beadyeyedbrat

Tools

Hows and Whys and Tricks and Tips

Tips and Advice for Your Tools

Every Day Polymer Clay Tools

Sue Lee's Bead Rollers
Tumbler Sanding
Desiree McCrorey

Tool Maintenance

Beginner's Tools Shopping List
Poly Parrot

Home Made File File
Lapidary Journal

Pasta Machine Cleaning
Desiree McCrorey

Home-Made Tools

Bead Box
Jeanne Rhea
PcPolyzine
Bead Pusher Tool
Sunni Bergeron
PcPolyzine

Garie Sim's Handmade Tools

Garie International

Heart Shaping Tool
Candice Mathewson
Polymer Clay Central

Making a Better Dremel Mandrel
Desiree McCrorey
Making a Better Buffing Wheel
Desiree McCrorey

Tools from Trash
Trina Williams
PcPolyzine
Tube Bead Cutter
Trina Williams
PcPolyzine

Tool Sources

American Science & Surplus
Boston Craftworks
Clay Factory of Escondido
Dremel Tool

Garie International (Singapore)
Harbor Freight
Polymer Clay Australia
Polymer Clay Express

Polymer Clay Pit (UK)
Rings N Things
Poly-Tools
Tandy Leather

Don't forget surplus stores, hardware stores and your local WalMart. Thrift shops, yard sales and swap meets are also good sources.  Beauty supply stores have nifty brushes and nail tools.

My list of favorite tools:

Beginner tools
Roller
Work surface
Blade

Intermediate
Needle tool
Pasta Machine

Why Do We?

Use dental tools? They are great for scratching detail into clay and for sculpture. They also help get clay bits out of other tools.

Use a food processor? Breaks up clay and begins the conditioning process. Also good to use on older clay when adding plasticizer. Add bits of other material and process just a bit. Gather for faux stones.

Save old toothbrushes? They're great for scrubbing clay from tools, pasta machines, molds and texture sheets. Use one to help Armor All get into mold crevices. Dip brush into paint and flick paint onto clay.