Throwing Comfy

[Benzine]

seal the floor. you will be washing it frequently. pits don't matter unless they are golf ball sized and all over. but seal that floor somehow. even concrete paint will do. clay dust seeps into unsealed old concrete and you will wear out mops but never get it really clean.

 

if you find some TYVEK to cover the table, it will allow you to wash the surface yet it will not stick to the clay. canvas is a dust trap. slapping clay down on a dusty surface in a basement is bad stuff for your lungs.

 

 

TYVEK? I will look into it.

 

I am always careful about cleaning up after myself, so dust, shouldn't be an issue.

[oldlady]

Tyvek is a building product used to keep cold winds from blowing through the walls of your new house. if you know a builder who has a big piece, beg for it. the envelopes used for express mail are made of tyvek. you know how strong that is. i am fortunate that i have a leftover roll of tyvek from building my last house. it comes in a 10 foot wide roll. i have seen it in home depot in a three foot wide roll. don't know why anyone would want 3 foot wide for building a house.

[Pres]

This is the wheel I was talking about. It has a slight back that gives some support, and the seat kind of slopes down pushing you towards the wheel. Height adjustable as you see, and less than $100. I have tried all sorts of stools in the studio, including a 3 legged shower adjustable stool thinking I could do better cheaper-NO. This is what I put into the classroom 5 years before retirement, and never had a problem. Should have known better for home. These were originally by CI, but now Speedball.

[OffCenter]

Why not pour thick slabs of plaster? I can't imagine not having a big plaster wedging table where I can condition the clay as well as wedge and no dusty canvas.

 

Jim

[Benzine]

Why not pour thick slabs of plaster? I can't imagine not having a big plaster wedging table where I can condition the clay as well as wedge and no dusty canvas.

 

Jim

 

 

 

Not a bad idea, but my studio is multi-purpose, so I will be working with more than just clay on it.

[OffCenter]

Why not pour thick slabs of plaster? I can't imagine not having a big plaster wedging table where I can condition the clay as well as wedge and no dusty canvas.

 

Jim

 

 

 

Not a bad idea, but my studio is multi-purpose, so I will be working with more than just clay on it.

 

 

I cut out two pieces of plywood to cover the plaster when I want to use the wedging table for something else. I keep one 3x3 side for dark clay and one 3x3 side for porcelain. I can cover either or both sides with plywood.

 

Jim

[Pres]

Why not pour thick slabs of plaster? I can't imagine not having a big plaster wedging table where I can condition the clay as well as wedge and no dusty canvas.

 

Jim

 

 

 

Not a bad idea, but my studio is multi-purpose, so I will be working with more than just clay on it.

 

 

I cut out two pieces of plywood to cover the plaster when I want to use the wedging table for something else. I keep one 3x3 side for dark clay and one 3x3 side for porcelain. I can cover either or both sides with plywood.

 

Jim

 

 

Great idea, Jim, I've got some old plywood doing nothing, will work well to cover the wedging table.

[Benzine]

Why not pour thick slabs of plaster? I can't imagine not having a big plaster wedging table where I can condition the clay as well as wedge and no dusty canvas.

 

Jim

 

 

 

Not a bad idea, but my studio is multi-purpose, so I will be working with more than just clay on it.

 

 

I cut out two pieces of plywood to cover the plaster when I want to use the wedging table for something else. I keep one 3x3 side for dark clay and one 3x3 side for porcelain. I can cover either or both sides with plywood.

 

Jim

 

 

Wow, a great idea indeed.....But I already have the boards for the top...

[Benzine]

In regards to the plaster wedging surface, I do plan to make a smaller board, that I can set on top.

 

Another question. I currently have a single bat, and am looking to get more. I know a lot of people here, make their own, but I'm not sure I want to attempt that, at the moment. I was just going to go with the plasti-bat, because I'm used to those. But I noticed that Bailey has a Wonderbat listed, with removable 6" square inserts. I think this would be a great choice for me, as I do a lot of mugs and bowls. The best part is, for thirty bucks, you get the main bat, with six square inserts. So that's much cheaper, than buying six plasti-bats......Yes, I know, but still not as cheap as making dozens of my own.... Does anyone have any experience with the Wonderbat, or a reason, why they wouldn't be a good idea?

[OffCenter]

In regards to the plaster wedging surface, I do plan to make a smaller board, that I can set on top.

