ClayBake Bargello and Ribbon-Splice Pattern System
Choose the Bargello Core Pattern System, the Wave and Chevron Ribbon-Splice Tool Kit, or the Complete Tool Kit. Core has 15 STLs, Wave/Chevron has 18 STLs, and Complete has 30 unique STLs.
Core is an indexed tissue-blade cut-and-offset method. Wave/Chevron is a registered full-field donor-and-receiver press method.
Core indexed cuttingWave ribbon registration
Digital geometry simulation - physical clay proof pending
View the step-by-step maker workflow
Core: cut in order
Prepare a 1.0 mm base sheet with a 1.5 mm or 2.0 mm patterned sheet. Make 23 indexed tissue-blade cuts for 24 x 4 mm strips, or 15 indexed cuts for 16 x 6 mm strips, and support every strip during transfer.
Core: map, crop, and seat
Move the ordered strips to the matching 112 x 100 mm board, register the Stepped Rise, Mirrored Peak, or Long Wave pattern guide to its true-size template, crop to the common box, then use the palm platen with two matching stop rails. Pattern rails guide placement and do not cut clay.
Wave/Chevron: build one complete field
Choose K from the real-clay coupon, 3D print one profile-and-K donor and receiver pair, then reuse it across five indexed 12 mm stations. Make five donor presses and five receiver presses. Keep the receiver stack on the recessed workboard, preserve the intervening receiver clay on its continuous base, and tissue-blade-transfer the five donor ribbons into the matching openings before seating the 106 x 68 mm supported pre-crop assembly and taking its one centered 96 x 60 mm final crop.
View exact dimensions and fit details
Core workboard and guides
112 x 76 mm footprint with a 96 x 60 mm cutting field
Core pitches
23 indexed tissue-blade cuts for 24 strips at 4.00 mm; 15 indexed cuts for 16 strips at 6.00 mm
Core transfer boards
112 x 100 mm footprint with a 96 x 84 mm supported envelope
Core rails and templates
Six non-cutting physical pattern guides plus A4 and US Letter PDF and SVG templates for every pattern and pitch
Ribbon profiles
Generated Wave and Rounded Chevron profile families with K030, K042, and K050 donor and receiver pairs. Real-clay ribbon widths and seams remain unproven.
Kerf choices
K030, K042, and K050, selected from the real-clay coupon
Wave/Chevron final crop
106 x 68 mm supported pre-crop assembly with one centered 96 x 60 mm final crop, built through five donor-ribbon transfers across indexed 12 mm stations
Wave/Chevron receiver depth
Generated stop geometry is designed to place receiver blade tips 1.0 mm above the 0.45 mm recessed floor when the pads meet the indexed workboard top. Receiver tools must not be used off-board, and real-clay depth remains unproven.
Base-backed stacks
1.0 mm base plus 1.5 mm patterned sheet for 2.5 mm total, or 1.0 mm base plus 2.0 mm patterned sheet for 3.0 mm total
Registration
4 mm square and round keys with keyed bed sockets
3D printing setup
How to 3D print it
Start with one test model at 100 percent scale, then check fit and finish before 3D printing the complete set.
3D print calibration first
Use the supplied coupons before committing to the larger parts. Check the Core blade slot and select Wave/Chevron K from the real-clay cut and closure result.
Keep every STL and template at 100 percent
Confirm each template's 50 mm scale line. Scaling changes pitch, K compensation, key fit, blade clearance, stop height, and crop dimensions.
Treat the guide as generated-only
The current recommendations are geometry-based starting points. 3D-printed fit, release, clay softness, tissue-blade transfer, cutter force, splitting, wear, seam closure, and hand pressure still need physical testing.
Before you start
Prepare your 3D print and clay
What you need
An FDM 3D printer and slicer suitable for dimensionally sensitive tool parts
A maker-supplied tissue blade for indexed Core cuts and full-length support beneath each Wave/Chevron donor ribbon
Conditioned polymer clay, a stable work surface, and parchment where the guide specifies it
Calibration and physical testing with your own 3D printer, filament, blade, and clay
Not included
No physical 3D-printed tools, tissue blade, clay, finished jewellery, or 3D printer
No STEP files, source specifications, QA reports, or editable CAD in the customer download
No public interactive STL viewer or claim of physically proven release or seam closure
Keep the making setup practical
Making tips
3D print A4 or US Letter templates at 100 percent or Actual Size and measure the 50 mm scale line before use.
Number Core strips and Wave/Chevron stations before moving clay. Support each full strip or donor ribbon with a tissue blade.
Choose one clay-tested K and profile, then reuse that donor and receiver pair for five presses each. Do not 3D print every pair for one project.
Use the 106 x 68 mm liner boundary for assembly support, then crop only the centered 96 x 60 mm field. The surrounding margin is not a second usable field.
Never use a Wave/Chevron receiver cutter off-board. Its cutting depth depends on the recessed workboard floor and board-top stop datum.
A sacrificial Core liner remains conditional on later wear QA. It is not part of the current customer workflow.
Before you 3D print
Questions makers usually ask
What is the difference between Core and Wave/Chevron?
Core uses 3D-printed guides to make straight indexed tissue-blade cuts in one striped field, then uses six non-cutting physical pattern guides plus true-size placement templates. Wave/Chevron uses one selected curved donor and receiver pair across five indexed stations and transfers five donor ribbons into a 106 x 68 mm supported pre-crop assembly before taking one centered 96 x 60 mm final crop.
Do both workflows press through the clay?
Core does not. Its 3D-printed frames and pattern rails guide individual tissue-blade cuts and strip placement. Wave/Chevron does use registered multi-edge donor and receiver press tools. The selected pair is reused for five donor presses and five receiver presses, and its clay-force, depth, split, release, and seam tests remain pending.
Has the system been tested in real polymer clay?
Not yet. The current result is digital geometry evidence only. 3D-printed fit, tissue-blade transfer, cutter force, clay splitting, pattern-rail use, workboard wear, release, seam closure, seating, crop yield, and post-bake integrity remain launch gates.
Can I scale the STL files?
No. 3D print STL files at 100 percent because scaling changes every functional tolerance and pattern dimension. 3D print the A4 or US Letter templates at 100 percent or Actual Size, then verify the 50 mm scale line.
Which slab stack do the stop rails match?
The 2.5 mm rail matches a 1.0 mm base sheet plus a 1.5 mm patterned sheet. The 3.0 mm rail matches a 1.0 mm base sheet plus a 2.0 mm patterned sheet. 3D print two copies of the selected rail and verify the real clay stack before seating.
Which Wave or Chevron K option should I use?
Choose K030, K042, or K050 from the 3D-printed coupon using the clay you intend to use. 3D print one donor and receiver pair for the chosen profile and K, then reuse it at all five stations. No K option is digitally proven to close a seam in real clay.
Why must the Wave/Chevron receiver cutter stay on the workboard?
Its stop pads use the board top as the datum while the active stack sits on the 0.45 mm recessed floor. The generated geometry is designed to place the blade tips 1.0 mm above the floor so only the patterned top layer is intended to be cut while the base remains continuous. That depth control does not exist off-board, and it still needs test-clay confirmation.
Does Core require a sacrificial liner?
Not in the current workflow. A sacrificial Core liner remains conditional on later physical wear testing showing that it protects the board without changing registration or crop accuracy.
Does the download include the tissue blade?
No. A compatible tissue blade and all clay-making supplies are maker supplied.