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Giselle: I've found clay (??) here that doesn't have to be baked or fired. It dries in the sun and gets hard (they say). Hmmmm, don't know if it is hard enough to make stamps that won't break. When I'm back in Switzerland I go try to find the Fimo.

 

PSC: I just want to come to your studio and rummage in your boxes!!! I'm a little squirrel too. I have to keep everything that one can use for making marks.

 

AndyL: oh wow! You are a real Do-it-yourselver. Did you learn (in a former profession for instance) how to make such things as you describe?

 

Alabama: you never cease to astonish me. Cookie bouquet business? Tell us more! And oh yes, I'm getting really nervous when I cannot find my favorite tools annymore. Either my husband threw it away (because he thought it must be some waste laying around the washing room - which is also part of my studio), or else it  must be in one of the other rooms in the cellar that I use for making my pieces.... I always get hot flashes until I found it again...

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I have made a neat and inexpensive banding wheel from an old ceiling fan and a piece of 3/4" plywood. The bearings on the fan are pretty heavy duty and very smooth operating for almost anything you might want to put on it. If you don't have the fan lying around, you can usually pick one up at a thrift store for $5 or less. Then it's a relatively simple operation to disassemble it, cut off a few misc. pieces with a hacksaw, and reassemble it in a slightly different configuration, cut a round turntable from the 3/4" plywood, drill the plywood and mount it on the fan blade flange. Then you take the upper part of the fan housing, turn it upside down and screw it back on to the fan using the same mounting holes and screws you removed the housing part from. This provides a very stable base. Total cost for the banding wheel could be under $10.

I'll be making a short video of the fabrication for a future post if there's interest.

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  I usually use a altered bamboo

skewer,(found in grocery stores). 

 

 

See ya,

Alabama

Like Alabama, I like bamboo. I have found a variety of uses for bamboo chopsticks. Sharpened in different ways they make great calligraphy tools, soften the edges to cut down on burrs in the clay. If you drill a hole in one end, then sharpen the end until you get a u-shaped edge you get a nice double line tool. Rubber banded together in a cross, you can use them for measuring tools for bowls and mugs or other things that need to be the same size and depth. 

 

Bamboo spoons are all the rage right now, and bamboo is a pretty environmentally friendly. Cut the handles off the spoons, reshape on a belt sander, reshape t he handles also, and use for ribs. Bamboo seems to hold up really well in water with little care.

 

Arch cutter is simple using a hacksaw blade. These blades have a hole on each end. Place a string through one hole, run to hole on other side and through the hole. Then going to the loose end of string before tying together, wrap around the string a few times- about 3-4. Tie the two ends together after you have bent the blade into an arch. This is pretty good as is, but for a little adjustment, place a short bamboo stick in one of the loops so you can wind the string tighter to make narrower arch. Tuck the stick into the string to hold in place.

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I wonder if the ceiling fan banding wheel could be wired thru a rheostat to make a variable-speed turntable for the spray booth. ?

 

Also love the magnetic spray booth liner holder. Since my booth is fiberglass, I could put an adhesive magnet strip around the top edge of the booth, or if that's not a strong enuf magnet, I could silicone a strip of galvanized sheeting and use refrigerator magnets.

 

There is a moldable "self setting rubber" called Sugaru (very expensive) that I found online and was raving about to my #1🌞. He found instructions in eHow (I think) to make my own with silicone and cornstarch! It has a short set-up time (silicone), but sticks to anything that silicone will. Great for cushy handles and reinforcing connector cables where they wear with bending and custom-sized wall hooks and probably much more.

I keep a tube of silicone around to make pads on my pots, mugs, vases, well, everything. I've got mugs with 25 yr old pads! It is dishwasher-proof and microwaveable. When I unload the kiln and lightly sand/grind the bottoms using one mug against the other, I upend all the pots and put three dabs of GE clear silicone on each pot foot - just a little bit, usually no bigger than 1/4" dots. Let the silicone set up for an hour or so, till it is still flexible but no longer sticky, then turn the pots right-side-up on a flat and level non-porous surface (or put waxed paper on porous surfaces) to harden overnight (24 hrs is best, but 8 will do). It flattens to a thin pad. Tip slightly to release from surface or just peel off waxed paper. It can also be used to level up tippy sculptures (mine and others'). It is effective in earthquakes, too. Here in CA, I have a friend whose whole shelf of mugs was sent to the floor except for my mugs - the silicone kept them from sliding! My other friend keeps her mugs upside down on the shelves, so she needed more mugs.

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I wonder if the ceiling fan banding wheel could be wired thru a rheostat to make a variable-speed turntable for the spray booth. ?

