Materials Anybody Have Tips regarding Stoneclay?

not that sure about usng stoneclay, but i think you can get saw dust from the pet shops. Those hamsters' stuff xD

if you're lucky and have some timberhouse kinda place nearby you might be able to get from there at a better price.

 

Pet store only have shavings, not at all suitable.

For fine sawdust you need to find some one with a wood shop...Ive gotten more than I need by offering to sweep up a bit! Dont have any left though

 

hmm, maybe the pet shop i went last time is wierd, it has the really powder type

 

i tried noah's method...i got sawdust from work (we have a workshop here where they make shelving for the store) i got some weird paste at the art supply store and mixed it. i couldn't find stoneclay anywhere, so i just used the sawdust and paste mixture. the paste i got was some weird brand i forget the name but it was highly fragranced and the consistency of yogurt.

the mixture wouldn't stick to the styrofoam very well, and it was such a frustrating chore trying to get it on evenly---i worked at it for hours before getting fed up with it all. the only good thing is that it hardens VERY well.

i ended up using automotive body putty on the head- i mixed it up in small amounts and roughly spread it on the head, then used my dremel to carve out features. the stuff is pretty fumy and hard to work with, and sometimes cracks. i would post pics but i haven't got very far at all....

 

try and do your best to get it right the first time. Stoneclay dries very hard and it isn't so fun to sand

If you need it to be harder, let it sit for the night (in your basement or something) and it should be hard but not dry in the morning. Stoneclay is also very hard to add on to once you've let it dry. If you try and add another lump of clay onto an already dry one it will crack, since it shrinks a little bit when it dries.

As you can imagine it is very frustrating. So all I can say it to do it ONE PIECE AT A TIME.

Otherwise your pieces may come one mediocre and you can't add on, and it's nearly impossible to sand things down (even with a dremmel, it's hard to get the right bit to do it correctly and as smooth as you want it to be).

Wish you luck! And it takes maybe around 3/4 of five pounds to make a MSD sized doll. I bought something called 'Stonex' and it works great!

~Dottie