# Polymer Clay



## papaturner (Mar 12, 2016)

This is my go at a  Polymer clay blank.It is NOT without errors. Needles to say I have a bit of work to do.  I had a problem keeping the blank clean thru the process and as you can see it is not as smooth as it ought to be. However I am not giving up and will continue to try.  

Do have a question for someone who may know.  How do you tell if the blank is hard enough? Or maybe too hard. Is there some sort of test?


Thanks for help and C & C are welcome.

View in Gallery


View in Gallery


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## Charlie_W (Mar 12, 2016)

Wow Perry! 

Very nice blank!....even if it threw you some curves!:biggrin:


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## lyonsacc (Mar 12, 2016)

Nice looking pen.  I have tried some white poly clay blanks (trying to make golf ball looking ones) and never had one didn't pick up a mess of lint.  

As far as hard enough - pretty hard, you shouldn't be able to mark it without some significant effort/hard scraping.  Now, it might be my imagination, but I think the ones I have worked on took a few hours or a few days after cooking to get really hard.

Hope that helps.  
I haven't yet found a solution to keeping them cleaner as I make them (but I don't do that many, so . . .)

Dave


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## papaturner (Mar 12, 2016)

lyonsacc said:


> Nice looking pen.  I have tried some white poly clay blanks (trying to make golf ball looking ones) and never had one didn't pick up a mess of lint.
> 
> As far as hard enough - pretty hard, you shouldn't be able to mark it without some significant effort/hard scraping.  Now, it might be my imagination, but I think the ones I have worked on took a few hours or a few days after cooking to get really hard.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks Dave. I was wondering if it would change over time. Probably don`t need to adjust until it has some time on it.
Thanks again.


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## papaturner (Mar 12, 2016)

Charlie_W said:


> Wow Perry!
> 
> Very nice blank!....even if it threw you some curves!:biggrin:



Thanks Charlie. Maybe I learned a bit this go and the next will be better.
Hope to see you at MAPG.


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## campzeke (Mar 12, 2016)

That is really cool! Great job Perry! I have been thinking about you all day. I finally got around to turning the FLGAPG blank you made. I think it came out pretty good! Thanks again.


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## papaturner (Mar 12, 2016)

campzeke said:


> That is really cool! Great job Perry! I have been thinking about you all day. I finally got around to turning the FLGAPG blank you made. I think it came out pretty good! Thanks again.



You are very welcome. You did a great job. Glad you liked it. Did it turn good for you?


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## MrsPTownSubbie (Mar 12, 2016)

Great job Perry!  You can clean the blank while it's still raw (before baking) with a cleaning wipe / rag. Undercured clay will stay soft, even after cooling, but as long as it's hard after cooling, you should be fine.  How long and what temp did you bake it at?


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## papaturner (Mar 13, 2016)

MrsPTownSubbie said:


> Great job Perry!  You can clean the blank while it's still raw (before baking) with a cleaning wipe / rag. Undercured clay will stay soft, even after cooling, but as long as it's hard after cooling, you should be fine.  How long and what temp did you bake it at?



Thanks for the cleaning advice and the kind words. I baked at 275 for 15 minutes and left in the oven until completely cool. It is in fact hard I just wasn`t sure if its hard enough.
Thanks again.


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## campzeke (Mar 13, 2016)

papaturner said:


> campzeke said:
> 
> 
> > That is really cool! Great job Perry! I have been thinking about you all day. I finally got around to turning the FLGAPG blank you made. I think it came out pretty good! Thanks again.
> ...



No problems at all. I just took light cuts and didn't rush it. This one is a keeper for me. I already had someone wanting to buy it yesterday and had to turn them down. IT's MINE! Thanks again .... :laugh::laugh:


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