 

Another question. I currently have a single bat, and am looking to get more. I know a lot of people here, make their own, but I'm not sure I want to attempt that, at the moment. I was just going to go with the plasti-bat, because I'm used to those. But I noticed that Bailey has a Wonderbat listed, with removable 6" square inserts. I think this would be a great choice for me, as I do a lot of mugs and bowls. The best part is, for thirty bucks, you get the main bat, with six square inserts. So that's much cheaper, than buying six plasti-bats......Yes, I know, but still not as cheap as making dozens of my own.... Does anyone have any experience with the Wonderbat, or a reason, why they wouldn't be a good idea?

 

I know this isn't what you asked about but you could go batless. It gets a little extreme when I'm throwing 20 lb bowls but I use a heat gun to dry my pots to leather hard on the wheel. It only takes a half a minute or so for mugs and then you can put the handle on them and you're done. Same with bowls that need trimming. Throw it, put the heat gun on it, flip it and trim it. Done. No messing with bats or covering with plastic or coming in two days later and trying to remember where you were going with that pot. For me following through from start to finish without any stopping is important.

 

Jim

[Pres]

Used bats in college for everything, as the wheel used plaster bats in an inset head. Over the year though, have found throwing off the wheel head much more efficient unless throwing large. I just make certain to have an undercut on the bottom on a mug and lift with dry hands, small bowls lift carefully with dry fingers. I have used the square bat in rest system, and it does work well if you feel you need to. For larger bowls even better, but not too large.

[Benzine]

Thanks Gents.

 

Honestly, I've thrown off the wheel head, for most of my time, working on the wheel.

 

In college, I used bats, which makes sense for a shared studio. At my first teaching job, none of the wheels had bat pins, so myself and the students, just threw on the wheel head. At my second job, all the wheels had pins, and we had quite a few bats, so I of course, just used those. At my current job, one of the wheels had pins, which I removed, because we had no bats, with pin holes. So we just throw off the wheel head there too.

 

So I've got nothing against throwing off the wheel head. I just thought it would be quicker, to have something quickly removable, that I didn't have to let dry.

 

Generally, when I'm doing a series, I'll throw them, let them air dry for several hours, either on the wheel head or on a bat, cut them off, flip them over to let the bottoms dry, pull some handles if applicable, trim the feet(?), then attach the handles, as the handles have dried nicely while I was trimming. Since I have normally done this in my classroom(s), the process usually got broken up into days, and I'd have to cover the projects, in process. It will be nice, that I shouldn't have to do that now.

[clay lover]

Thanks Gents.

 

Honestly, I've thrown off the wheel head, for most of my time, working on the wheel.

 

In college, I used bats, which makes sense for a shared studio. At my first teaching job, none of the wheels had bat pins, so myself and the students, just threw on the wheel head. At my second job, all the wheels had pins, and we had quite a few bats, so I of course, just used those. At my current job, one of the wheels had pins, which I removed, because we had no bats, with pin holes. So we just throw off the wheel head there too.

 

So I've got nothing against throwing off the wheel head. I just thought it would be quicker, to have something quickly removable, that I didn't have to let dry.

 

Generally, when I'm doing a series, I'll throw them, let them air dry for several hours, either on the wheel head or on a bat, cut them off, flip them over to let the bottoms dry, pull some handles if applicable, trim the feet(?), then attach the handles, as the handles have dried nicely while I was trimming. Since I have normally done this in my classroom(s), the process usually got broken up into days, and I'd have to cover the projects, in process. It will be nice, that I shouldn't have to do that now.

 

 

I have Euclid's version of the wonder bat and use 6" bisque tiles ( from Lowe's ),in it. The pieces don't get wired off and come away from the tiles when dry enough with a perfectly smooth bottom. If I need them quicker, I can set them out of the bat onto a wire rack so that the air gets under the tile and helps it dry faster. Great for small pieces and space saving.

[Benzine]

Thanks Gents.

 

Honestly, I've thrown off the wheel head, for most of my time, working on the wheel.

 

In college, I used bats, which makes sense for a shared studio. At my first teaching job, none of the wheels had bat pins, so myself and the students, just threw on the wheel head. At my second job, all the wheels had pins, and we had quite a few bats, so I of course, just used those. At my current job, one of the wheels had pins, which I removed, because we had no bats, with pin holes. So we just throw off the wheel head there too.

 

So I've got nothing against throwing off the wheel head. I just thought it would be quicker, to have something quickly removable, that I didn't have to let dry.

