Polymer Clay Extruder Disk Storage And Organization
Video #665: If you own an extruder, then you will likely end up collecting a lot of different pattern dies and discs.
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IN THIS POST: — polymer clay extruder — disks — dies — discs — lucy clay tools — makins — walnut hollow — cynthia tinapple — pill bottle — krazy glue bottle — coin storage — coin pockets — magnets — magnet sheets — tool storage — supplies — tools — (Topics marked with an asterisk* are discussed in the Comments Section below).
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.
00:00:04 –> 00:00:07 Hi guys, its Cindy Lietz, your Polymer Clay Tutor, and today’s Studio Tip, I’m gonna talk
00:00:07 –> 00:00:11 about extruder disk storage.
00:00:11 –> 00:00:19 Now, if any of you have seen my previous videos on the extruders that are out there, this
00:00:19 –> 00:00:27 is actually the Lucy Clay extruder, I’ve done a video review on that in the past, I’ve also
00:00:27 –> 00:00:35 talked about both the Walnut Hollow Extruder and the Makin’s Extruder.
00:00:35 –> 00:00:41 And what an extruder does is it… you put clay into the barrel, and then you put a little
00:00:41 –> 00:00:46 disk or die in the end, so I’ll just open it up and show you, so here’s a little disk
00:00:46 –> 00:00:52 with a pattern on it, you pop it into the end of it, you squeeze the…you use the handle,
00:00:52 –> 00:00:59 squeeze out the clay and you get like little strands of different patterns of clay.
00:00:59 –> 00:01:04 Now, so what’s gonna end up happening is you use a bunch of different dies for it…because
00:01:04 –> 00:01:10 the more dies you have, the more patterns you can extrude, so some of the… like the
00:01:10 –> 00:01:17 Walnut Hollow and the Makin’s Extruders have…you know there are a set number of dies in there
00:01:17 –> 00:01:22 and then they just store them right in the box, but if you start collecting more dies
00:01:22 –> 00:01:30 for your extruder, like you get a pack from Cynthia Tinapple for example, or you have
00:01:30 –> 00:01:36 the Lucy Clay extruder that keeps coming out with new dies all the time, then eventually
00:01:36 –> 00:01:38 you’re gonna need to store them.
00:01:38 –> 00:01:41 So the Lucy Clay thing…
00:01:41 –> 00:01:46 I’m gonna run across a couple of different ideas, but I just wanted to explain these
00:01:46 –> 00:01:53 Lucy Clay disks for example, now, this is Disk 1, it’s in a nice bright Pink color,
00:01:53 –> 00:02:02 and it came in a little case, now he’s…the inventors of Lucy Clay Tools has come up with
00:02:02 –> 00:02:08 disks now with even another little die in the center, so they look slightly different
00:02:08 –> 00:02:10 than the versions I have.
00:02:10 –> 00:02:16 But they do have lots and lots of different patterns and they came…these particular
00:02:16 –> 00:02:22 ones come in a CD Case, which is really neat when they’re still…when they first come
00:02:22 –> 00:02:30 from the design, but when you take them out of their disk spot, and you do that by just
00:02:30 –> 00:02:37 twisting the disk like this, and then it breaks the little bridges on the sides there, then
00:02:37 –> 00:02:44 you clip or file off the little nubs on the side…I got this tip from… well now the
00:02:44 –> 00:02:48 website has it, but there’s some customers that were talking about it, you can just use
00:02:48 –> 00:02:54 like nail clippers to clip this little nub off…don’t use your good nail clippers though
00:02:54 –> 00:02:59 because it’s steel and it’s hard on your little clippers…it’ll put a dent in it, but you
00:02:59 –> 00:03:05 can nip off those and then you can store them…oh, use them in your extruder.
00:03:05 –> 00:03:10 But if you try to store them back in the case, they’re just loose in there, and they’re gonna
00:03:10 –> 00:03:17 start falling out and just be a pain, so originally I had thought of this idea, I had bunch of
00:03:17 –> 00:03:28 these kind of advertising magnets, so I cut one out and I put it in the inside of my disk
00:03:28 –> 00:03:34 case here, and then I could just put these little disks on the magnet, but I went to
00:03:34 –> 00:03:41 go do it with some other ones, and the magnets I found… ‘cause I only had one of these
00:03:41 –> 00:03:46 particular style of magnet, and it must have been an older one and a stronger one, ‘cause
00:03:46 –> 00:03:52 all the other advertising magnets I could find were too weak, the disks just fell off,
00:03:52 –> 00:03:58 and then I tried to purchase some magnet at Michaels… this is a piece of magnet here,
00:03:58 –> 00:04:04 this one was a little stronger, but it still comes off…it does stick a little, oh, well
00:04:04 –> 00:04:12 this one won’t stick at all, but the other companies one’s will stick on there, so the
00:04:12 –> 00:04:17 one’s without the color, so some of these will stick.
