Rolling Clay

Hi Just a quick one off question I hope someone here won't mind answering. We are making many small clay flowers and have to roll the clay thinly and then cut with a pastry type cutter. What is the best surface to roll out on? We can't stop the clay sticking and damaging them. We have many thousands to do. Thank you in advance for your advice.

Mark

Reply to
usene
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Canvas stretched on board is common. Finish quality plywood also works but is more expensive and you might scratch it up with the cutters. Once the pieces are cut they should be dried on a porous surface or they may stick and break as they shrink when drying. I prefer newspaper. Depending on the humidity where you are, you may need to lightly cover them with plastic as they dry. Clay pieces can dry unevenly and crack in dry air.

You may have more questions in the future. Are you firing these pieces if not how are you finishing them? Is this real ceramic clay or the plastic self hardening kind? Just curious.

Elaine

Reply to
Elaine Stutt

Many thanks for your quick answer.

My partner has them fired locally as we don't own a kiln yet. She uses real ceramic clay. Scarva Earthstone as written on the bag.

Mark

Reply to
Mark

If you don't want the texture of the canvas on them, I hear that dry wall makes a good surface. I use canvas and then smoothe the surface with a red Sherrill rib which also aligns it to make it stronger and less likely to warp. But make sure they dry very slowly too so they don't warp. Best, Sue

Reply to
Sue Roessel Dura

The others have given you good answers. (I usually use a canvas-covered board.) But I'd just like to add that I'm partial to using "tar paper" (roofing felt) templates on *top* of the slab. You moisten them and roll them right into the slab, then trace around with a (blunt) pin tool to cut out. The beauty of this is that it is much easier to lift and handle the pieces. After they stiffen a bit, you can peel the tar paper off and re-use it over and over. If the pieces are going to be assembled into something, leave the tar paper while you do the assembly... *much* easier than working with raw slabs.

It's important to peel the tarpaper off before too much drying takes place, since the pieces would warp because the tar paper is waterproof and drying would be uneven.

"Lifetime supply" roll of roofing felt is available at Home Depot or any building supply store for $15-20. Around here (Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA) there are 2 grades. (I think they are 15 and 30 pounds.) I use the lighter grade.

Best regards.

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

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Reply to
Bob Masta

Reply to
WJ Seidl

I use thin Canvas ducking and muslin. I cut out the shapes, let set for a hour or so, then to remove the peices off the canvas, I "roll" the canvas (with the peices on it) over a table edge, pulling down on the canvas over the edge so the peices peel off as you pull the canvas...

I dry them between peices of #20 Gypsum board cut into 18x18 inch squares.. this keeps the peices from warping and allows them to dry evenly.

remember , if your going to attach them to anything, you gotta do it before the surface of your peices dries.. ive not really found a good reliable method to stick dry to dry or wet to dry peices...

if your doing thousands of the same peice, you might want to think about making a cutter die that has 50 or 100 of the shapes on it, so you can stamp out that many at once...

Reply to
moose hunter

I have a stupid and naive question which is connected with this problem: Should I put this canvas under and on clay that I want to roll ? I have a problem with sticking clay to my roller. This is really annoying. Thanks for any help :).

Joanna

Reply to
Joanna

Canvas is just covering the board, at least the way I do it. One tip that I have found helpful is to *ignore* the handles on the rolling pin. and just use the palms of your hands on the top of the actual roller portion to move the roller along. This greatly reduces the clay winding itself up around the roller for me.

On the other hand, if your clay is simply too wet, you can wedge it a bit on the canvas board and that will remove excess water before you start to roll it.

Hope this helps!

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

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Reply to
Bob Masta

I throw the clay out on canvas to thin it, then use a long dowel on each side of the slab to ensure it will be uniform. I roll them out on canvas and use clay dust or corn starch on the top if it gets sticky. Usually, I just move to a dry area of canvas and that does the trick. I roll from the middle to the far end, then turn the slab over and roll from the middle to the other end. If the slab isn't too big, I turn in 90 degrees and repeat. This gives a nice uniform slab. Best, Sue

Reply to
Sue Roessel Dura

Really? Should I not use a roller handles and it would help? I would try it, thanks. It sounds a bit strange, you know what a difference could make using or not using a handles but I'm going to check it.

This it also a good possibility to try for me - thanks :). Joanna

Reply to
Joanna

Thanks, it is an excellent explanation. I think that this prompt about clay dust (or corn starch) will make the best solution to my problem. I was thinking about something like that (after all when we rolling a cake or paste we use a flour) but I wasn't sure what I should use. I wonder that corn starch do not influence in some way to clay? Best, Joanna

Reply to
Joanna

Yes, it does sound strange, but it makes a real difference for me. I think the reason may have to do with the fact that when I use the handles, I may tend to push forward a bit too much, tending to make the roller "plow" into the clay slightly. Using only the top of the roller seems to match the forward motion to the downward force better. Or something! Whatever, it's a big difference for me. And it's easy enough to try out to see if it helps you.

Best regards,

Bob Masta dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom D A Q A R T A Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis

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Reply to
Bob Masta

If the corn starch is only on the top layer it will burn off for sure. If you wedge it back into clay a lot, it may have some influence, but I rather doubt it. If corn starch worries you, just use clay dust - that will be no problem at all. Best, Sue

Reply to
Sue Roessel Dura

Use the leg from pantyhose on your rolling pin. Never sticks. I've used the same one for a year now and it's still going strong.

I prefer a canvas covered board as the base.

Good luck with your project. It sounds fun.

Catherine in Yuma, AZ

Reply to
Cee White

I know I read someone else mention throwing the clay to thin it out but now I can't see it. I will just add to that comment that by throwing (throw the clay down at an angle), you not only are taking out a lot of the work of thinning by rolling but you are compressing and aligning the clay particles in a good way. If you do this on a cement floor to about 2" thick, you can easily move it to a covered surface (as mentioned, cloth, canvas, tar paper) and roll it out.

Donna

Reply to
DKat

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