Trimming Problem

[Rebekah Krieger]

Ok- This issue is simple but has given me the MOST Grief!!! I cannot for the life of me get a pot to stay still for trimming. I have used wedges of clay on opposite sides (4) and sometimes crack the rim trying to press them down. And if I don't crack the rim, They get loose with spinning and my trimming starts to get all screwed up. I have seen a potter on youtube "wet" the wheel and "whack" the bottom of the bowl to create adhesian- which sometimes helps a little. I cannot for the life of me figure out what I am doing wrong. If I could solve my trimming issues, I would be a much happier potter.

 

 

Please If you can include a photo of your technique It would help!

[ayjay]

I have seen a potter on youtube "wet" the wheel and "whack" the bottom of the bowl to create adhesian- which sometimes helps a little.

 

I was taught to make a clay chuck for trimming pots, I find that a little laborious and now use the wet the wheel and whack it on technique - it's not quite that simple though - the wheel has to be just damp not wet - if it's wet the pot slides around - I then damp the rim of the pot with a sponge and carefully position it centrally - a firm push downwards will usually lock it in place.

 

Occasionally a pot will fly off - it's OK to swear when that happens - but with practice it happens less often.

[Rebekah Krieger]

I have seen a potter on youtube "wet" the wheel and "whack" the bottom of the bowl to create adhesian- which sometimes helps a little.

 

I was taught to make a clay chuck for trimming pots, I find that a little laborious and now use the wet the wheel and whack it on technique - it's not quite that simple though - the wheel has to be just damp not wet - if it's wet the pot slides around - I then damp the rim of the pot with a sponge and carefully position it centrally - a firm push downwards will usually lock it in place.

 

Occasionally a pot will fly off - it's OK to swear when that happens - but with practice it happens less often.

 

I get nervous that I am going to ruin the rim when I "whack" it.

[Mark C.]

If you are cracking your rims you are trimming to dry

Wetting the wheel head is best done if you can tap pots on center-(do a search on this)

When you push down on the clay balls do not push much on the rims-a little water sprayed on rim/wheel head helps stick them down

I suggest you master this with 30 cereal bowls when you finish the 30th one you will have it down.

Mark

[Rebekah Krieger]

If you are cracking your rims you are trimming to dry

Wetting the wheel head is best done if you can tap pots on center-(do a search on this)

When you push down on the clay balls do not push much on the rims-a little water sprayed on rim/wheel head helps stick them down

I suggest you master this with 30 cereal bowls when you finish the 30th one you will have it down.

Mark

 

I was suspicious of this. -

[GEP]

If you are cracking your rims you are trimming to dry

 

Agreed. Your pots are probably too dry. Also, pots that are too dry take a lot longer to trim. The longer you trim them, the more likely they will work themselves loose frrom their wads.

 

My suggestions:

 

Trim pots when they are a little softer.

 

If you must trim them when they are too dry (we can't always get to them in time), rather than wads, use a coil of clay to encircle and attach the rim to the wheelhead. The coil will hold the pot in place longer than wads.

 

Cut a small circle out of an old credit card. Place the circle on top (really the bottom) of your pot while trimming, so you can use your finger to hold the pot down. The plastic allows your finger to spin freely.

 

Mea

[neilestrick]

I never use wads to hold my pots down, just pressure with the left hand. To keep from pushing through the bottom of the pot with said pressure, I put a Snapple lid on the pot (upside down) to distribute the pressure over a larger area. Combined with lugs the pot should never move.

 

If the lip of you pot is not even, trimming is much more difficult. Even out the lip of every pot with your needle tool while throwing.

[GEP]

I hereby retract my "cut a circle out of a credit card" advice, because the Snapple lid is a much better idea.

 

Mea

[OffCenter]

I'm surprised no one suggested a Griffin Grip! The last time it was discussed here I was the only one who thought it was a waste of money. I still think they are for an experienced potter, but if you're a beginner it (or the better versions by Bailey) may be just what you need.

 

Jim

[neilestrick]

I'm surprised no one suggested a Griffin Grip! The last time it was discussed here I was the only one who thought it was a waste of money. I still think they are for an experienced potter, but if you're a beginner it (or the better versions by Bailey) may be just what you need.

 

Jim

 

I consider the Giffin Grip to be a substitute for skill. If you start using one you will never learn how to trim without one. They are not allowed in my studio.

