
be used for a similar effect?
http://groups.msn.com/ALANpolymer/polyclayjewellery.msnw
Braiding
Nan
Roche's 5-strand woven braid .....(use for barrette, bracelet, or anything)
....(in this case made with "automatically wrapped"
logs, which are sanded back after baking to reveal their
hidden colors)
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/cr_clay_jewelry/article/0,,HGTV_3238_1378538,00.html
...roll logs of several colors of clay
(she recommends Premo) the same diameter as interior of clay gun
barrel
...cut thick "slices" (1/8 -1/4") of each color
...press slices together to create a new log, alternating colors and making several
repetitions along the length.
....roll to make it thin enough to go into
the extruder (...one barrelfull will make enough for one bracelet). (use the primary
color you want to show as the end piece and put that end into the extruder first
--the other colors will be inside the primary one and will show up later when
the piece is sanded).
...extrude the multi-color log...cut into 5 lengths..
...Using five strands, anchor them at one end by pressing onto a work surface,
then braid together (same as regular braiding but braid each strand over TWO strands
rather than one.)
…Flatten a log of clay the same as your primary color long
enough for the bracelet, to act as a base; lay the braid on top
of it. Roll each end with the side of your hand so that each is somewhat rounded.
Wrap around your wrist to measure, leaving the amount of looseness you want,
and trim off excess.
... Roll over the braid with a brayer to join and flatten
(to any degree you want).
... Bake the bracelet in sort of oval, ends touching.
...Sand here and there to expose the colors underneath. Use a finish or not.
other examples:
Kellie's
examples on barrettes
http://www.kelliesklay.homestead.com/barrettes.html
http://www.geocities.com/craftymichele/ma-hmpge11pcg11.htm
(gone)
....for
Kellie's lesson and other examples
based on this method of extruding
stacks of different colors, but used for Balinese Filigree
instead of for braiding, see above in Balinese Filigree > "Automatically
Wrapped"
.......also
see how these canes can be used when sliced across above in Canes
> Automatically Wrapped > dot slices
........see
more examples of automatically wrapped logs in Canes-Instr.
> Wrapped-Bullseye canes
Could cover with metallic powder before baking, and then sand down through the colors? DB
Jo Anne's braid strands all
gold (not sanded)
....also her braid has
only 4 strands ... and it's braided by crossing over 2
at a time
http://polymerclaycentral.com/pcc/swap_vessel97.html
(braided trim on black vessel... bottom of page)
Marcella's 4 cut lengths of
braid as strips applied around a long bead lengthwise
http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/ViewPhoto?u=4327525&a=31882623&p=72679125
I used Premo in my clay gun --purple, gold, turquoise, and copper
.....
after baking, I sanded the tops to expose the underlying colors with the wet/dry
sandpaper up to 1500 grit, and the buffed ...didn't use lacquer of any kind. ...It
was alot of fun to make! Kay (woven breastplate-type necklace --website?)
(see also lanyard-style woven braid cording, which may be made from clay ...above in Weaving)
(more) Websites
*Antoinetta's
making rings (Dutch Accent site, new URL)
http://www.geocities.com/dutchaccent/rings.html
I do wear my rings; some last and some break. When they are not too tight,
and made out of well-conditioned Premo, they hold up fairly well, but if you use
Sculpeyflex (or a combination of the two) they are stronger. I would never sell
them or even give them as a gift. They are too unreliable for that. Antoinetta
Kathndoll’s extruded vessels and chains
(website
gone)
Ginny's xmas tree frame (gone?)
http://members.aol.com/ftofclay/minitree.JPEG
Family
Fun's lesson on making a tea pot and set by wrapping
a wood bead with clay ropes (bees/etc.)
http://family.go.com/crafts/buildmodel/craft/beeteaset/
Violette's clay cage made of ropes
(website gone)
Cheryl's framed pin using
buna cord and similar red polymer roping, plus two rubber o-rings
(website gone)
Kirsten's clay-gun rope frames around barrette and center medallion
(website gone)
purple palillon (Rachel A's)
Celtic pins with twisted rope outlines
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292456065&p=4266958032&idx=6
(gone?)
purplepapillon's frame-and-hanger on mirror made with continuous
revolutions of clay rope onlaid (part of which opens for a hanging loop
at the top)
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292456059
(click on "2.blue&purple" in album cover window)
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292456065&p=4266982886&idx=16
(no loop at top)
*Anna's fabulous crazy patch of textures, clay gun
extrusions, surface techniques and cane sheets (on a box) (one made at Lindly
Haunani workshop) (website gone) (website
gone)
Terry's clay ropes used around joint of two lentil beads
(beads or bells inside) which is looped at two places along the way creating
loops for connecting to a cord
http://www.polymerclayexpress.com/octo2001.html
Trina's papier mache basket covered with strands
and braids of clay (website gone)
Debi Scott's various boxes and other items
using many strands of rope
(website gone)
("Polymer Clay 1 & 2")
Rachel
A's many filigree boxes (interiors,
twisted ropes, granite, roses, balls
with depressions)
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292456089
(see them all, click on Next, Next...)
(see also Beads, Onlay & Mosaics )
