Crane made of shell material (5)
I believe the answer is:
nacre
'shell material' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'crane made' is the wordplay.
'made' indicates an anagram.
'crane' is an anagram of 'NACRE'.
'of' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for nacre that I've seen before include "Mother-of-pearl from shellfish" , "Mother of pearl" , "Pearl's mum" , "Constituent of inlay furniture" , "inside of shell" .)