[neilestrick]

I hereby retract my "cut a circle out of a credit card" advice, because the Snapple lid is a much better idea.

 

Mea

 

Thanks! Baby food jar lids work well, too. Anything that doesn't have a jagged serrated edge. For larger pots I use mayonnaise lids or pint/gallon jar lids.

[OffCenter]

I'm surprised no one suggested a Griffin Grip! The last time it was discussed here I was the only one who thought it was a waste of money. I still think they are for an experienced potter, but if you're a beginner it (or the better versions by Bailey) may be just what you need.

 

Jim

 

I consider the Giffin Grip to be a substitute for skill. If you start using one you will never learn how to trim without one. They are not allowed in my studio.

 

Good for you. Obviously everyone doesn't agree with me and Neil. Look at this thread http://ceramicartsda...__fromsearch__1 and this one http://ceramicartsdaily.org/community/topic/3608-diy-magnetic-trimming-chuck/page__hl__Griffin%20Grip__fromsearch__1

 

Jim

[neilestrick]

I'm surprised no one suggested a Griffin Grip! The last time it was discussed here I was the only one who thought it was a waste of money. I still think they are for an experienced potter, but if you're a beginner it (or the better versions by Bailey) may be just what you need.

 

Jim

 

I consider the Giffin Grip to be a substitute for skill. If you start using one you will never learn how to trim without one. They are not allowed in my studio.

 

Good for you. Obviously everyone doesn't agree with me and Neil. Look at this thread http://ceramicartsda...__fromsearch__1

 

Jim

 

If God wanted us to use a Giffin Grip, he would have made it fit a regular splash pan.

[GEP]

I'm surprised no one suggested a Griffin Grip! The last time it was discussed here I was the only one who thought it was a waste of money. I still think they are for an experienced potter, but if you're a beginner it (or the better versions by Bailey) may be just what you need.

 

Jim

 

I consider the Giffin Grip to be a substitute for skill. If you start using one you will never learn how to trim without one. They are not allowed in my studio.

 

Good for you. Obviously everyone doesn't agree with me and Neil. Look at this thread http://ceramicartsda...__fromsearch__1 and this one http://ceramicartsdaily.org/community/topic/3608-diy-magnetic-trimming-chuck/page__hl__Griffin%20Grip__fromsearch__1

 

Jim

 

I am one who loves the giffin grip, although it's probably true that I'll never learn to trim without one now.

 

I did not suggest it to OP because it would not have answered her question. It holds pots in place about as well as wads.

 

Mea

[Mark C.]

I think the Giffen is not a tool for new to pottery students as you need to learn all the skills-I am a huge believer in learning all the skills

Learning to tap on center -stick pots to a wet wheel head using clay to hold the pot down those are skills you need to work on not a device that does it for you

 

Like in new to driving driving a automatic makes one never learn about stick shift

For me the Giffen is a production tool like the wheel or power slab roller or car kiln

 

One first needs to master all the basics before moving ahead and really most never need to trim that much in life.

Mark

[OffCenter]

I'm surprised no one suggested a Griffin Grip! The last time it was discussed here I was the only one who thought it was a waste of money. I still think they are for an experienced potter, but if you're a beginner it (or the better versions by Bailey) may be just what you need.

 

Jim

 

I consider the Giffin Grip to be a substitute for skill. If you start using one you will never learn how to trim without one. They are not allowed in my studio.

 

Good for you. Obviously everyone doesn't agree with me and Neil. Look at this thread http://ceramicartsda...__fromsearch__1

 

Jim

 

If God wanted us to use a Giffin Grip, he would have made it fit a regular splash pan.

 

And, as Abraham Lincoln said after the fall of Vicksburg: "The only thing more worthless than a Griffin Grip is a splash pan."

 

Jim

[Rebekah Krieger]

LOL- I didn't know this thread would become entertainment

 

I have never heard of griffin grip. My pots do seem pretty dry and I tend to spray them with a spray bottle a lot to moisten them up. I think the reason I am trimming dry is because in the class I learned pottery It was always once per week and although they were covered in plastic, my pots dried out more than everyone else's because I tend to make things on the thin side. So I learned incorrectly by default.

 

Thanks!!

[Claypple]

I'm surprised no one suggested a Griffin Grip! The last time it was discussed here I was the only one who thought it was a waste of money. I still think they are for an experienced potter, but if you're a beginner it (or the better versions by Bailey) may be just what you need.

