But never fear, it is not completely useless and you can successfully roll it to thin sheets in your pasta machine.

Really, I'm serious...it is possible. I use lots of Sculpey III in my mokume gane so I'm always needing sheets of this stuff.

Sculpey at in the best conditions is an extremely soft clay. Add a warm environment or warm hands and you've got a potential gooey mess on your hands. I know I have warm hands...sometimes they are hot like FIYA!

Hey, now, huh-huh
Hey, hey, hey, no, (Ow, now)
Hey, now, huh-huh
Hey, hey, hey, no

Fire (Uh) [Uh]
Fire (It’s all about) [Uh, uh]
Fire (Woo, woo, woo)
Fire

Sorry bout that but couldn't resist tossing a little Ohio Player's "Fire" lyrics in there.

Ok, back to the lovable mushy sticky Sculpey III . those of you that have been working with different brands of polymer clay, probably groan at the though of using Sculpey III and scream in horror even considering putting it through a pasta machine.
But it can be done...with out you having to use choice words as you disassemble you pasta machine trying to get out the 3/4 of the package that has gotten jammed up in there.

You really only need three things to create a thin sheet of sculpey using a pasta machine:
1. acrylic rod or roller
2. Patience (huh, what....don't worry I'll explain what I mean by this)
3. Wax or deli paper


How to do it and keep your sanity

1. Let's start with the stickiest, mushiest offender of the Sculpey III family (can I get some dramatic music inserted here)....translucent!
Ok no body head for the hills, it will be alright.

The suspect:




2. Start by flattening the translucent with an acrylic rod or whatever you usually use to flatten clay. Oh, you may want to take it out of the package first.





3. Roll the flattened sheet through the pasta machine on the thickest setting. The fold the sheet and roll flat again with the rod. Here's when you insert some of that patience. Remember that sculpey turns to mush, so instead of immediately sticking it back in the pasta machine, let it sit a minute or two. Then roll it through the thickest setting repeating this entire step 2 or 3 more times, remembering to let the clay rest.




4. Reduce the setting in the pasta machine by 1. Roll the sheet of clay through the pasta machine again and then let the sheet rest. Repeat reducing the setting, rolling through the pasta machine and resting until you reach about the mid point of setting on your pasta machine. (My pasta machine goes from 1-9, with 1 being the thickest. So I do this until I reach setting 4 or 5. It will depend on how warm my krapht room is. If is pretty warm. I'll stop at 4)





5. Cut a piece of the clay sheet. I generally work in 4-5 inch lengths. Now you want to grab your wax paper and tear off a strip of paper about 2 to 3 times longer than the legnth of you clay. This will let your clay elongate on the wax paper...otherwise you'll be digging clay out of your pasta machine anyway.
I fold the paper in half lengthwise then once again. I cut just enough of the folded long edge off so that the strip fits into my past machine.
(cut waxed paper.jpg)




6. Place you clay on the wax paper about 1 inch from the bottom of the paper. Add the 2nd piece of paper on top of your clay.





7. Feed the bottom of the paper through the pasta machine just until the clay hits the rollers. Now turn the pasta machine to the next smaller setting.





8. Roll just a bit of the clay through. Then separate the clay from the wax papers and begin rolling the clay through. Insert a little more patience and let the clay rest a moment or two.





9. Remember the setting you are on, then open you pasta machine back up to a setting large enough for the bottom of the paper to fit in again. Now go to next lower setting than you started with at the beginning of this step. Separate just the top sheet from the clay and Again roll the clay trough.

If at any time you get one of these pesky puckers, just separate the clay and bot sheets of paper again and roll through. Uh-huh you know the routine...let the clay rest





10. Continue to reduce the setting, separating the top sheet, rolling through and letting the clay rest until you have reached your desired thickness.




You have now just beat Sculpey III at it's own game. No more sticky, gunked up pasta machine.


Hope this helps.