 

Generally, when I'm doing a series, I'll throw them, let them air dry for several hours, either on the wheel head or on a bat, cut them off, flip them over to let the bottoms dry, pull some handles if applicable, trim the feet(?), then attach the handles, as the handles have dried nicely while I was trimming. Since I have normally done this in my classroom(s), the process usually got broken up into days, and I'd have to cover the projects, in process. It will be nice, that I shouldn't have to do that now.

 

 

I have Euclid's version of the wonder bat and use 6" bisque tiles ( from Lowe's ),in it. The pieces don't get wired off and come away from the tiles when dry enough with a perfectly smooth bottom. If I need them quicker, I can set them out of the bat onto a wire rack so that the air gets under the tile and helps it dry faster. Great for small pieces and space saving.

 

 

Ha, that's a great idea! The tiles just happen to fit in there thickness wise huh?

[Heidi K]

In regards to the plaster wedging surface, I do plan to make a smaller board, that I can set on top.

 

Another question. I currently have a single bat, and am looking to get more. I know a lot of people here, make their own, but I'm not sure I want to attempt that, at the moment. I was just going to go with the plasti-bat, because I'm used to those. But I noticed that Bailey has a Wonderbat listed, with removable 6" square inserts. I think this would be a great choice for me, as I do a lot of mugs and bowls. The best part is, for thirty bucks, you get the main bat, with six square inserts. So that's much cheaper, than buying six plasti-bats......Yes, I know, but still not as cheap as making dozens of my own.... Does anyone have any experience with the Wonderbat, or a reason, why they wouldn't be a good idea?

 

 

I've been using the Wonderbat system for a few years. It's great for throwing many small pieces and not taking up lots of shelf space (for those of us who like to throw on a bat), but there are some downsides. When the bats are super clean there is some wiggle room, so I actually have to put little pieces of clay between the parts to get the bat to stay still. When the bats AREN'T clean they can be hard to push in and pry out, so they need be in a sweet spot of dirtyness to work well. Also, they warp, so many of mine don't sit flat anymore. The description claims that the pots will release when leather hard, but in my experience the pots don't release until they're close to bone dry - I have used these bats with at least six or seven clay bodies, and I always have to wire off.

[Benzine]

In regards to the plaster wedging surface, I do plan to make a smaller board, that I can set on top.

 

Another question. I currently have a single bat, and am looking to get more. I know a lot of people here, make their own, but I'm not sure I want to attempt that, at the moment. I was just going to go with the plasti-bat, because I'm used to those. But I noticed that Bailey has a Wonderbat listed, with removable 6" square inserts. I think this would be a great choice for me, as I do a lot of mugs and bowls. The best part is, for thirty bucks, you get the main bat, with six square inserts. So that's much cheaper, than buying six plasti-bats......Yes, I know, but still not as cheap as making dozens of my own.... Does anyone have any experience with the Wonderbat, or a reason, why they wouldn't be a good idea?

 

 

I've been using the Wonderbat system for a few years. It's great for throwing many small pieces and not taking up lots of shelf space (for those of us who like to throw on a bat), but there are some downsides. When the bats are super clean there is some wiggle room, so I actually have to put little pieces of clay between the parts to get the bat to stay still. When the bats AREN'T clean they can be hard to push in and pry out, so they need be in a sweet spot of dirtyness to work well. Also, they warp, so many of mine don't sit flat anymore. The description claims that the pots will release when leather hard, but in my experience the pots don't release until they're close to bone dry - I have used these bats with at least six or seven clay bodies, and I always have to wire off.

 

 

Very good to know. I thought they claimed, they wouldn't warp, but they just state "Warp Resistant".

[Heidi K]

In regards to the plaster wedging surface, I do plan to make a smaller board, that I can set on top.

 

Another question. I currently have a single bat, and am looking to get more. I know a lot of people here, make their own, but I'm not sure I want to attempt that, at the moment. I was just going to go with the plasti-bat, because I'm used to those. But I noticed that Bailey has a Wonderbat listed, with removable 6" square inserts. I think this would be a great choice for me, as I do a lot of mugs and bowls. The best part is, for thirty bucks, you get the main bat, with six square inserts. So that's much cheaper, than buying six plasti-bats......Yes, I know, but still not as cheap as making dozens of my own.... Does anyone have any experience with the Wonderbat, or a reason, why they wouldn't be a good idea?