00:04:17 –> 00:04:23 But the Lucy Clay ones have a really thick enamel paint on them, partly for the color
00:04:23 –> 00:04:31 and probably to protect them and keep them from going rusted, so they won’t stick on
00:04:31 –> 00:04:36 here at all, so obviously that’s not gonna work long term for my storage, it only worked
00:04:36 –> 00:04:39 for that particular one.
00:04:39 –> 00:04:44 My Dad gave me a whole bunch of these little pill bottle type things… apparently like…
00:04:44 –> 00:04:48 he’s a…he invents these fishing lures, and he has to use Crazy Glue, and he buys
00:04:48 –> 00:04:53 these little bottles at… somewhere, I think even at the Dollar Store, that’s filled with
00:04:53 –> 00:04:59 little single use Crazy Glue things, so when he has the empty containers, he gives them
00:04:59 –> 00:05:04 to me, and I was looking at them, and I figured they were probably just about exactly the
00:05:04 –> 00:05:10 right size for putting in the dies and they are, they are just great.
00:05:10 –> 00:05:18 So I can put in all my dies for my Makin’s one, my Cynthia Tinapple ones, can all fit
00:05:18 –> 00:05:27 in there, but the neat thing about this particular sized bottle, is that these little…the new
00:05:27 –> 00:05:34 like, disk 8 for the Lucy Clay set, came with…just a sec, I’ll slide this out here so I can
00:05:34 –> 00:05:41 show you, came with a little booklet in the front of the package, and on it, they print
00:05:41 –> 00:05:48 out all the patterns of all the different disks, they now actually have a disk 9 and
00:05:48 –> 00:05:53 that is added to the list, but this disk…I mean this little piece of paper happens to
00:05:53 –> 00:06:03 fit inside this bottle, and if I face it out…and then I colored each of the labels here, the
00:06:03 –> 00:06:06 same color that the disk is.
00:06:06 –> 00:06:13 So for these Blue ones here from set 6, I just colored the label in Purple, you know
00:06:13 –> 00:06:18 and all the different ones, that way I don’t have to put them in any particular order,
00:06:18 –> 00:06:23 I can just dump them in to my container…this one, if I take all these other ones out and
00:06:23 –> 00:06:29 put them in, it fills up only to here, and I can get even another one or two more sets
00:06:29 –> 00:06:30 in there.
00:06:30 –> 00:06:35 I have all my colors, they look quite cute, and I have all my patterns right here, so
00:06:35 –> 00:06:49 I can just slide that inside the bottle and then I’ve got all my disks…just a sec here…disks
00:06:49 –> 00:06:54 in there, my pattern in there, I can look on the outside and go, oh well, I would like
00:06:54 –> 00:07:01 that disk from the Green set and this one from the Orange set, dump them out, and just
00:07:01 –> 00:07:08 look through the Green ones and the Orange ones to find the ones that I need, so I think
00:07:08 –> 00:07:14 that’s quite a nice little way to do it, and they don’t take up any space on your desk.
00:07:14 –> 00:07:21 There are a couple of other options as well, some people have thought of and I don’t have
00:07:21 –> 00:07:26 an example, but I’m gonna show you this just to give you an idea.
00:07:26 –> 00:07:34 Now Ginger Allman Davis…or Davis Allman, from Blue Bottle Tree, she has found some
00:07:34 –> 00:07:40 coin booklets, so they’re similar to this, this is a business card booklet, but a coin
00:07:40 –> 00:07:45 one will have smaller little pockets with a little flap over the top, and she found
00:07:45 –> 00:07:51 some coin ones that would fit these perfectly, and I haven’t been able to find them, I’d
00:07:51 –> 00:07:57 have to order them online or try to find one at a postal shop or something.
00:07:57 –> 00:08:00 But I think that’s a very clever idea too, ‘cause then you can put them all in their
00:08:00 –> 00:08:06 little pockets, you’d be able to see them all quite easily without having to dump them
00:08:06 –> 00:08:11 out; so that’s an idea for you as well.
00:08:11 –> 00:08:18 And that is it, I think that will help you keep control over all of your disks, and keep
00:08:18 –> 00:08:25 collecting more and more and more of them, because you can never too many great tools.
00:08:25 –> 00:08:30 So I hope that was helpful for you, if you like this video, do let us know.
00:08:30 –> 00:08:35 And if you have any questions in regards to Polymer Clay, there’s a pretty good chance
00:08:35 –> 00:08:40 we’ve already done a video on it, so make sure to search through our videos and see
00:08:40 –> 00:08:43 if you can find the answers that you need.
00:08:43 –> 00:08:49 And if not, make sure to also leave a suggestion in the comment section below.
00:08:49 –> 00:08:51 So that we can make you a video on it.
00:08:51 –> 00:08:53 Alright, so we’ll see you next time and bye for now.
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Resource Links:
- 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
- Amazon: Polymer Clay Extruders **
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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.
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.
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!
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!
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.