Video #525: With much less effort than hand sanding techniques, your polymer clay pieces will become beautiful and shiny!
Topics Covered In This Video:
- Visiting with the Vancouver Polymer Clay Guild, out in in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada.
- Demonstrating how easy it is to sand and buff your polymer clay using a JoolTool.
- The JoolTool is a rotary tool that has a variety of accessories you can use to sand, buff, polish, grind, sharpen… and much more.
- In this video, I do a quick demo, using the different abrasives suitable for polymer clay sanding and buffing.
- The JoolTool can be used with flat, round, and sculptural polymer clay pieces.
- For the flat pieces the Trizact disks and Microfinishing Films are used on the see-through Ninja Discs and can be used to shape and smooth polymer clay.
- For Rounded surfaces the 3-M Bristle Brushes are used for sanding the surface smooth.
- The felt Ninja Disc and the Jeweler’s grade Muslin Buffing wheel are used for polishing to a high shine.
- One advantage to the JoolTool, besides just being a faster way to sand and buff your polymer clay, is that it doesn’t take much effort to hold your piece, since it is the machine doing all the work.
- It is great for people with hand mobility and strength issues, like Arthritis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
- Much faster and easier than sanding by hand.
- Related Video: Vancouver Polymer Clay Meetup
- Related Video: JoolTool Introduction Buffing Polymer Clay
- Related Video: How to Buff Polymer Clay Using a JoolTool
- Related Video: How To Get Shiny Polymer Clay Using Renaissance Wax
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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Love the jooltool, best investment I ever made (besides you Cindy)
:) You’re going to love the new training we are working on for the JoolTool too Dixie Ann!
I really enjoyed seeing the demonstration on the Jooj Tool. I did not know anything about it.
Thank you,
Dawn
Thanks Dawn, it is a really neat tool to work with!
Cindy,
So glad to see you have made strides to finishing this long awaited kit for the jool tool. I am a most impatient person. But am learning to be better. Health challenges have forced me to learn patience that I lack. The jool tool will be a most helpful addition to the new way I am learning to work with clay and many other things. Over the summer I suffered a stroke followed by a heart attack within a two week period. I think someone is trying to teach me lessons I have been unwilling to learn. Patience is the worst for me , so let me say thank you for all your hard work in getting this together for us. We really appreciate all your efforts in figuring this out . You are the best .
Oh Karen you poor thing! I have been thinking about you lately and have been wondering how you are, but had no idea you have suffered a stroke AND a heart attack! How awful. I hope you are feeling better now. I am so happy that you are here to tell us about it. Have you loss any use of your hands? Is that what you meant about learning new ways to work with clay and about being patient? I do hope you are still able to make your wonderful flowers. The JoolTool will definitely help with your finishing chores. We have the kit all figured out now and some training that we have filmed and are putting together that will be a great help. SO stay tuned… (which might require a little more practice of being patient.) ;) Please take care of yourself. I hope Dave is pampering you and that you are recovering quickly. All my love ~Cindy
Dear Karon;
I am sorry to hear about your recent stroke and heart attack. I hope you are doing better and have a great support group of people around you as you recover and adjust.
My Mom had a stroke back in 2011. We were lucky to have a great support team of family, therapists and friends. I really hated when someone would ask her when she ‘would be back to normal’. She would get a pained look on her face. I would tell her that she is ‘normal’–that this is her ‘new normal’–things may not be the same as before, but she is ‘normal’. Once she understood that and accepted it she went back to her paintings and puzzles and created many amazing pieces of her work that ‘normal’ people could only dream about creating. Yes it may have taken her longer to create and may have been more difficult to complete, but she did it.
I see from your post that you have accepted your setback by saying that you are learning to create ‘the new way’. Good for you. I know I am looking forward to seeing many more of your amazing creations and I think I can also speak for the rest of the PCT Community that they will be looking for your work also.
Good Luck!!!!! Keep claying!
Mari H
Hi KarenKay, so sorry to hear about your medical problems this past summer. Here is hoping you recover well and are able to get back to your clay play as I know how much it means to you doll! (((hugs)))
Oh, Karon, I am so sorry to hear about those health issues. Hope you and the hub will restructure so that you feel happier and more secure while your recover. And cardio/pulm rehab these days really really helps, especially if they have a pool program! Hope you are in a good program and feeling better each day.
