I’ve been making large sheets of clay lately. Without something to stop it, the clay can spread beyond the rollers and get rather ragged. These simple stoppers are my attempt to get smoother edges when rolling large sheets of clay.
First, I made a 6mm thick slab of clay. Then, I brought the rollers of the clay machine together so they were touching. Using an Xacto blade, I cut two pieces of clay to fit the necessary shape. I made several adjustments so they fit well, but didn’t touch the rollers. I don’t want the rollers to be scratched.
Next, I made another slab of clay about 5mm thick. I made this slab thinner to allow space for foam tape. I cut two rectangles from the clay to match the length of the first pieces.
I used Kato PolyPaste to adhere the pieces at right angles to make sure they fused together. The carved out half circle in the photo above is to allow space for the bolt that’s on one end of the clay machine.
After I baked them, I sanded the faces really well and rounded the corners. I wanted to make a smooth surface for the clay to slide against.
I adhere these to the metal bar above the roller on the dial side using the double-faced foam tape that came with the clay machine.
When the space between the rollers widens, they move along with one roller. This leaves a gap on one side. I couldn’t figure out a way around this. So, they’re not perfect, but they do help.
If you use the following template, reduce it to 2-3/16″ wide. Also, be sure to test fit your clay before baking it, just in case your machine is a bit different than mine.
Polymer Clay Journey 