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Quickest Way Of Making An Enclosed Form?


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Hi,

 

I'm making a series of vessels that start out as roughly spherical enclosed forms. As the plan is to make quite a few, I'm wondering what's the most time efficient way of making them in volume.

 

I'm currently making two pinch pots with the same diameter rim and conjoining them but this is proving quite time-consuming. Any suggestions for a good technique to produce them en masse?

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Really depends on the size and you skill level.

 

Plaster molds and slip casting if uniformity is desired. Requires the greatest amount of preparation work but results in the fastest working method.

 

The wheel allows larger sizes. Either as a trimmed bubble or as two bowls joined together. (requires some mastery of the wheel)

 

Half-sphere forms and hand building techniques is a good balance of processes too.

 

Joined pinch pots if the spheres are small.

 

Hiring someone else to do it requires the most money but saves you the time! :-)

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Thanks all for the great advice.

 

I'm making a range of sizes so, from the sound of it, slump molds are the way forward for the smaller ones. I'm reasonably capable on the wheel so will throw two hemispherical bowls to be conjoined for the larger ones.

 

And if all goes really well @MatthewV, I'll hire an army of enclosed form makers ;)

 

If anyone can recommend a good thread/tutorial for making slump molds, that would be much appreciated too

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I threw bowls, trimmed them with round bottoms, and bisque fired my slump molds. You would want to be more careful with the insides shape to get a nice hemisphere.

 

I use both sides of my molds for classes and hand building projects. They are simply useful to have around the studio.

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if you are fairly capable at the wheel then make small spherical shapes on the wheel. not two bowls joined together but actually a sphere. it does not take as much time as you think it does. if you can make narrow neck vases or bottles, you can make a sphere on the wheel.

 

otherwise measured slab on identical slump molds (or if you lucky enough to find round wooden bowls at a thrift store).

 

if you are in a pinch or bind and want kinda one of a kind thick bone dry clay can also work as a mold. 

 

depending on your proficiency really the wheel is the fastest - since it would be a repeated task.  

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Maybe this is already posted, but there is a method set out in several books. You get a thick piece of cardboard and cut out the shape you want. Make a soft slab and gently lay it over the opening with a fair amount of excess. Set the cardboard over a big bowl or something so the soft slab can sink into the opening. You can encourage this by moving the edges of the slab inward. let it firm a bit and then invert it onto a flat board. Reverse the cut out piece and repeat to make the other half. This method allows for irregular shapes and I have seen large fish made this was.

 

Once both halves have firmed up enough, cut away the excess from the edge and score and slip the two halves together.  you will need foam to lay them on.  I have made football sized pieces this way but have seen others do much larger.  If you want to make a lot of the same thing, the cut out might be of masonite or something more permanent than cardboard. 

 

I do a lot of the two pinch pot thing myself. I love working with the enclosed form and gently putting curves and such into it. There are some pictures in my gallery of fumed raku pieces done this way.  GL  Rakuku

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