For those who look on Amazon or different marketplaces, you’ll see dozens of various manufacturers of clay machines. What’s the distinction?
Properly, I’ll allow you to in on a secret. They’re not likely clay conditioning machines. They’re pasta machines, and there’s little or no distinction between them (if any). They’re not initially designed to be polymer clay rollers.
Varieties of Clay Machines
Okay, okay, let’s roll this again a bit. There are three most important classes of machines that you should use together with your clay.
- Lucy Clay Machine – the one one INTENDED for polymer clay use. Very dear. Past the scope of this put up, however you possibly can learn my overview of an early model of those machines right here.
- Italian Pasta Machines – Often made by both Marcato (the Atlas) or Imperia, these are heavy-duty pasta machines that work nicely with polymer clay (inside cause).
- Imitations – China does what China will do. And factories there have copied the essential design of the Atlas and produced them with sloppy tolerances, low-cost metallic, and sharp corners. Years in the past when pasta-making was massive, you possibly can discover the identical machines flooding low-cost markets, undoubtedly labeled as “pasta machines”. Now that polymer clay is massive, you guessed it, they’re promoting the identical factor as “clay conditioning machines”. They’re not. They’re knock-off pasta machines.
Knock-Off Model Names for Clay Machines
What about model names? Properly, every little vendor can order their very own stamping on the entrance fender. So then they promote them to you as an entire new model identify. That is simply the identical with many low-cost issues. There are dozens of equivalent widgets with totally different “manufacturers” throughout Amazon. None of them are higher than (and even remotely pretty much as good as) the well-made Italian manufacturers.
One exception is the Makin’s model. It’s an affordable pasta machine by design, however it has coated, non-stick rollers and seems to be made a wee bit higher than the cheapies. They’ve put some thought into it. However it’s not as stable because the Atlas.
Selecting a Clay Conditioning Machine
Which kind of pasta machine (aka clay conditioning machine) do you have to purchase? Properly, for those who’re simply goofing round and don’t know for those who’ll do that for lengthy, get a cheapie. The cheaper the higher. Some particular person machines final some time, others crap out in weeks. Its roulette. However you’re not out a lot money.
For those who’re kinda hardcore, get an Atlas or Imperia. And for those who’re SUPER hardcore, go for the massive deal and get a Lucy Clay Machine.
However before you purchase an Atlas, bear in mind that there are modified Atlas pasta machines which were custom-made to make them simpler to make use of as a clay conditioning machine.
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