Video #603: A cane slicing tool that makes perfectly round or perfectly square slices every time… at any thickness you desire.
Topics Covered In This Video:
- A Polymer Clay Tool invented by Karen Troise for slicing polymer clay canes.
- Karen sells them at KTWearableArt on Etsy and eBay.
- She designed the tool to make it easier to slice polymer clay canes at any thickness that you require…. very thin or super thick.
- This extruder tool is made up of an acrylic tube and a corresponding acrylic plunger rod.
- The tool comes in 5 sizes…. 3 round and 2 square.
- The round sizes are: Small (3/8th inch) for $9.99; Medium (1/2 inch) for $13.99; Large (3/4 inch) for $14.99.
- The square sizes are: Small (5/8 inch) for $13.99; Large (7/8 inch) $14.99.
- To use, first spritz some water inside the tube.
- Then reduce your cane by hand so that it easily slides into the tube.
- Use the rod to tamp down the cane inside of the tube, in order to compress and expand the cane inside of the tube, with no air pockets.
- Use the rod to push out cane at thge desired thickness.
- Slice cane with sharp stiff blade.
- This tool makes perfectly shaped and evenly sliced cane slices.
- Keeps square canes perfectly square so they fit beautifully together when making patterned cane sheets.
- I also lets you slice canes right down to the very end, with very little waste, some thing that is often difficult to do by hand.
- I give some neat little tips on using extruder disks and acrylic pieces to compress the canes more evenly.
- A plastic photo storage box holds all five tools and the promo card inside.
- Make sure to remove your cane pieces from the tool after you have cut what ever slices you need, so that the clay does not get stuck inside.
- Related Video: Polymer Cane Slicing Techniques
- Related Article: How to Slice Polymer Clay Canes
- Related Video: Simple Slicer Tool for Cutting Polymer Cane Slices
- Related Article: Slicing Fimo Nail Art Canes
- Related Video: Slicing Polymer Clay Canes With A Dull Knife Sucks
Do you have any suggestions for videos on tips, techniques or products you would like to learn more about? Let me know in the comments section below!
My goal is to help you to learn quicker and easier ways to bring up the professionalism in your polymer clay art.
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How timely! I saw a few DIY slicing techniques on Pinterest that I was just about to try but these are so much better!!!! Thank youi!
Hi Cindy, I saw the value of these immediately and stopped right over to her Etsy store and bought a set of each. (my Christmas Gift) Thank you so much for seeking out these innovated tools and bringing them to us!
What an inventive useful set of tools! Karen, you should be proud of this invention. Amazing how the square cane slices match perfectly when placed into a larger sheet!
Cindy, the addition of the presser aides assist the whole process, and hopefully, Karen can add them, or something similar, to her line. Using a sheet of graph paper underneath would help in measuring the slice sizes if you do not have the same glass mat you have in the video. If I needed a lot of slices, I think I’d try to anchor the acrylic tubes on either side with strips of polymer clay to the work surface, too. Also, since water is the lubricant, bet you could place these tubes in the fridge or freezer to help keep the clay cool as you slice it.
I love the square cane pattern, as well. Sure hope that’s in a future tute. I also keep seeing two little glass dome like things setting on top of the pink Ultradome resin light? Hmmm. Wonder what they are? LOL!
Here’s the link to Karen’s Etsy site, I love her work!
Thanks Jocelyn for the great tips and helping everyone out! As you now know, those cane designs were indeed a part of your future…. your immediate future! LOL
Those items you see on the Pink UV Lamp are actually gifts from members. One is a glass paperweight with a painted artwork and polymer clay embellishments from Claudia Rubinstein of Australia. And the other is an Abalone Shell from Marissa Marcolin, also from Australia.
I should show them up close to everyone sometime. They are both such beautiful and generous gifts from such lovely people from so very far away. I feel so lucky to have such amazing people (you included) as part of our clay family! :)
Cindy,
I’ve been following your blog for a while now, I’ve never heard of this tool, i guess you learn something new everyday!
Love this aid for precise slicing but once again, Karen does not ship to UK from her Etsy site so all the Brits lose out on many items that are created in the US.
So I expect I will have to wait for my cousin to come over and twist her arm to buy these for me in the US……boo hoo……..xx
Back again,
looked on Ebay and although the cost of Karen’s tools are reasonable I have decided that the cost of the shipping is just too much as I would want the whole set and I am not prepared to pay the high cost of shipping.
Loved the red and white “Scandi” type jewelery and guess you will use Karen’s tools in making these pieces. Can’t wait………cheers…xx
Elaine, so good to see you back! Hope you have a wonderful holiday season.
You might want to try giving these folks a call in the United Kingdom, they look like they cover the full range of acrylic and the like. They might have open cylinders, open squares and rods that they could cut to size for you at a minimum cost?
Thanks Jocelyn,
You are always looking to help other members. You are a Doll. Will see if they can help. Haven’t been very active as my sister is in hospital. She was put into a Coma after a serious operation and most of my time has been visiting her for the last month. Hopefully she is over the worst but might need another operation next week. But it’s so good to come here to take my mind off things. You have a happy holiday season too….cheers…..xx
Oh Elaine , I am so sorry to hear about your sister. Hopefully she will come out of the coma with greater health than when she went in. My heart goes out to you as you stand by her side.
What a brilliant idea. Shipping costs to Canada are prohibitive as well but thankfully I am close to the border.
Yeah, don’t you sometimes wish that darn border wasn’t so expensive to cross, Lawrence? It feels like there is always something wonderful sitting on the other side of the fence, but you have to get a little scratched up by the barbwire to go get it… metaphorically speaking of course! LOL
Thanks for highlighting these tools. I went right to her website and ordered the round ones. Will buy the square ones next week. I was thinking maybe washers might come in sizes to fit the round ones or even some flat buttons might work. I’ll have to think about what would work with the square ones. I may have to find a handy friend who could cut them for me. What kind of tools did you use to cut the acrylic? I may be able to do it myself.
