Sculpting Tools

I never have exactly the tool I want for working with clay, so I recently searched out how to make a new set of rakes and loops for my tool box. While most instructions called for brass tubing, I found out that old paint brushes and knitting needles worked even better for the super small tools I needed.

Also, I have to give a shout out to this video for teaching me how to do this.

I started with small saw blades from a jewelers saw and from a coping saw. The blades are relatively cheap but have the cerated edge I need to remove small amounts of clay without pushing the clay around too much. Also, I like that the opposite side is flat so I can smooth out the area as well. I also used wire to make some wire brush tools and generally messed around until I came up with some shapes I thought could work.

I had to go out and get a small butane torch. There were a few at the hardware store, but the one I liked I found at a restaurant supply store labeled as a creme brulee torch.

Materials
- Two needle nose pliers
- Wire cutter (can be on the pliers)
- Coping or jewelry saw blades, wire, or whatever you'd like for your tool
- Brass tubing, old paint brushes or metal knitting needles
- Small butane torch
- Epoxy
- Super glue

Brass tube: To cut the brass tubing, I used an xacto knife and pushed down lightly on the tube rolling it back and forth until it was well scored. If it's scored enough, it should snap in two with light pressure.

Knitting needle: I assumed it was a hollow needle because of the weight and the sound it made when I tapped it. Then, I did the same as with the brass tube, but used a pliers for the small end to snap it off. There was a little bit of liquid inside the needle, but I tapped it out. It wasn't flammable, so I felt ok about moving forward.

Paint brush: I cut down the old bristles and then burned out the rest with a lighter. I cleaned out the burned interior with a pin. There were still bristles about 1/4 inch deeper inside that I couldn't get to, but it ended up that the jewelry blade fit more snuggly with the bristles still in there.

I turn on the torch in it's stand facing it away from me. I had a blade snap, so I'd recommend putting on some glasses as a precaution.

Coping saw blade: Holding the the blade in a gentle arc with the pliers, I quickly moved it up and down at the end of the blue flame until it started to bend. It was kind of tricky to get a nice gentle loop because as soon as it got hot, it would bend into a point. That made the flat shape a bit easier, but that also was more bends. At the spot where I wanted it to go into the handle, I bent both sides again so it was a Y shape.

Jewelry blades: Dang these things like to break. While I almost didn't need the torch for the coping saw blades, these buggers can't take much torque at all. I ended up not arcing the blade at all before putting it in the heat and then when it hit temp, it would bend immediately. I also ran into an issue of getting it too hot and the teeth of the saw started to go flat.

Now that I had my blade, I trimmed down the ends with the wire cutter so it would easily fit into the handle.

I put the blade carefully into the end of the handle and clamped it down with a pliers. The blades moved around a bit on me, but I was able to wiggle them back into place. I used a dab of superglue to lock them in while I mixed up my epoxy.

I used a 5 minute epoxy putty around the connection of the blade to the handle to lock it all in place. I only mixed up enough to do two ends at a time. I also found that a little bit of water would smooth out the putty but working it too much would make it loose around the handle. For the smallest paintbrush tools, I didn't need to use epoxy since the superglue was holding it in tightly.

Once I had the tools I set out to make, I started playing around a bit and came up with some other tools using wire. I created a couple of wire brushes, a needle, a twisted wire loop and a face sculpting tool. Ok, that has no value other than adding character to my tool set. But it was fun!