Metal Clay Tools: The Basics – Cards and Slats

The past couple of months have seemed like non-stop traveling with hardly time to change my clothes, let alone clean the studio. ( or answer emails properly ) Don’t get me wrong, I love what I do, I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be doing what I do, meet the people I meet and actually enjoy my “job”. However, with so much traveling, the studio chores fell by the wayside and a huge mound of stuff got piled high on my work bench and tables. Yesterday I finally got somewhat caught up on my emails, bill paying, invoicing, paper work etc. …well at least to the best of my capabilities. One can only do so much office work without going batty.

So into the studio I trekked. My tables seemed like a Jackson Pollack painting made of jewelry findings, jewelry tools and metal clay supplies. Not one square inch of table top was visible. A couple of hours later I had made progress. During my cleaning frenzy, I came across a box that I hadn’t seen in a long while. Inside I found my first set of metal clay tools and the set of cards that I used. I had forgotten about them, but they immediately brought back memories of making metal clay jewelry in my walk-in closet studio in San Francisco. So I thought it would make good post for people just starting out and even those of use who have experience.

When I teach the Rio Reward Certification Class I tell my students that you don’t need to buy every new tool on the market. Sometimes the simple things work the best. But I also advise them to spend money on good quality tools. If you buy a good quality tool it can last a very long time. But I digress, back to the cards.

Cards are used by metal clay artists and polymer clay as a way to roll out clay to a uniform thickness. Stack an equal amount of cards on each side of the clay and then use a roller to roll out the clay. The cards prevents the roller from making uneven thicknesses. They also are used to communicate with other metal clay artists how thick to roll the clay. The cards are such a simple solution and were my favorite for years. As you can see in the close up photo I taped the cards together to prevent them from slipping. At first I tried regular Scotch tape but they came undone after a few days. So I came up with the idea of using packing tape. An elegant solution that added very little thickness and didn’t come undone. Simply wrap the stack of cards once with the tape and Viola! To further enhance ease of use I also use the corresponding card number to face outward on the taped stack. For 5 cards thick, I used the 5 of hearts and so on. This made finding the correct thickness very easy.

Then I found the graduated slats.

I was happy using the cards, until I found the slats. Encouraged by a friend I try them out and have never looked back. They are color coded to indicate the various thicknesses. Most of my jewelry is on the large side of drama. The slats provide me with lots of room to roll out longer sections of clay. They also do not slip and side around like cards do.

I highly recommend using the slats for both beginners and those with more experience. You won’t regret it. Most metal clay supply companies like Rio Grande and Whole Lotta Whimsy carry them.

All that being said, some great things can be made with the simplest of tools. After all I did win first place in the 2007 Saul Bell competition metal clay division by using yes, the simple inexpensive and humble cards. Make something great today.