Polymer Clay Segment & Inlay

Madrone open form

Madrone open form 2

Over the holidays I experimented with a new turning material “Polymer Clay”. I was familiar with this materials use in crafts and I also saw a few pens made from it. Since that time I have been wanting to experiment with it for use as a substitute for finials, inlays and borders in turned pieces.

Polymer clay is a clay that at room temperature is soft and pliable. It is hardened by cooking it at 275 degrees for 30 minutes per 1/4 inch (Premo brand). When it is hardened correctly (which I have found to be a bit unpredictable) it turns easily, somewhat like acrylic. Many different effects are possible. In this case I used extruded polymer clay hearts, embedded in a black base clay as the decorative segment in the Madrone hollow form.

Donny


First knead black clay and then roll it to a consistent thickness between a couple of 1/4 thick slats. Playmer #1
Then a slice of 4″ black pipe was used as a cookie cutter to make a more or less round disk. Polymer cookie cutter
Use previously extruded and baked heart shaped strips. Cut them to lengths about equal to the radius. Hearts
Push the heart strips into the clay in a radial pattern. Insure there are no voids. Bake this disk at 275 degrees for 30min. Embeded hearts
Make a jam chuck with a tenon in the middle that matches the same size hole drilled in the disk. Polymer chuck
Mount the disk on the jam chuck with hot melt glue and turn the face flat. Face  one
Flip it over and turn the alternate surface flat. Face 2
Trim the edge with a skew. Polymer edge
The disk is now ready to laminate in the turning. Completed disk
I glued this disk between the sections of a turned Madrone form, then hollowed it. Madrone open form

Visit the store for books on wood turning techniques, software and plans. Donny png

4 thoughts on “Polymer Clay Segment & Inlay”

  1. Great information, I have used clay in a couple of projects, mainly for accent pieces but never on this scale. Great idea.
    Doug in AZ.

  2. Thanks for visiting Doug,
    I still have trouble getting it to bake consistently, when that is resolved I will be using it for many accents.
    Donnie

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