Fantastic ideas for pushers Peg! I bet even a few squares of a cereal box would work temporarily for the square ones. I have never cut Plexiglas before and ended up breaking a jewelry jaw blade and melting one of my JoolTool Disks, grinding them to the right shape. I am sure there is an easier way to cut it. Maybe Karen the inventor knows? Now that I have them cut, it doesn’t matter, but I wouldn’t recommend my way of doing it to others! ;)
Leave it to you Cindy to come up with the answer to filling the gap. Perhaps Karen will notice and be doing something about that herself… :0)
A great video with lots of idea! (your bracelet and necklace are great btw! – but where are the earrings? lol)
Yes Aims, perhaps Karen will. I am sure she could figure out an easier way to do it too. I do know she has been looking for a supplier for getting rods with a closer fit, but hasn’t been able to source one yet.
As far as no earrings…. I didn’t make any… ran out of time… plus wouldn’t that have looked a little too matchy-matchy? I had a hard enough time putting two matching items on at the same time as it was. (I drove my mom crazy when I was a kid. She had sewn my up a whole bunch of matching summer outfits and I refused to wear the proper sets together. Mixed and Matched every one of them!) :)
I ran up to JoAnns to pick up some clay (1/2 price on the blocks + 20% off total w/oupon) and I found some little wooden disks but only 1 size and I wasn’t sure it was the right size. I will go to the hardware store when my round set gets here and see about the washers or maybe they have some acrylic ones that will work.
Hello!
I llieeve in Brazil and will start work with poymer clay.
I saw some videos and I want to know where I can buy some tools that you show. Do you sell them?
If yes, I will send my list of products, ok?
Thank you so much and sorry my english… kkkk
Patricia.
Hi Patricia, I am sorry but we do not sell the tools that we demo at this time. We do try and add links to where they can be purchased if possible. It would be best if you were to do a Google search to see if the products are available in your area or if there are places that will ship to you at a reasonable cost. Good luck!
Yippee! I got my cane extruders today and I found that a washer does fit the largest round extruder, but I don’t have anything figured out for the rest. I am going to try cutting out some shapes from a cd or cd case. Will let you know if it works.
Okay, blabbermouth me again. I have not had time to play with my new extruder set, but I did manage to make the pusher helpers (don’t know what else to call them). For the largest round one, I used a washer. I used bake and bond to put on a thin layer of clay to cover up the hole in the washer. No problem. The washer I had for themid size round cane was a little too small, so I added a bit of clay to fill the hole and to make the washer a little bigger. I also added a piece of cardstock for strength. For the smallest round, and the square extruders, I layered card stock and clay so there are 3 layers of cardstick and 2 layers of clay, alternating. After baking, the only one I needed to adjust was the smallest round one. It was a little too big so I used my tiny file to make it fit. This seemed easier than using plastic since I would have to use my tin snips and I’m sure I would have to do alot of filing. Well, off to work I go. I’d rather stay home and play but the mortgage company requires money from me every month to stay here. LOL
In case anyone else wants to make pusher helpers, forget the cardstock. It won’t take long to disintegrate. A little of the clay still smooshed toward the back but not much. If you make your own out of whatever I suggest that you don’t fret if you don’t make it a perfect fit. I think it might need just a tiny micro space kind of like juice cans need air spout and a pouring spout. The slices came out perfect and now I am excited to use them. I’m making tiny bird house for a friend and I think I’ll put the slices on one of them. Enjoy y
our day.
What a fantastic woman you are Peg for coming up with all these ideas for alternative ways of making it work! Thank you so much for coming back here and sharing your results. It means a lot to the entire community!
Thanks, Cindy. I’m not much of an original thinker but I’m a pretty good mimic and pretty good at buiding on. It was fun trying to figure out what would work.
Basically, I just traced around the acrylic rod and made sure I cut on the outside edge of the scrap clay so it was bigger than the rod. The easiest would be a couple of layers of clay. It’ll work for awhile and if/when it breaks, make another.
Useful tools, and video, thanks…Having the od of the rod and id of the tube so different would drive me crazy. It occurred to me that it might be possible to find washers that fit the different round tubes, but for the square ones, I guess the cutting and filing would be the only option.
Didn’t see that Peg already came up with the washer idea…but if you know an electrician, there are those round punch-outs on the metal housings for outlets…:o)
I’ve got my cane extruders ordered and am anxiously awaiting delivery. I also thought of washers as a pusher but thought couldn’t they be made out of polymer clay (well sanded)? Has anyone tried that yet? I work for in a manufacturing plant that punches it’s own sheet metal. There are big bins of punched out shapes, squares, circles, ovals, etc. I thought it was a crafter’s dream when I first saw it. Maybe I’ll ask Larry if I can go rooting through his bin sometime soon. :-)
Oh, a boneyard! How exciting Dawn. When I was cutting glass my brother would go through the glass in the boneyard where he worked. Treasures!
Ooh, the boneyard. Love it. I was looking through Larry’s bin this afternoon and there were all kinds of shapes and sizes of little metal pieces. I think I will find some treasures in there.
I went to etsy to check out this product. I went to order and it said they aren’t shipping to the US. What????
Hi Laurie, I am guessing that she ships to the US since she is in the US. Maybe where she says that she is selling to select countries, maybe she means in addition to the US? You should contact her though, if you Mohave any questions.
I have spent days looking for Karen Troise polymer cane extruder does she still sell then? If so help me find them I am pulling my hair out thanks.
Hi Dorthy, I believe Karen is trying to get a patent on her product and has taken it off the market until then.