How To Use Clay Tools

Sometimes referred to as a compactor a tamper is a tool with a handle similar to a shovels and a heavy square base that is used for packing and leveling materials like dirt sand and rock.

How to use clay tools. Because the clay is marked evenly youve just created your own unit of measure. DIY Wool Texture Tool. Rib tools are traditionally made of wood and are used for cutting and scraping clay but theyre easily made out of old gift cards.

Just roll out a snake of clay taking care to make it an even diameter. That means it wont be too much of a hassle to figure it out if you know how to use modeling clay. There are instructions on the package.

You can use a wire or floss to cut chunks of clay off of a block. Its cheap and easy isnt it. You can also get five different shapes individually each with five different sizes to choose from.

Most modeling clay is air drying though you can bake it if you want it to dry faster. Plastic shape templates in a few basic shapes or a few basic cutter sets. Optional clay Tools you may want to add.

Homemade clay tools can be as simple as a using a credit card for a throwing rib or as complex as constructing your own homemade extruder. In our Making Clay Tools archive youll also find out how to make your own extrusion dies from old credit cards and how to make some cool pots using the extruder. Ensure you have a section of table thats big enough to work on remember you dont need a whole table depending on the size of your work.

Pick about 5 to 10 toothpicks and tight them together. Over drying makes the clay harder to stretch and can lead to rips cracks or bulges. This is useful for accurately measuring how much you are using.