And I agree, I so appreciate Cindy and Doug sticking with the enhanced JoolTool rollout. It will change the poly clay industry, and make tedious painful work much faster and safer. And allow more folks to enter the professional finish realm so they can turn their hobby into a small business.
When I get it, I am going back to old training by finding a couple of thin leather gloves at resale so I’ll feel more confident moving the object around, LOL!
I’m sorry to hear about your health problems! Do take care and get well soon! Your flowers are so amazing so, I hope you can keep up your beautiful craft! This Jooltool must be very helpfully for you. Still debating on getting one.
Thanks for your well wishes and concern. I am doing okay. My left side was effected by the stroke and I am learning what I need to do differently to be able to do what I love, the flowers. I am lucky to have one of the best hospital groups for stroke right here in Spokane. They are nationally acclaimed for their programs. I believe that I am recovering quite well and will have full use of all back eventually. But if not I will become adjusted to ” my new reality” . The Drs have already warned us that reality changes as we go. My family has been stalwart and always near to help me learn and progress. Though they would be happy to do everything for me and not let me lift a finger they too are learning to let me do as much as I am able.
Thus far I am able to do almost everything , being right handed is a great help there, with only a few things that I must learn differently. I am starting small, making sure that all steps can be done . I am looking forward to the ability to sand and buff on the jool tool as I am sure that it will be less strenuous on the motor skills I am redeveloping in my left hand and arm.
I have kept up on watching the videos and look forward to the time I can make the newest ones. I will be starting on the latest set tomorrow. It will be lots of fun .
Hurry with the kit to make my jool tool work … Oh yes you said I need more patience .. This is me being patient. Lol
Karon,
If, I were you I’d squeeze, condition, and warm up varied sizes of balls of clay. Then make snakes, then, practice working with just certain fingers. It teaches each nerve the proper way back, especially when you use both sides of your arms/hands at the same time, then split off into each side separately.
I do it, and I swear, if I am losing myelin, I will do my best to teach existing circuits a better path, plus encourages new nerves that pop out take over.
Hugs, prayers, and best wishes….
Jocelyn
Do you have a Canadian source for the accessories? I have the Jooltool with the felt pad, but would love to get the muslim wheel and the sanding pads for round surfaces!
Speedy recovery to karon. This itself gives me lot of motivation to try more!
And Cindy..can you let me know if 8mm and 10mm round and oval beads can be sanded with this tool? I mean without hurting the fingers :)
Also Cindy, is there a whole kit that can be purchased?
This was a great demo. I had heard of a “jool tool” but didn’t understand what it was. Obviously, I cannot live without one (now). LOL.
I popped over to Amazon to look at prices and saw they had deluxe kits, pro, etc. Do you have an opinion of which is needed? I see that the Jool Tool could also be used for working with harder materials like stones – so maybe I don’t need the top of the line kit? Just kind of wondering what is the “bare bones” version I might want or if I would be better off saving up for a deluxe one.
Thanks for the great demo!
Lena
Hi everyone, we will have all your answers in regards to the JoolTool very soon. Doug and I are right now working on a really awesome launch with training videos and prizes and such. It will be worth your while if you can just hang on for a bit longer! I know it’s hard to wait but we are close… I promise! :)
PS: Yes Suguna, you will be able to sand and buff even the tiny round beads… so stay tuned!
Thanks Cindy..That means good bye to hours of rotation in the lortone tumbler.i got so tired that i stopped sanding small beads ..plus the drilling vice looks like a good option..
Hope it all fits the budget :)
Hi Cindy,
Great demo of the JoolTool and really looking forward to learning what you have in store for us
Now this might sound like a crazy question but as the surface area is considerably more than a Dremel, can two people use it at the same time
Here in the UK it will cost us a lot more to purchase and ship so a couple of us thought we could “share it”. Obviously we would not want to burn out the motor, but for tiny beads??? What are your thoughts about this?
……….cheers xx……………
Hi Elaine, the JoolTool is really designed for one person to use it at a time. The only thing I can think of where two people could use it would be one of those buffers with the two ends on it. Even then it might be a little crowded for two to use one of those and they’d have to both need it at the same speed to work.