 

Also love the magnetic spray booth liner holder. Since my booth is fiberglass, I could put an adhesive magnet strip around the top edge of the booth, or if that's not a strong enuf magnet, I could silicone a strip of galvanized sheeting and use refrigerator magnets.

 

There is a moldable "self setting rubber" called Sugaru (very expensive) that I found online and was raving about to my #1. He found instructions in eHow (I think) to make my own with silicone and cornstarch! It has a short set-up time (silicone), but sticks to anything that silicone will. Great for cushy handles and reinforcing connector cables where they wear with bending and custom-sized wall hooks and probably much more.

I keep a tube of silicone around to make pads on my pots, mugs, vases, well, everything. I've got mugs with 25 yr old pads! It is dishwasher-proof and microwaveable. When I unload the kiln and lightly sand/grind the bottoms using one mug against the other, I upend all the pots and put three dabs of GE clear silicone on each pot foot - just a little bit, usually no bigger than 1/4" dots. Let the silicone set up for an hour or so, till it is still flexible but no longer sticky, then turn the pots right-side-up on a flat and level non-porous surface (or put waxed paper on porous surfaces) to harden overnight (24 hrs is best, but 8 will do). It flattens to a thin pad. Tip slightly to release from surface or just peel off waxed paper. It can also be used to level up tippy sculptures (mine and others'). It is effective in earthquakes, too. Here in CA, I have a friend whose whole shelf of mugs was sent to the floor except for my mugs - the silicone kept them from sliding! My other friend keeps her mugs upside down on the shelves, so she needed more mugs.

Wiring the banding wheel is something that I haven't considered. At first blush I think it would be possible, but I'd have to do a little research to figure out the particulars to see if it can be done economically.

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Sorry ... Don't know how to use quote correctly!

 

JohnnyK ... I'd like pictures/video of your ceiling fan banding wheel. Thx!

I'll take some pix of the finished unit (since it's already built) and post them later this week. The video will have to wait awhile. I'm looking for another cheap fan so I can document the process from start to finish. The fan that you get has to have a downrod because the outer housing is used for the base. A "hugger" fan won't work for what I did.

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I'am happy that you all part with your self made tools ideas. This is so great! One can learn from the other and so on. Thank you!

Johnny (welcome!), thanks in advance for the pics.

 

Judy, you just click on the "Quote" you want to quote and you can write just under the enframed text box. If you want to quote only part of the text, you can delete (inside the text box) the text you don't want to show.

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I'am happy that you all part with your self made tools ideas. 

 

Judy, you just click on the "Quote" you want to quote and you can write just under the enframed text box. If you want to quote only part of the text, you can delete (inside the text box) the text you don't want to show.

like this, evelyne?  thank you for the info that is nowhere else.

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Thanks Evelyne ... I clicked too many times when I was trying to do it.  

 

I'm writing all these little tidbits down and will put in a how to doc when I get a chance.  I'm embarrassed to admit I just figured out how to use "View New Content" and it would magically present me with only new stuff!  I have lots of computer experience but not on forums ... I prefer my social contacts face-to-face.  Having said that, this forum is the perfect balance of information and camaraderie.

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I have modified the old wheel I have with 3 pins and made about 30 bats to fit. I am now in the process of making a slab roller with a 2'x4' tabletop.. Am using the two roller and cable system. I had a bunch of oak scraps in the shop so I made it all out of oak with a bottom shelf laminated from lots of strips. Will have to post some pics when I get done.

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I wonder if the ceiling fan banding wheel could be wired thru a rheostat to make a variable-speed turntable for the spray booth. ?

 

Also love the magnetic spray booth liner holder. Since my booth is fiberglass, I could put an adhesive magnet strip around the top edge of the booth, or if that's not a strong enuf magnet, I could silicone a strip of galvanized sheeting and use refrigerator magnets.

 

There is a moldable "self setting rubber" called Sugaru (very expensive) that I found online and was raving about to my #1. He found instructions in eHow (I think) to make my own with silicone and cornstarch! It has a short set-up time (silicone), but sticks to anything that silicone will. Great for cushy handles and reinforcing connector cables where they wear with bending and custom-sized wall hooks and probably much more.

I keep a tube of silicone around to make pads on my pots, mugs, vases, well, everything. I've got mugs with 25 yr old pads! It is dishwasher-proof and microwaveable. When I unload the kiln and lightly sand/grind the bottoms using one mug against the other, I upend all the pots and put three dabs of GE clear silicone on each pot foot - just a little bit, usually no bigger than 1/4" dots. Let the silicone set up for an hour or so, till it is still flexible but no longer sticky, then turn the pots right-side-up on a flat and level non-porous surface (or put waxed paper on porous surfaces) to harden overnight (24 hrs is best, but 8 will do). It flattens to a thin pad. Tip slightly to release from surface or just peel off waxed paper. It can also be used to level up tippy sculptures (mine and others'). It is effective in earthquakes, too. Here in CA, I have a friend whose whole shelf of mugs was sent to the floor except for my mugs - the silicone kept them from sliding! My other friend keeps her mugs upside down on the shelves, so she needed more mugs.

