Video #665: If you own an extruder, then you will likely end up collecting a lot of different patterned dies and discs.
Topics Covered In This Video:
- In today’s studio tip, I’m going to talk about some ideas for managing and storing your polymer clay extruder disks.
- If you don’t know already, a polymer clay extruder is a tool where you put polymer clay into the barrel, put a pattern shaped disk (or die) in the end and extrude long snakes of shaped clay.
- Reference to Lucy Clay CzeXtruder XXL HD video.
- Reference to previous video comparing Makins and Walnut Hollow Polymer Clay Extruders.
- If you own an extruder, you will likely end up collecting a lot of different patterned dies… because the more dies you have… the more patterns you can extrude.
- The Makins Extruder and the Walnut Hollow Extruder, come with a storage box for the tool and the dies. But as you collect dies from other places like the (i.e. Cynthia Tinapple Polymer Clay Extruder Disks… and Lucy Clay CzExtruder Disks), then you are going to eventually need to store and organize all of your extra disks.
- I share a variety of different ideas for storing polymer clay extruder disks, including magnets, pill bottles and coin books.
- Related Video: Lucy Clay CzeXtruder XXL HD Review
- Related Video: Makins Versus Walnut Hollow Polymer Clay Extruders
- Related Video: Cynthia Tinapple Polymer Clay Extruder Disks
- Related Video: How To Clean Your Polymer Clay Extruder
- Related Article: Polymer Clay “Hair” Extrusions
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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Looking forward to hearing from you!
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Thanks, Cindy – some good ideas here.
I bought a dinky little coin holder from Hobby Lobby but found it a bit fiddly to extract the dies. If stored upright it was OK but they tended to fall out when I picked up the folder – it didn’t have flaps over the pockets so maybe the flappy sort would do better?
I’ve been using magnetic sheeting inside DVD cases for the Makins, Walnut Hollow and Cynthia Tinapple dies for a while. It is a great way to store them. I use three cases and store by basic shapes; ie round, square, triangular so they’re easily found.
When I bought the first of the Lucy CZ dies I thought I’d do the same but, as you’ve pointed out, the enamel paint coating means the magnetic sheets are not strong enough to hold them. Enter the rare earth magnets! I glued the magnets to some cardboard cut to fit the inside of a DVD case. Yes, I like to have a uniform storage style :-) This turned out to be effective for disks 1 to 7 but quite useless with disc 8. Diane of Van Island Jewels found the answer to that, bless her. The latest dies are stainless steel and so magnets, even rare earth stronger ones, will not hold them in place. Soooo…. back to the drawing board!
I went back to basics and stuck duct tape on the backs of the discs so the dies stay put and can stay in their original mini CD cases. I printed the die shapes for each set and put that in the front cover so it’s easy to see which die I need at a glance. When the duct tape loses it’s stickability it’s easy enough and cheap enough to replace. Problem solved!
Now the new discs will have 9 dies so maybe the storage case will be different? Hope not!
From what I can tell all disks being made from now on will have 9 designs instead of 8. The hole in the center will now have a design in it. Since disc #1 to #8 will now have 1 more design each… disc #9 has all those designs… should you have the older versions without the design in the middle. If you buy the new #1 to #8 designs you won’t need to buy #9. If you have the old ones like I do, you will need to buy #9 to have everything up to date. As far as what type of package they are in… I have no idea. I like your duct tape idea if you want to keep them in the cases. The bottles take up the least amount of room. So it really depends on your needs.
I got a little coin folder from China with clear vinyl pages. There were different kinds, but the one I purchased had individual slots to slip the coin inside. The slots were 3.3 cm, which is just over 1 1/4 in width. There were 120 slots in this folder. The discs from all the different extruders fit very nicely. This is the name of the coin folder:
120 Coin Holder Collection Storage Collecting Money Penny Pockets Album Book. I bought it on eBay from tradecenter2010. It cost $3.82 USD. This should hold all your extruder discs unless you have more than 120.
Thank you Susan for passing this info along… That was very helpful!
Another way to store the dies is in pill sorters… those clear plastic 7 days a week boxes from the pharmacy or grocery store. If you can find one with AM and PM dividers it will hold 14 sets of Lucy dies. Just stick a label over the day or AM/PM and write the number of the disc set on it. At the rate Lucy CZ are creating new discs maybe buy two pill sorter boxes now as you’ll need them before too long :-)
Great idea Chrissie! I do believe they will keep making the disk… the more design you can do with the same machine… the better!
These are all great ideas for storing those sneaky little dies. Now all I have to do is get enough of them for storage to be a problem! :)
A little bit off-topic, but does anyone know whether the dies from one manufacturer are compatible with another extruder? IE. Could I use Lucy Clay dies in a Makins extruder until I can convince my family that I DON’T want any more “stuff” for Christmas, I want the Lucy Clay Extruder darn it all! (Or maybe the Lucy Clay Cane Slicer. Decisions, decisions. But I do have a birthday in January!) Are the extruders teh same barrel diameter, or do they deliberately make them different?
Also, FYI, I got a Makins Professional Extruder last week because Amazon.ca said that it was stainless steel. However, the pamphlet that came with the tool when it arrived says that it is anodized aluminum. I loved using the extruder (previously had one of those nasty cheap little thumb push jobbies, which I was totally unable to get even half an inch of clay out of!), but am a bit ticked that it is apparently not as advertised.
Hi Doreen, yes the LC Clay disks will fit into the Makins and the Walnut Hollow extruders… so you can start collecting and using the disks first and replace the extruder if or when your Makins eventually breaks or your family gets you one as a gift. Sorry to hear about getting the wrong machine… I would complain if I were you. Companies need to deliver what they say they will deliver, or at ;east explain why something is different than you expected.
Cindy, you sold me on the LucyClay extruder discs. I got them. Five came in plastic cd cases; four came in little plastic bags. None came with any information. They sell the information on Etsy but only in digital form.
You have actual printed documentation, in color! Did I need to get the Lucy Clay Extruder Everything Box to get that piece of information? Is there somewhere I can get the chart or the physical booklets?
Thank you.
Not sure if this is what you’re looking for, but you can take a look here.
They have some guides on how to use the discs and coloring pages as well. If you go to the last page on some of the guides, you’ll see a page with all the discs listed.
I store my discs in pill monthly pill boxes and use a permanent marker to label the shapes inside. That works for me.
That’s a great tip Deborah! Thank you for sharing it with everyone!
Monthly pill sorters! That’s a neat idea, I’ll have to look into that! Maybe you could fit several in each slot, like varied sizes of circle or something to reduce the space needed. Thanks Deborah J!
Hi Cindy,
On your video for storage of extruder dies you mention getting them on the internet but I just can’t find them. Could you share the link, please?
Jill
Lonely Canadian in the U.K.
Hi Jill, don’t be lonely. There are lot’s of clayers in the UK. You should look up the British Polymer Clay Guild, they have groups all over the UK that might be fun for you to connect with others with.
Here is my affiliate link to the Lucy Clay Discs on the US Amazon site, but you will likely be able to find then at the UK Amazon site as well. Also try going directly to Lucy Clay, I’m sure they would ship to the UK.