Does anyone know the best type of pasta/clay machine to use?

Question

I bought the Nicole Crafts one yesterday and today it is already putting out slivers of metal from the gears or blades into my clay. I want to buy a new one since my daughters love using it, but I would like to research it a little better this time!

Answer 1

I've heard some bad things about the Nicole pasta machine, but there are several things you can still do which will work well.

First, there are primarily pasta machines which have been made in Italty (the Mercato Atlas is the best known, but there are others) and pasta machines made in the Far East.
In general, the ones made in Italy are sturdier, but many of the ones made in the Far East *can* also be used and will cost a lot less.

Recently, the Atlases have also been having some problems because of a change they made to the interior scrapers of their machines... not sure if that's totally worked out now.

There's a lot of information about pasta machine brands, and other things to think about or know about when using a pasta machine for polymer clay (an excellent toy, btw!) on this page of my polymer clay "encyclopedia" website:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/pastamachines.htm
(... click especially on GENERAL CARE--IMPORTANT...)

What I would suggest unless you can find an old Italian one a relative has and no longer wants, or in a thrift store, etc., and if you don't want to spend too much, is to buy an Amaco pasta machine at Michaels (which is just a re-branded Far Eastern one, but not the Nicole), using one of the 40% off coupons that Michaels puts out in the paper every two weeks... that should bring the cost down to about $16.

THEN, as long as you are aware of certain things you should and shouldn't do with polymer clay especially in a less-expensive machine, it shouldl last a really long time and work well for your daughter.
(You can read about those things on the page above at my site, but mostly involve things like not putting hard or large chunks of clay through the rollers without flattening and/or softening first, etc.).

Your daughter might also like to check out the Kids&Beginners page there, as well as others:
http://glassattic.com/polymer/kids_beginners.htm


HTH!

Diane B.

Answer 2

Hi there!
I have to agree with Martha - I have an Atlas Pasta Machine that I bought through Dick Blick online and I have never had any problems with it - If I needed another one, I would search on eBay first, and I would join some clay Yahoo Groups and see if anyone has one for sale. If not, then I'd try Amazon, and a few of the shopping search engines, like BizRate, Shopping.com, etc. Also, check with Joann.com - you should be able to use a 40% off coupon even online....
Good Luck!

Answer 3

Hi All,

I am a little snobbish because I have found that you get what you pay for. I would not buy a pasta machine made for crafters. It will be poorly made of inferior materials. Go to Wally world or your local Target, K-Mart and look for an ATLAS machine. It will cost you approx. $30 bucks and is made for the kitchen.

I bet you can go on line to Amazon/EBay and find it cheaper. Happy Hunting! Marcia D. Smith AKA Topsy

Answer 4

I'm an ATLAS user, too and I've had mine for nearly 15 years. I bought it used at a garage sale (the lady went on a diet) and just dedicated it to clay. You can find them at retail stores and at outlet mall kitchen stores. They are not particularly expensive and they last a long time.