Wiring the banding wheel is something that I haven't considered. At first blush I think it would be possible, but I'd have to do a little research to figure out the particulars to see if it can be done economically.

 

You could prolly rig a model train transformer to it.

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Giselle: I've found clay (??) here that doesn't have to be baked or fired. It dries in the sun and gets hard (they say). Hmmmm, don't know if it is hard enough to make stamps that won't break. When I'm back in Switzerland I go try to find the Fimo./quote]

 

That sounds like air dry clay. If so, its very lightweight and I'm not sure if it's waterproof. But it may be worth a try! Let me know if it works.

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you are right, denise, the new sieves are carp, i misspelled it.  i still have one of the 1960s sieves but its plastic finally died.  wouldn't you after all those years of use?  it had a bottom screen that was FLAT.  nobody else seems to have a FLAT one since there is apparently only one maker.  i hate the new one but have to use it.  just another of the "new and better" things that replaced really excellent things.  

I got a new metal screen for a 5 gallon bucket at Armadillo clay in Austin. I got a whole set of brass Standard screens at a recycling center in Billings, MT. At the time $2.50/pound. I mentioned making your own screens from a 5 gallon bucket lid in a previous post.

Marcia

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  • 3 weeks later...

Attached are a few pix of the ceiling fan banding wheel I spoke about earlier.

I've purchased a couple of fans to use for the video I'm going to shoot on the fabrication process, but the video will be done as soon as I recover from my recent hand surgery. (That will be in about 2 months.) After  you look at the pix let me know if you have any questions.

I'm still checking on a way to power it for the spray booth application.

post-17674-0-72646000-1434391840_thumb.jpgpost-17674-0-47145700-1434391862_thumb.jpgpost-17674-0-00100700-1434391886_thumb.jpg

post-17674-0-72646000-1434391840_thumb.jpg

post-17674-0-47145700-1434391862_thumb.jpg

post-17674-0-00100700-1434391886_thumb.jpg

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gorgeous!   gorgeous!   what a great idea to take advantage of the very sturdy bearings in a ceiling fan.  power might be overkill.  how do you see it as an advantage over your finger when it is normal, not messed up by surgery?  for spraying, would you cover it with something waterproof? 

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JohnnyK, the wheel does look elegant! I can see why oldlady is reluctant to cover it. I look forward to your instructional video and will be combing the yard sales for raw materials.

 

Oldlady: a powered banding wheel in the spray booth will allow me to spray a more consistent coat without start/stop thicknesses, as well as freeing both hands and keeping them out of the spray. Smooooth!

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Johnny: what a great idea and what a piece of art in itself! Thank you for posting the pics and I too am waiting (patiently) for the video. Get well soon.

 

Giselle: I tried the air-drying-"clay" and I think it's of no use really. It breaks too fast if I try to stamp slabs of clay with it. Back to the start....

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I prefer bisqued porcelain for stamps and molds. It is durable and doesn't degrade with repeated use. When taking impressions from non-porous materials (plastic, seashells, metal), a light coating of WD40 or cooking oil spray will let the clay release and burns off in the firing. Another advantage of clay for this use is that it allows you to bend or flatten the mold/stamp to conform to your needs.

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Giselle: I tried the air-drying-"clay" and I think it's of no use really. It breaks too fast if I try to stamp slabs of clay with it. Back to the start....

 

I thought that might happen with the air-dry clay. The polymer clay works really well, though. Or, of course, there's always pottery clay! :)

 

Johnny: I was expecting something sort of hacked-together and oh my word that thing is b e a u t i f u l! 

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I think we potter/clay artists are drawn to our craft/art because it allows us to be creative and inventive with the how and way we create. We love to tinker. Over the years I have made small carving tools and have cruised the kitchens of estate sales for gems, but I lean toward making larger "tools" needed in the studio. I built a water recycling clay sink...a knock-off from the commercial Cink... using an old kitchen sink for less than $100. I make my own extruder dies by cutting and forming plastic PVC 3/4 inch trim board. I also use plastic slats from an old Venetian blind I been harvesting to make different profile tools and measuring sticks. And similar to Chantay, I use the sticks from our barbeque kabobs to sign my work.

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