20 years ago, inspired by ‘The Extruder Book’ by Daryl Baird, I tried to make some custom extruder dies, with very limited success. My best attempt was a hollow, rounded triangular die. If I remember correctly, I made it from a thick white plastic cutting board material, and the center piece was held in place with rather wobbly U-bolts. The hollow shape that was produced had disappointingly thick, uneven walls.  I made a few soap dispensers from the extrusions, but I quickly became frustrated and disenchanted with them, and returned to working on the wheel.

Nowadays, I do as much hand building as I do wheel work, so the lure of the extruder returned. I looked online for extruder dies but found myself generally disappointed with the selection. Most commercial dies were simple shapes, and the walls of hollow shapes were thicker than I desired for my work.

It was time to revisit making my own dies! In the 20 years since I last attempted it, technology and software had significantly advanced. Many 3D modeling applications were available, some of them free. 3D printers had become commonplace. And I had more resources at my disposal, both personally and at the pottery.

I used Shapr3D, 3D modeling app for the iPad, since we already had a subscription. After a little practice, I modeled a few simple dies for my 2-inch Scott Creek ‘Super Duper Clay Extruder’. I exported them to .stl, uploaded them to Shapeways.com, ordered them printed in their Multi Jet Fusion Plastic PA12, and crossed my fingers. 

They worked! Naturally I found that a few of the designs work out as I had hoped, but I was off and running. I’ve modeled and printed maybe a dozen custom 2-in dies over the past year or so. I use them as edgings, feet, handles, and coils.

The cost isn’t unreasonable (around $8 per die), and it enables me to get some effects on my pottery that I wouldn’t be able to get otherwise. The material used for these small dies proved to be quite durable; I have yet to break one.