How do you bake completely round things made of polymer clay?

Question

I've been wanting to learn how to make beads but I don't want any flat edges or burn marks, etc. How do you bake things that can't sit on any side?

Answer 1

use a pan cylinder etc. that is a little bit smaller than the spherical object...

Answer 2

Use a skewer and then place it in the notches in a specialty tray or rack.  It keeps them suspended while in the oven.

Answer 3

You mean something completely spherical, not just round?  Use a skewer or similar object, and use aluminum foil to make a stand for the skewer.  You don't need a special tray or rack.  Rotate the skewer every few minutes so the beads hang evenly.  Start small; they are less likely to sag while baking.

Answer 4

First, thanks AAA for mentioning my site <bg>.  

Because it's so huge though, I wanted to give the exact links there for the info about baking polymer clay and also on baking beads in particular (round ones included):

http://glassattic.com/polymer/beads.htm

(...click on "Baking, Suspending, Finishing"...)

http://glassattic.com/polymer/baking.htm

(...click on "Materials to Bake On," and "Support," and "Darkening, Scorching"...)

And this page is about making holes in beads:

http://glassattic.com/polymer/beads-hole...

Several people have mentioned baking on polyester stuffing or various powders, and on rods, but it's also true that most polymer clay beads don't need anything special to sit on to bake because they won't deform, etc., while heating (unless they're *very thin* and gravity is working against them from the position they're in).  

The powders and other things are used mainly:

...to keep the beads from darkening on their bottoms *if* they're too close to the bottom coils, or they're sitting on top of certain baking surface materials which can get hotter than the oven's air

...to keep some shapes from rolling around in transport to or from the oven

....to hold beads up if a sealer has been used which might stick to the baking surface

...to keep very smooth baking surfaces from leaving a shiny spot on the clay where it touches during baking (just using an ordinary sheet of blank paper works fine for that too).

So the bottom line is that you can use lots of things to support the clay beads if you want, but none are necessary (one of those things will be necessary though if you're using a smooth surface like glass or metal to avoid a shiny spot).  

Btw, if you've made holes in round-ish beads before baking (as opposed to after baking), then there will be a nice kind of flat-ish area around each hole which will allow the beads to sit without rolling around.

HTH, and have fun!

Diane B.

Answer 5

If the item is small, you can cure it in a small container filled half an inch up with corn starch. If larger, you can use a bed of polyester fill (the type you'd use to stuff a teddy bear). If you don't have that handy, you can even use a bed of tissue paper or Kleenex. The temperature polymer clay cures at is low enough that they won't catch on fire. Probably wouldn't hurt to watch it, if you haven't used an oven thermometer to verify your actual oven temperatures. To avoid darkening the clay, you can use a bit of tinfoil to make a "roof" over the piece since its curing at too high a temp that usually causes the darkening. Again, using an oven thermometer to be sure you're at the right temperature is really a good idea. Good luck!