The tools and equipment described here are those needed to work with metal clay. Most can be used with all clay types as long as the tool can be washed in between uses.
Items that cannot be shared between unfired silver and base clays are those that capture clay residue/dust like sandpaper, files, and brushes.
Tools and equipment can be divided into two categories, basic/household tools and specialty tools and equipment. Typically, a new metal clay artist begins to create their work with basic tools. When they learn more, the desire for more equipment grows, and the toolbox becomes fuller.
Although most of these tools can be purchased on sites that specialize in metal clay supplies, many can be found in and around the house and are a great way to begin experimenting with metal clay. You can make beautiful pieces from beginning to end using just the tools listed below and a little imagination.
Rolling a texture with playing card spacers, with leather as a back texture and net as the front texture using a pipe as a roller.
Making holes with plastic small diameter drinking straw
Drying clay on a lightbulb to make a dome
Rolling a snake (coil) with an old CD case
Making
Firing
If you really want to get started with items collected from around the house, the only firing option is to use a gas stove. The metal clay must be placed directly over the flame, and you must keep a sharp eye on the piece as it fires to ensure that it doesn’t get so hot that it melts. If you don’t have a gas stove then the next best thing is a small butane torch though you will need a heat resistant surface to fire on. Make sure to review videos before you begin and practice common sense safety procedures. See Metal Clay Firing Methods and Equipment for more information.
Note: only completely dry, fine silver (.999) can be fired on a kitchen stove or with a torch!
Finishing and Polishing
Eventually, an experienced metal clay artist will want to work with more sophisticated supplies. Most of the tools mentioned above can be replaced with a commercially manufactured version. The tools listed below will inspire your work process and creativity to grow.
Carving designs using mini carving tools
Commercially available metal clay texture tiles
Rolling out clay with thickness slats on a teflon sheet with a commercial metal clay roller
Beehive kiln
Making
Firing
A camping stove like the Speedfire Cone System, microwave kiln, or a beehive kiln like the Ultralite are the least expensive, intermediate ways to fire metal clay.
Note: Although small pieces of copper and bronze clay can be fired with a butane torch – copper and bronze are trickier than fine silver due to the oxidation that forms when those metals are heated, and only fine silver can be fired in a microwave – please be sure to research these firing processes online to become familiar with the techniques.
Please see this article for more information about firing choices.
Finishing
There are a variety of small metal clay / glass kilns on the market
A rotary tool can be very handy! they work well with 3M Rotary Disks
There are any number of more exotic tools and supplies that you can collect for designing and creating with unfired metal clay. The tools listed below are investments that you might want to make to the tools you use to fire and finish the work.
Firing
Finishing
The following professional tools are often used when the finished look becomes a critical aspect of one’s work.
There’s always a possibility that you’ll run across a finishing problem that hasn’t been addressed here, so what should you do then? One of the most rewarding aspects of being a jewelry maker is problem solving. So if you don’t know of or own a specific tool, go ahead and invent it! Be ingenious and make what is needed in order to do what needs to be done. That’s part of the fun.