 

 

I've been using the Wonderbat system for a few years. It's great for throwing many small pieces and not taking up lots of shelf space (for those of us who like to throw on a bat), but there are some downsides. When the bats are super clean there is some wiggle room, so I actually have to put little pieces of clay between the parts to get the bat to stay still. When the bats AREN'T clean they can be hard to push in and pry out, so they need be in a sweet spot of dirtyness to work well. Also, they warp, so many of mine don't sit flat anymore. The description claims that the pots will release when leather hard, but in my experience the pots don't release until they're close to bone dry - I have used these bats with at least six or seven clay bodies, and I always have to wire off.

 

 

Very good to know. I thought they claimed, they wouldn't warp, but they just state "Warp Resistant".

 

 

They also tell you to dry them and store them vertically, separated by something like a dish rack, and while mine are vertical, I've never managed to get something like a dish rack to separate them (I have enough trouble fitting everything into my space as is, I don't need these to use twice as much space as their volume would require), so it could be my fault that they're warped.

[Benzine]

The "Non-warpping" factor, is why I was initially thinking of Plasti Bat. I just like the removable insert aspect of the Wonder Bat. Is there a Plasti Bat that has a removable insert? If there's not, there should be!

[MichaelP]

The "Non-warpping" factor, is why I was initially thinking of Plasti Bat. I just like the removable insert aspect of the Wonder Bat. Is there a Plasti Bat that has a removable insert? If there's not, there should be!

 

One of the main features of the WonderBat is that it allows the wears to dry on the bottom. In this respect they behave almost like plaster bats. You leave your piece on the removable part of the WonderBat and just let it dry "as is". Plastic bats don't have this important feature.

[Benzine]

The "Non-warpping" factor, is why I was initially thinking of Plasti Bat. I just like the removable insert aspect of the Wonder Bat. Is there a Plasti Bat that has a removable insert? If there's not, there should be!

 

One of the main features of the WonderBat is that it allows the wears to dry on the bottom. In this respect they behave almost like plaster bats. You leave your piece on the removable part of the WonderBat and just let it dry "as is". Plastic bats don't have this important feature.

 

 

To me, that's a moot point, as I'm used to cutting mine off anyway. Also, as Heidi stated, the clay doesn't always release from the bat, when it should. Not that it matters, as the Wonder Bats are still looking like my best option.

[clay lover]

Thanks Gents.

 

Honestly, I've thrown off the wheel head, for most of my time, working on the wheel.

 

In college, I used bats, which makes sense for a shared studio. At my first teaching job, none of the wheels had bat pins, so myself and the students, just threw on the wheel head. At my second job, all the wheels had pins, and we had quite a few bats, so I of course, just used those. At my current job, one of the wheels had pins, which I removed, because we had no bats, with pin holes. So we just throw off the wheel head there too.

 

So I've got nothing against throwing off the wheel head. I just thought it would be quicker, to have something quickly removable, that I didn't have to let dry.

 

Generally, when I'm doing a series, I'll throw them, let them air dry for several hours, either on the wheel head or on a bat, cut them off, flip them over to let the bottoms dry, pull some handles if applicable, trim the feet(?), then attach the handles, as the handles have dried nicely while I was trimming. Since I have normally done this in my classroom(s), the process usually got broken up into days, and I'd have to cover the projects, in process. It will be nice, that I shouldn't have to do that now.

 

 

I have Euclid's version of the wonder bat and use 6" bisque tiles ( from Lowe's ),in it. The pieces don't get wired off and come away from the tiles when dry enough with a perfectly smooth bottom. If I need them quicker, I can set them out of the bat onto a wire rack so that the air gets under the tile and helps it dry faster. Great for small pieces and space saving.

 

 

Ha, that's a great idea! The tiles just happen to fit in there thickness wise huh?

 

 

They just happened to fit that brand. I first got some at the shop in Arrowmont's campus, but discovered that the Lowe's ones were the same. Only caution, the tiles will grind off you ring finger in a heartbeat if you go after that flange of clay at the bottom of a piece. I never even feel it happening, and WOW, nail gone to the blood!. Had to learn to leave that bit of clay and use a wood tool to trim it off when finished throwing the piece.

 

The trick, I think, is to be able to just wait for them to release, even if hurrying the drying with a rack. They will come away smooth as a whistle and still damp enough to sign, but if you tug on ones that are too wet, you will end up with a warped bottom.