 

Jim

 

There is a cheaper thing than the Griffin wheel. Spend $3-4 and buy magnet blocks.

They will stick to the metal wheel like a rock. Here is the one from Harber freight tools:

 

http://www.harborfre...ocks-98406.html

 

I am sorry John225, but we you do not even have to build anything around those magnets. Just use them as they are.

[Benzine]

"And, as Abraham Lincoln said after the fall of Vicksburg: 'The only thing more worthless than a Griffin Grip is a splash pan.'"

 

I couldn't find the source of this quote. Was this from the undocumented portions of his life, along with his time as a vampire hunter?

 

I learned to trim, via the tap center method. I had never heard of a Giffin Grip, until my second teaching job, where the previous instructor had one. I had the students use it there, and I just bought one for my current classroom. The reason for both is time. Realistically, with everything I have to cover, in the small amount of time I have, I just can't teach the students how to tap center properly. I go over it with them, but as I said, there just isn't time. With only one class that focuses on clay, I honestly can't devote the amount of time to simply making something on the potter's wheel that I'd like, let alone trimming.

 

I understand, the distaste for the device, but it does have its place.

[Claypple]

These are the magnetic blocks I was talking about:

 

 

 

 

You can wrap them with some soft material if desired.

 

[Pres]

LOL- I didn't know this thread would become entertainment

 

I have never heard of griffin grip. My pots do seem pretty dry and I tend to spray them with a spray bottle a lot to moisten them up. I think the reason I am trimming dry is because in the class I learned pottery It was always once per week and although they were covered in plastic, my pots dried out more than everyone else's because I tend to make things on the thin side. So I learned incorrectly by default.

 

Thanks!!

 

 

I trim when leather hard. For years I used the clay chocks, and taught the same. I also used and taught damp head and tap. When using chocks it is important not to push them onto the pot, but place them next to the pot and press down onto the wheel head. That pressure downward will expand the chock a bit towards the pot giving a tight fit. As far as the damp head and tap, this is not very good if your bowl is not even at the rim, or if in your case it is past leather hard.

 

Back in the 90's I started doing some odd shaped pots and used the griffin grip to help with the trimming. Now days I use whatever technique seems to work best having a tool box of techniques that I can adapt to fit the form. A little technology sometimes keeps one abreast of what is out there. I am interested in the new magnetic grips, and the magnet idea presented here. I have been looking at doing some recentering projects that would not require bats with offset holes for that technique. The magnetic thing may work.

[minspargal]

I use a 1 inch piece of sheet foam cut to fit the bat i am using and "glue" it to the bat with clay slip. Then i take a big black magic marker, put the wheel on slow and draw several circles. Works real nice for bowls and wide objects.

[Brian Reed]

I use a variety of methods and am confident with all of them. For bottles I use my giffin grip, because I do not have a bunch of different sized chucks to use. I also use them to trim inset lids. I am a competent tap centerer and do use the wet the rim and wheel, tap center and then give a tap on the boom to set. I have seen some people try to do this on an aluminum wheel head, but struggle with the pot sticking. I think that a Masonite bat works best because the bat tends to absorb some water and helps the clay rim to stick well. I have a video of me doing this that I filmed a couple of days ago when I was going through a load of bowls. I just edited out one bowl trim. This bowl was a little wonky, I suspect that when it was wet it got shifted on the bat when I set it down (bad habit but something I do too often). There for I centered the foot and the rim is a little out. This is not possible with a giffin grip as it centers the rim only.

 

 

 

 

[Rebekah Krieger]

I use a variety of methods and am confident with all of them. For bottles I use my giffin grip, because I do not have a bunch of different sized chucks to use. I also use them to trim inset lids. I am a competent tap centerer and do use the wet the rim and wheel, tap center and then give a tap on the boom to set. I have seen some people try to do this on an aluminum wheel head, but struggle with the pot sticking. I think that a Masonite bat works best because the bat tends to absorb some water and helps the clay rim to stick well. I have a video of me doing this that I filmed a couple of days ago when I was going through a load of bowls. I just edited out one bowl trim. This bowl was a little wonky, I suspect that when it was wet it got shifted on the bat when I set it down (bad habit but something I do too often). There for I centered the foot and the rim is a little out. This is not possible with a giffin grip as it centers the rim only.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for sharing.

[Benzine]

Very nice video Brian, thanks.