Clay Bake Studio - Polymer Clay Hole Punch Set v0.5
Free digital download. A 3D printer or print service is required.

CONTENTS
Five hollow punches, two solid piercing pins and one separate marking guide.
- STL/hole-punch-1p6mm-small-earring-button.stl: 1.6 mm Pin - Small Earrings
- STL/hole-punch-1p8mm-small-jump-ring-earring.stl: 1.8 mm Pin - Small Jump-Ring Earrings
- STL/hole-punch-2p0mm-standard-earring.stl: 2.0 mm Punch - Standard Jump-Ring Earrings And Small Charms
- STL/hole-punch-2p4mm-statement-earring.stl: 2.4 mm Punch - Statement Earrings And Thicker Dangles
- STL/hole-punch-2p8mm-charm-pendant.stl: 2.8 mm Punch - Charms
- STL/hole-punch-3p2mm-pendant-charm.stl: 3.2 mm Punch - Pendants
- STL/hole-punch-4p2mm-keyring.stl: 4.2 mm Punch - Keyrings And Heavy Hardware
- STL/hole-position-marking-guide.stl: Separate hole-position marking guide
- Print-Guide.pdf: illustrated printing and hole-making instructions
- Licence.pdf: maker licence

Mark while the clay is raw, at the stage your kit guide names, with the piece on its tile. Cat drops are marked before the spots; Boston drops after the muzzle but before the eyes. Do not wait for every layer if the kit says to mark earlier. The marking guide is a flat star with eight numbered tongues. Each number is the distance in millimetres from the tongue's lip to its marking hole. Tongues marked "pt" have a V-shaped lip for a pointed top; the others have a straight lip.

1. Pick the tongue your kit guide names, for example "use the 4.5 tongue".
2. Hold the guide numbers side up (the side marked UP), so the lips hang underneath. Rest the tongue flat on the clay and slide it toward the edge until its lip seats against the reference feature your kit guide names: the flat top, the notch floor or the point. A straight lip has a small centre tick; on a curved top, set the tick on the highest point. A V lip centres itself on a point.
3. Centre the tongue left to right; a straight lip can slide sideways in a dip. If a layer rocks the tongue or its lip cannot catch the edge, use a ruler and needle instead. Lower a fine needle, about 1 mm across, upright through the guide's hole until it makes a shallow dot in the clay. Lift the needle out; the dot marks the centre for the punch or drill bit.
4. Lift the guide straight off.
5. Punch or drill on the mark.

The numbers are positions for kit shapes, not punch sizes or universal safe minimums. Use a ruler and a needle for positions not on the guide.

Leave the shape on its tile. Set the hollow punch upright on the mark and twist gently back and forth while pressing until its tip reaches the tile. Lift vertically. Each hollow punch holds its cutting size only near the tip; above that the bore widens so the plug slides up and out of the flared handle opening. Clear a stuck plug with a fine wire from the handle side, keeping fingers away from the tip. The 1.6 mm and 1.8 mm solid pins displace clay rather than cutting a plug; use them only where the raw piece holds its shape. The guide is never left in place while punching and is not a drill jig.

For thin, layered or narrow pieces, mark while raw, bake and cool fully, support on a sacrificial backing, then drill with a pin vise. Follow the kit's finished hole size, position and ring schedule. Hole size, remaining clay margin, slab thickness and the curved ring all affect fit. Check the actual hardware turns without bearing against the clay; do not simply enlarge a hole if that removes its remaining margin.

The printed tool dimensions are nominal. Print tolerance and clay movement affect the finished hole. Printed plastic tools stay out of the oven.

CLAY THICKNESS AT THE HOLE
- 1.6 mm tool: suggested slab 2.5 mm; straight cutting depth 4.5 mm
- 1.8 mm tool: suggested slab 2.5 mm; straight cutting depth 4.5 mm
- 2.0 mm tool: suggested slab 3.0 mm; straight cutting depth 3.5 mm
- 2.4 mm tool: suggested slab 3.5 mm; straight cutting depth 4.0 mm
- 2.8 mm tool: suggested slab 3.5 mm; straight cutting depth 4.0 mm
- 3.2 mm tool: suggested slab 4.0 mm; straight cutting depth 4.5 mm
- 4.2 mm tool: suggested slab 4.0 mm; straight cutting depth 4.5 mm
Measure the full thickness at the hole, including colour layers. Stay within the suggested slab thickness, with room before the tool widens. A 2.0 mm hollow punch is not suitable for a 4 mm slab: it widens above 3.5 mm. Drill hanging Flame reliefs after baking.

KIT-SPECIFIC METHODS
Lips 44 mm needs careful centring, within about 0.25 mm sideways, and the tongue sits very close to layer B. Use a ruler if the tongue touches B. Keep the full 1.8 mm hole clear of B; do not enlarge an off-centre hole.
Boston drops: prefer a ruler for the 4 mm position below the ear dip. On the raised muzzle the guide lip has only about 0.2 mm engagement; use it only if flat and caught on the edge.
Mushroom 36 to 48 mm: rest flat on the 0.3 mm top spot with the lip catching the cap edge, or use a ruler; drill after baking.
Cherry 36, 44 and 52 mm: use the kit's top-circle centring method and drill 2 mm. No star station is specified.
Fortune Cookie: use the screw-eye method; the baked fallback needs a 0.7 mm pilot bit. Wall-strip holes are 2.3 mm.
Wall displays and cards use their own marks or printed holes. The set does not supply the 1.2, 2.2, 2.3 or 2.6 mm bits used by some of those pieces. Glued findings need no hanging hole.


PRINTING
PLA, 0.4 mm nozzle, 0.12 mm layers, 4 walls, 25 percent infill, supports off. Handles flat with tips up. Guide with its numbered face on the bed and lips up. Inspect the sliced narrow walls and bores. A 0.2 mm nozzle can resolve smaller features but does not change the STL wall thickness. Inspect the printed bore, rim and labels before use; do not force a blocked tool through clay.

LICENCE
You may sell finished clay pieces made using these tools. Do not redistribute the files or sell printed copies of the tools. See Licence.pdf.

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