Clay Baking Rack Wanted!

[Perri]

Hi,
Just wondering if anybody on here is selling a polymer clay bead baking rack or knows of anywhere that do sell them?
I have been making plenty of pendants, and love making these! But never really done actual beads, and to do these i would need a baking rack!
Thanks, Perri.

[ejralph]

You don't really need to spend money on a baking rack unless you want to.

With beads - you can just rest them direct on the baking tray, positioned so the hole is vertical, if you see what I mean. Put a sheet of baking paper on the tray so you don't end up with a shiny spot where the clay touches the metal.

Alternatively you can make a very simple baking rack by folding some cardboard concertina-fashion. Prop beads on this, suspended on cocktail sticks, or just rest the beads in the folds.

Wire mesh - often sold in sheet form as armatures for modelling can also be used. Just cut out rectangles and bend them into a C shape - like a piece of square guttering, and suspend your beads on that.

You can suspend the beads on wooden toothpicks or skewers - or any metal rods or pins.

Of course - you can just buy a proper bead rack too. Ebay often have bead racks for ceramic bead making that will do well. They are just quite pricey really for what they are - so bead racks is one of those areas where I really think its better to make do and mend!

[Perri]

Thanks for that! :)
i did notice a few make do jobs on google when i was trying to find one, i think this will be my best bet as i dont want to spend too much money!
Most of the ones that i did find were over £25... and just for a piece of metal, i think this is a tad steep.
I have tried positioning them between the oven racks, but gave up as i kept burning myself!
This is why ive always stook to pendants, they can just be simply placed straight down on baking tray with them having flat backs.
Thanks for the help, i will give it a go :)

[ejralph]

Oh definitely give it a go - don't let not having a baking rack stop you.

Take a look at this project of mine and scroll about half-way dow - I have a picture there showing a simple baking rack made from a piece of folded card.
http://www.ejrbeads.co.uk/glitz.htm

Emma

[Planty28]

Oooh what a lovely tutorial Emma, makes me want to make my own beads - but I don't hink I have the talent there really........

[ejralph]

Oh pish! ;-)

How hard can it be to roll a blob of clay, cover it in glitter and stick a hole in it? I can't even cook eggs and I can do this.

So no excuses now - get the clay out and have a go. It is surprisingly fun and relaxing too!

Everyone here will help out if you get stuck too don't forget.

Emma

[Perri]

WOW! Emma your pieces are fab!
I really want some of that glitter now! Never seen this used before!
This has really inspired me now
Thankyou! :)

[ejralph]

Oh thank you Perri!

So glad you found it useful

Emma

[bramalfie]

I have to thank Emma for saving me some money on the bead rack front too!! I was thinking I would need one until I was browsing her site and came across the tutorial and realised I could just use a piece of cardboard!! So I chopped up a cereal box and folded it up and it does the job perfectly!! Can I also thank you for the tip about just using wooden cocktail sticks for making the hole saved me some money there too!! Now I just need to wait till payday when I will be placing a order for some of those fab glitters!!!

[krielj]

Emma's advice is ace as always but to be honest I don't even go that far (I'm too lazy!). I just have a baking sheet that I got from the pound shop and, like Emma said, I just position the bead hole side down on the sheet to minimise any spots. But I also sand each bead through various grits of sandpaper before I polish which gets rid of any spots and fingerprints anyway. This is why I love working with polymer clay - because you don't need any fancy tools. So no excuses for giving it a go!

[ejralph]

I have to thank Emma for saving me some money on the bead rack front too!! I was thinking I would need one until I was browsing her site and came across the tutorial and realised I could just use a piece of cardboard!! So I chopped up a cereal box and folded it up and it does the job perfectly!! Can I also thank you for the tip about just using wooden cocktail sticks for making the hole saved me some money there too!! Now I just need to wait till payday when I will be placing a order for some of those fab glitters!!!

Lol - so glad to be of service!

As you say - the more money saved on tools, the more to spend on embellishments!

Emma

[ejralph]

Emma's advice is ace as always but to be honest I don't even go that far (I'm too lazy!). I just have a baking sheet that I got from the pound shop and, like Emma said, I just position the bead hole side down on the sheet to minimise any spots. But I also sand each bead through various grits of sandpaper before I polish which gets rid of any spots and fingerprints anyway. This is why I love working with polymer clay - because you don't need any fancy tools. So no excuses for giving it a go!

Lol - I quite agree Jayne - I baked my beads like this for years too. It was only really when I started to make lentil shaped beads that I figured I needed some type of rack to suspend the beads. But it really is so easy to make do and mend in polymer clay - things like that don't need to cost the earth do they.

Emma

[bramalfie]

Slightly off topic but not completely... I've just baked some beads on cocktail sticks and when I went to pull it off the cocktail stick, the stick broke leaving the end stuck in the bead!! Anyone got any suggestions for getting it out? It literally is the tip of the stick so there is nothing sticking out either end...