180 days along, run of 40 mugs

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Some of it may depend on your area. I only move about 2 dozen cups a year, and hundreds of (handled) mugs. 

[shawnhar]

I bet that is exactly true, I suspect no handles would be a tough sell in my area

[Rex Johnson]

...but, hey, I don't do the circuit, just a studio sale once a year, for now. Hope that doesn't mean I have to make handles on mugs some day.

[Gabby]

20 minutes ago, Rex Johnson said:

...but, hey, I don't do the circuit, just a studio sale once a year, for now. Hope that doesn't mean I have to make handles on mugs some day.

I like without handles better myself, so I don't do handles. But I am not trying to sell things.

Decades ago, before everyone was walking around with insulated paper cups of coffee from Starbucks,  people would have associated drinking hot beverages with cups with handles.  Now I can see people going either way. 

What I don't understand, and what is popular where I am, are cups that are neither with nor without handles but have a handle like thing with no space for fingers. I don't know what this is called, but you could think of it as a D shape but with no hole at all in the D.  I don't get it.

[Rex Johnson]

I see

1 minute ago, Gabby said:

I like without handles better myself, so I don't do handles. But I am not trying to sell things.

Decades ago, before everyone was walking around with insulated paper cups of coffee from Starbucks,  people would have associated drinking hot beverages with cups with handles.  Now I can see people going either way. 

What I don't understand, and what is popular where I am, are cups that are neither with nor without handles but have a handle like thing with no space for fingers. I don't know what this is called, but you could think of it as a D shape but with no hole at all in the D.  I don't get it.

I see it as 'modern' making vs 'traditional' making.

There's this whole revived movement on handmade goods now, and that's a good thing for us clayslingers. Glad it's happening.

Lots of young talent out there.  The choice is how you want to approach the process.

[Gabby]

22 minutes ago, Rex Johnson said:

I see

I see it as 'modern' making vs 'traditional' making.

There's this whole revived movement on handmade goods now, and that's a good thing for us clayslingers. Glad it's happening.

Lots of young talent out there.  The choice is how you want to approach the process.

I like that there is variety also! I just don't get how one is supposed to hold such a cup.  I am thinking one hand on the bottom and the other using the handle in a not-weight-bearing way to tip the cup toward the mouth.  (I have seen these at shops so I can't just ask the potter)

 

[Babs]

It' a finger strengthening device.....

[Stephen]

On 9/20/2018 at 10:08 AM, shawnhar said:

Ha! I already broke one trying to do it, so....point taken, lol. 

I am seeing the same thing with throwing, if I open carefully and do the pulls right, there is no need to needle the top, but I still had to on a bunch of these.

just thought I would add to what you said on your pulls. A real break through for me with mugs was learning to really haul up the clay from the bottom. I now needle every pot bottom and haul that clay up. My production time was literally cut in half because I was no longer trimming mugs to form and trimming has become really just a quick couple moment clean up and stamp session.  

Oh and I like using tumblers for coffee sometimes 

[shawnhar]

1 hour ago, Stephen said:

just thought I would add to what you said on your pulls. A real break through for me with mugs was learning to really haul up the clay from the bottom. I now needle every pot bottom and haul that clay up. My production time was literally cut in half because I was no longer trimming mugs to form and trimming has become really just a quick couple moment clean up and stamp session.  

Oh and I like using tumblers for coffee sometimes 

Interesting... I have gotten a lot better at getting the clay up from the bottom, but I still can't make the tapered shape I want without using the "wooden knife" tool to carve off a little of the of the bottom and put the final shape on it before wiring it off. I have had "some" luck shaping the bottom with a wooden rib while throwing, but more often than not, that introduces a wobble, or I get the clay too thin down there because I can't feel it through the rib. It has made a big difference in my trim time too, not trimming for shape, just to put the foot ring on. I need to make/get one of those right angle trimming tools that grabs the clay as you trim off that bottom bit, half the time I mess up the bottom if I try to do it  in 2 moves while the wheel is still spinning as the wooden knife pushes the clay back up against the pot or doesn't grab it right, etc...

[liambesaw]

30 minutes ago, shawnhar said:

Interesting... I have gotten a lot better at getting the clay up from the bottom, but I still can't make the tapered shape I want without using the "wooden knife" tool to carve off a little of the of the bottom and put the final shape on it before wiring it off. I have had "some" luck shaping the bottom with a wooden rib while throwing, but more often than not, that introduces a wobble, or I get the clay too thin down there because I can't feel it through the rib. It has made a big difference in my trim time too, not trimming for shape, just to put the foot ring on. I need to make/get one of those right angle trimming tools that grabs the clay as you trim off that bottom bit, half the time I mess up the bottom if I try to do it  in 2 moves while the wheel is still spinning as the wooden knife pushes the clay back up against the pot or doesn't grab it right, etc...

Nothing wrong with cutting and shaping the bottom of your mugs with the wood knife.  If you don't do it already, a mirror pointed at the base of your wheel helps a lot with gauging thickness while ribbing/shaping.

[dhPotter]

A mirror and a dampbox are 2 tools that improved my productivity greatly. And cut down on the anxiety of making as a part timer.

[liambesaw]

46 minutes ago, dhPotter said:

A mirror and a dampbox are 2 tools that improved my productivity greatly. And cut down on the anxiety of making as a part timer.

Yeah my wet box is like some kind of miracle solution when I can't get around to something multi-stepped, like slipping, handles, etc.  Keeps whatever I put in it at the stage I put it in at.  Miracle!

[Rae Reich]

On 10/5/2018 at 10:07 AM, shawnhar said:

Interesting... I have gotten a lot better at getting the clay up from the bottom, but I still can't make the tapered shape I want without using the "wooden knife" tool to carve off a little of the of the bottom and put the final shape on it before wiring it off. I have had "some" luck shaping the bottom with a wooden rib while throwing, but more often than not, that introduces a wobble, or I get the clay too thin down there because I can't feel it through the rib. It has made a big difference in my trim time too, not trimming for shape, just to put the foot ring on. I need to make/get one of those right angle trimming tools that grabs the clay as you trim off that bottom bit, half the time I mess up the bottom if I try to do it  in 2 moves while the wheel is still spinning as the wooden knife pushes the clay back up against the pot or doesn't grab it right, etc...

Try slowing your wheel and motions when trimming (and shaping). 

That's the beauty of learning on the kick wheel - you don't want to kick it up again, so you learn to match your motions to your slowing speed and discover greater control. Power wheels seem to encourage "leadfoot" and a conscious decision must be made to slow down.