Good morning everyone from rainy England!
I recently bought a clay gun after having read several good things about them and seeing nice effects on people's cakes here but I am finding it such hard work! I am partially disabled and only have 50% use of my right arm but I usually manage ok but I just find it so hard to squeeze out the fondant. My poor hands feel like they are going to fall off! Is it just the type of one that I have bought or is it always this hard?
Many thanks,
Jenny[/code]
It really depends on the type of gun you bought. I've heard many people complain about how hard their guns are to squeeze. I bought one that works on a screw. You just twist the handle and it comes out. It's great. A tip to help get the fondant out more easily (maybe you did this) is to grease the tube.
I have two squeeze trigger clay guns that I no longer use since I found the screw-type gun. http://www.makinsclay.com/US/eng/products/ultimate.htm. Note that when I clicked on the UK version of this website, this particular product wasn't listed. However, I'm sure there are a zillion helpful Americans on this board who would be happy to ship one out to you. 
In the meantime, you'll have an easier time of it if you knead quite a bit of solid fat into your fondant. I can't remember what it's called in the UK. It's called shortening in North America.
Greasing the tube helps if you're using a relatively large disc, but if you're using a disc with smal holes, greasing the tube just makes the fondant slide around inside the tube. If the fondant is stiff, it still won't extrude easily.
Hope this helps!
There was recently another thread on this and the Sculpey gun is nearly impossible to use. I think my last reply said something to the effect of, "Forget going to the gym - just use the Sculpey clay gun for fondant and you'll have arms like Popeye in no time." I found mine nearly impossible to get anything out of after the first two pushes. I'll be getting the Makins one the next time I need to do any sort of fondant work requiring ropes.
The fondant needs to be super soft for it to go through the sugarcraft gun easily. Knead some Trex into your fondant to make it very soft.
I use this red and black sugarcraft gun that is from the U.K.: http://beryls.safeshopper.com/216/7424.htm?880
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