I'm looking to buy my first large rolling pin for covering cakes in fondant. I've read past posts about the best ones to buy and it seems that silicone, marble and aluminium are amongst the best, but that it's generally down to personal taste.

My first (somewhat obvious seeming) question is whether the pin always needs to be longer than the sheet of fondant you need to roll. In theory I could just move the pin across to roll any fondant the pin can't reach, but would this leave tracks or uneven fondant?

Also, are marzipan spacers or those little rings a good investment, or is it easy to tell how thick and even your fondant is once you get the hang of rolling it?

Thanks in advance to anybody that takes their time to answer

I bought a silicone rolling pin last year and love it. I had been using a wooden one but I hated it mainly bc washing it was more difficult and of course it took longer to dry. Mine is very long but I definitely roll longer than the pin and don't have a problem moving it around the fondant.
Re: those little rings; I have them and used them all the time in the beginning but bc I can now tell how even & thick the fondant is I stopped. I wouldn't call them a waste of money bc when I was first starting they were very useful.
HTH

Can I ask where you got the rings for the large silicone rolling pin

I like my Wilton one just fine (price was right for the amount of caking that I do) - gave away my wooden one for the same reasons as Claire 138. I also agree about the rings - they seem to get in my way more than help. When I roll cookie dough, I just use dowels to make the dough even.

If you are really worried about track marks from your fondant being wider than the rolling pin, I've heard of people who use a piece of plastic pipe cut to the required length. Never tried it myself, so I can't say how well it works.

I bought them in a packet of 3 different sizes. I don't remember where from but you can probably get them online or at Michael's.

I have the long white wilton rolling pin, a silicone pin with handles and then a long silicone pin without handles. I use the long silicone one without handles almost all the time. Sometimes you will get a ridge or an edge in the fondant, just rub your hands over the entire piece to smooth it (and make it shiny) before you put it on the cake.

My wilton rolling pin hasn't been out of its package in about three years.

The 20 in rolling pin from Wilton is the only one I own and use. Well I also have the 9in one, but the big one works for fondant, cookie dough and pie crust so I haven't felt the need to buy another one.

I have a set of the o-rings for the large rolling pin, but never use them. I actually think they get in the way unless your fondant is under 19in wide in all directions you may find that you roll over your findant with the o-ring.

I use the Caketrick fondant roller as does Marsha Winbeckler when she travels to teach...otherwise they use a sheeter. She sells it on her site. It's the heaviest roller I've found and doesn't leave tracks. It's a little pricey but I wouldn't let go of it if for all the plastic ones made. I paid more for my Agbay and don't use it as much as I use my roller. Marsha's video on fondant features it.

I have a marble rolling pin and love it. It doesnt have handles and tapers off at the ends so doesnt leave a line when rolling things bigger than it. It is also great for flower paste I find (and pastry), I feel the weight of it helps roll things nicely.
It also doubles as a handy pestle and for crushing candy!

The only problems with it though I have only once made cookies (NFSC) but found the weight squashed the dough a bit, but if you had rings on the ends that would prevent that. I have not got rings and never used them so cant comment on how useful they are except something (rings/dowels) would have been good for the cookies when using a marble rolling pin.
One word of caution though the thing could be used as a weapon!! If you are a home baker and have small children you would need to be careful they dont get a hold of it and drop it on their toe or something. I live on my own and just be careful it doesnt roll off the bench and store it floor level in a cupboard.

Try using a length of pvc piping- it's light weight, smooth & best of all because it is hollow, you can use the ends to lift the roller & fondant.

For rolling the fondant, I love to use my 18"-20" aluminum rolling pin. When the fondant is ready to be rolled into a "tape", I then turn into the Wilton 20" rollin pin to transfer. I'm sure the pvc would be great for transferring as well.

I still have my grandmothers old wood one. Its gotta be 50 - 75 years old and i love it. Its about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. You kinda have to open handedly palm it. It takes a little practice, but can kinda feel when your doing it right, it just kinda works. Hard to explain until u actually do it.

I don,t want a light weight one for rolling out fondant. I like the large wilton one or any kind that is heavy. I would be all day using a pvc pipe for fondant. Love the little one by wilton for g/p. I could use pvc pipe for rolling out g/p though.

I'm with Icer...when I've got a 4 or 5 tier cake(or 7 tier like I just did a few weeks ago), I don't want to be totally exhausted by the time I roll out all of that fondant. Weight is the key thing and the plastic rollers and pvc pipe don't have it. I use the pvc to lift the fondant onto the tier, but it's just not heavy enough for rolling...at least not for me. I know others who like it fine. Just my 2 cents.