Basic Tools Needed to Work with Precious Metal Clay

Precious Metal Clay is one of the easiest ways to make fine silver or gold jewelry, especially if you are a beginner at metalsmithing.

Although the PMC itself is expensive, you don't need a lot of expensive tools to work with it. There are many inexpensive household or common items that you can use to work with Precious Metal Clay and are actually used by the most experienced PMC craftsmen.

Here are the tools you need to work yourself with Precious Metal Clay:

Kiln:

The most expensive piece of equipment you need for working with PMC is a kiln. You will get your best quality result with PMC when you fire with a kiln. Most PMC kilns start around $500 new.

If you do not want to purchase a kiln, you will need to work with PMC3 which is the Precious Metal Clay formula that needs the lowest firing temperature. PMC3 can be fired in a kiln, a hotpot, and with a torch which are the most popular methods.

The rest of the tools you need are fairly inexpensive.

Small carving hand tools:

You can use tools designed for PMC, for ceramic clay, or wax carving, or you can design your own from household items.

Needle files:

These can be purchased in sets of 6 or 12 files in any hardware store. Don't buy expensive files because they get covered with PMC dust.

Emery boards:

Emery boards are a great finishing tool for PMC. These can be purchased in any drug store.

Paint brushes:

Small, fine tip paint brushes are good for applying water or PMC paste to your unfinished piece. Make sure to get cheap brushes. These get ruined easily by the PMC paste.

Xacto knives:

You should have at least one Xacto knife for cutting the wet PMC.

Clay cutting tools:

Most craft stores have a good supply of basic polymer clay cutting tools. These work very well with PMC.

Roller:

You will need at least one roller. The best rollers are plastic or acrylic. You can just use PVC pipe that can be purchased at a hardware store.

Wire brush:

A wire brush is a good tool to have for finishing your fired piece.

Dremel tool:

Many people like to use the versatility of a Dremel tool for finishing Precious Metal Clay. Dremel tools have a lot of different heads each with its own purpose.

Barrel tumbler:

Another finishing tool for your fired PMC is a barrel tumbler. This is a fast way to finish a lot of pieces at one time, and clean them quickly.

Other tools can be found in just about any home:

Playing cards-preferably old ones from an incomplete deck

Olive oil

Graph paper

Page protectors (plastic sheet)

And don't forget the PMC itself:

PMC comes in several formulas. The most popular is PMC+, but you do need a kiln to fire it. If you are going to fire in a hot pot, you need to make sure to buy PMC3.

If you would like to read more about the best tools for working with PMC, follow this link.
Learn more about this author, Paula Atwell.