If you’re talking about taking the machine back and forth between two houses, than that would not be a problem at all. The JoolTool is small and portable and would be easy to share between friends (Though I’d have difficulty sharing fairly!) ;)
I am probably alone here, but I do hope that the focus of the paid tutorials do not turn to relying on the Jooltool for the sanding, buffing, finishing stages.(Maybe turn those to a separate video segment if they do make their way into the paid tutorials?) Lets face it, there are many of us out here that may not be able to afford it. Yes, I have been saving for it, but when all is said and done if the package ends up being over a certain price point, I will not be able to get it. *sad face*
I do know this tool would be absolutely invaluable for my nerve condition. It would certainly allow me to play in my studio for longer than I can now. It would mean that I could actually sand a piece and then not have to take 3 days off afterwards because I cannot feel my fingertips and hands at all afterwards. It might also cut down on some other issues that I have that have kept me out of my studio as of late. I surely do want it. I just have to keep reminding myself about priorities.
I look forward to seeing the “kit” that has been put together for this. I know, like others have said, trying to figure out which one is just right and figuring out which parts and attachments are just the right ones for polymer clay are a bit daunting. So I am very much looking forward to seeing what has been put together.
Hi Chelsea, don’t worry I would never expect that everyone would be able to afford a high-end tool such as the JoolTool and therefor would not include videos in the membership that would require the use of it. I will however feature tools I love, no matter the price, in the free videos whenever I think it would interest people. As far as the JoolTool Training goes, that will be for those who buy the JoolTool and not for those who do not.
Anytime I use a product in a paid tutorial for the membership, I try to use products that are reasonably priced and as widely available as possible, or can be substituted in some way. For people that are tight on funds, and don’t want to purchase the materials for a tutorial, then buying the tutorials on a one by one basis from the back issues, rather then getting what we send you in the membership, is probably the better way to go. Of course the videos will be more expensive that way, but at least you only get the videos that you want to buy the supplies for.
I hope that makes sense!
I always feel like I sound like that “negative Nancy” but it was not meant to come off that way. I, for one, am very excited about the JoolTool. I do hope I am in the camp that can afford it.
That said, I am a yearly subscriber (however a newer subscriber) as I think what you teach is invaluable – even if I don’t have all the tools or supplies. I truly learn something new in every single video that I watch of yours. I cannot thank you guys enough for that.
I was just concerned about the JoolTool taking more centerstage and you did set that anxiety to ease a bit.
Just keep doing what your doing and I’ll keep learning from ya! :)
I sold some things around the house and have been saving up for the Jool Tool. I am ready to buy! Hopefully, you will have a post soon on that. I feel like the Jool Tool is going to really make my work soar and be the difference between amateur and professional work! Waiting with baited breath!
I know Lena, I am sorry we are taking so long. I hope we are ready to post soon too.
Oooh. Guilt! Guilt is good. (;
LOL. Kidding you. Yes. I feel like I’m dying over here waiting, but I will live. I am just excited. I know it is a big deal to get everything in order. And, I know it will be great when you do.
Really enjoying the new tutorial. Happy it was nothing that needed sanding. LOL. Almost done with a new necklace (instead of the bracelet) and finished a little fairy door! FUN!
Hi Cindy..
Thanks for the wonderful demo..It was always in my list. I wanted to pick up this tool sometime this week or the next, as one of my friend is coming from US to India and don’t want to miss this opportunity.
Hi Cindy, just wondering how the Jool Tool videos and kit are going?
Me too. My money is saved up and burning a hole in my pocket. (:
Me three!! Santa has my order. I just want to give him the specifics. LOL
Hi Guys, I am sorry to say that we still have not got the JoolTool kit ready yet. However, you will definitely hear from us when things are ready to roll. Emails will go out, and there will be announcements at the blog as well.
We just completed the filming for a 34 part JoolTool Training course, that will be made available to customers who purchase their machine through us. Doug is now working on getting all the video editing done.
As you can imagine, it is a big job. The reason we decided to go the extra mile in creating a training course, is because there we were seeing too many customers using the JoolTool’s incorrectly with their Polymer Clay… and experiencing frustration rather than joy.
The machine has traditionally been used more by wire jewelry and gem artisans (hard materials), and as such, most all of the training videos floating around out there, were not created with polymer clay in mind. We want to ensure that your JoolTool will be a joy to use, as it is for me.
Sorry that this is taking longer than you were hoping for. Maybe Santa will hold onto your money for you until we are ready for him to process his order?
Thanks for the update, i know it will be well worth it when it is ready. Thanks for all the hard woek you guys do. Have a very merry christmas and a prisperous 2015
Thanks for the update, as I have been wondering too. I will wait however long I need to because I know that it will be sooooo worth the wait! Cindy – you and Doug always go above and beyond to make sure we are well educated and well taken care of, and your videos are of the highest value and quality. Though we are waiting patiently and chomping at the bit to get our hands on this thing, know that we thank you for all of your hard work!!!
While we wait, can you give any “prep advice” for those who know they want to purchase it? I’m assuming a small shop-vac to suck up the wet particles would be advised? I was hoping a regular vacuum would suffice but I spoke with customer support of our brand of vacuum (Shark) and they advised against using it for wet sanding particles. Also, have you found that it’s necessary for it to be secured to a base? If so, I will start looking around for something that will work for my setup. My hope is that anything extra I will need to make this thing work, I would like to purchase in advance so that once I have it I can just set it up and plaaaayyyyy!! :-)
Thanks! And have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Hi Karen, Dixie Ann is right a little shop vac will work perfectly. The vacuum fitting may need some tweaking like she explained as well… Becky Sue had a problem with her vacuum sucking up beads and buttons if she accidentally let go so she suggested adding a screen over the vacuum nozzle. She used a section of an onion bag… which has large enough holes to let all the sanding bits through but small enough to catch the beads. I taped a section of an onion bag on the end and added enough duct tape to fit the hole well. There are probably some vacuum fittings out there that would work perfectly but I haven’t hunted them down yet.
In regards to bolting it down, I haven’t found that to be necessary, though you will want to either stand when using the machine or put it on a low enough table that you are able to see it from the top and the wheel isn’t spinning toward your Face.
You may also want a way to store your disks… I show a cute little wire tree that works well for me in the videos we did on Christmas day, but a box or rack with dowels would work well too. (That you may want to wait to figure out until you actually have the machine.)
Other than that, there isn’t much else you can do to get ready. I sure hope we can get the kit and videos ready soon. I know a lot of you are anxious to get going.
Hurray, I finally solved the problems of hooking up a vac hose to my JoolTool! Most of the small vacuums hoses are too small for the hose attachment on the JoolTool. I found a little Stanley 1.5 gal. Wet/dry vacuum at Walmart for $20 that works great. I took some quilt batting and wrapped it several times around the end of the hose and then wrapped duct tape around that several times. The hose now fits nice and snug, the vacuum sits right below the JoolTool on the floor and everything works terrific! I don’t recommend using a regular vacuum if you are going to be using water, a wet/dry is what you really should use. You don’t want any electrical zaps. :)
Wow what an excellent price for a shopvac Dixie Ann! I doubt we could find anything that cheap here in Canada unless we shopped on Craigslist or something.
That’s perfect! A kit for polymer clay and videos on how to use it correctly. More than I could have wished for. Thanks for all time and care you and Doug put into everything you do for us clayers.
Happy Holidays all!
Happy holidays to you too Dawn! I hope we can get this kit out lickety split… its a good one!
Hi Cindy,
Do you have an update on the jooltool kits?
Are you selling them and will you ship to the states?
best wishes, leslie
Hi Leslie… I just sent an update to you via email. Check your inbox :-)
Hi Cindy,
I just noticed that Leslie asked about the JoolTool, and you said that you have sent her an update. Can I have an update too? I am SO needing and wanting help with working my JoolTool, and know that you and Doug have been working on some more detailed instruction, dare I ask, yet again, When?
Julia G
Hi Julia – The info for Leslie was about purchasing her JoolTool. In regards to the upcoming Jool Tool Course… with all the site reno’s we are doing, unfortunately it will be closer to the end of the year before we can get that release. Our apologies for the delay.