Rae Reich

Yeah, big bowls are lots of fun. Depends on how big they get though. I made one in grad school that was pretty big thrown, even after firing it was 40" in diameter, and 14" tall. What do you do with a bowl that big! My sister-in-law uses it as a magazine rack!
 
best,
Pres

I like making those pots most so even though they don't sell, I still like making them.  I had a big bowl that I would bring to the farmers market just as a marketing gimmick.  People don't see big bowls, so it was like "whoa look at this big bowl".  I mean they never bought anything but maybe some day I'll see them again and theyll be like "hey. Big bowl guy!"

ya know I hear ya but the slow movers do sell and those sales are sweet when they happen. If the slow sellers are the more elaborate and higher dollar pots it gives you a chance to stretch and builds the cash register as they sell. We have had some 3 digit pots that take a number of shows to sell but worth it when they do.  

If I did put my keys on it I might stop losing my cutoff wires (and my keys)

I only have like 9 tools, there is no need for organization, lol.
Sponge, wire, needle, rib, trimming stick, then after the wet part I just have a 2nds mug with a knife, paintbrush, scratchy tool, trimming tool, and a needle tool that stays out of the wet stuff. I have some more 2nds mugs with other tools but I rarely use them. I have a plastic bin or 2 with tons of stuff I never use.
I'm down to only making mugs and spoon rests though, I stopped making anything that doesn't sell, and gave up on trimming the bottoms of the mugs as people don't seem to care.

Somehow I missed this QotW when it was posted. I have a nice hot and cold water utility sink set into a large closet, next to my  shelves for glazes, in my home studio (aka former master bedroom).  I had a Gleco trap but for some reason my landlord decided he could do something just as effective at no charge and I could sell my trap.  So far so good!  It is such a blessing to be allowed to have a studio in a rented mobile home & a kiln on the back porch-properly wired/vented etc., that I don't mess with him when he wants to do something his way! Plus, amazingly,  they haven't raised my rent, so there is that. It is great not to have to haul water, that's for sure! 

Almost the same for me, I have the utility sink outside connected to the garden hose with a large plastic container underneath acting as a trap. I do have a sink inside where I throw but I don't use it, not sure what clay/glaze would do to a septic system but I'm sure it ain't good.

My dad uses the expression "money for old rope" a fair bit. My QOTW would be do you make anything that is easy and quick to make but looks like it's more work than it is? If you sell your work this would include being able to charge about the same for a pot as what  a more labour intensive pot would fetch.  Money for old rope pots.

Its feel in my hand .
Its "balance" when in use.
How it looks to my eye.
How it fits in my cupboard.
And
Its functionality
Not taking time to prioritize but bottom one is esssential but then....

one other thing to check is the pins themselves.  i had a problem years ago because the hole in the wheelhead was just a little bigger than the shaft of the bat pin.  i used a new bat to find the correct spacing and just unscrewed the bat pin enough to slide it over to the correct place.  tightened it up HARD and have never had another problem with it.

If you've got those bats that are made for the Aspire that have the grid on the backside, I wouldn't be surprised if they wobble. It's common for that type of bat. The Speedball bats do it too. It may or may not be an issue once you get some clay on the wheel. Have you tried throwing on them?

Hot and cold, large laundry/utility sink is next door to the studio, hence water in the studio is by bucket. Settled throwing water is separated - slop to slop bucket, clear water back to throwing bucket. Settled cleanup water is separated - slop to landscape watering, clear water back to cleanup. When either get all nasty, when a fresh load of water is in order - to the landscape!
Since installing 133 gallon tank to capture RO "waste" water and whole house gac backwash, I'm getting throwing and cleanup water from there (using RO water for glazes). Full five gallon buckets are heavier these days - about half full is enough.

I have a bucket system where I throw and handbuild.  I carry the slurry/sludge out and water the trees with it.  Our area is quite arid so I really don't want to waste water.  In the shop where I glaze and fire, I again have a bucket system, so I carry it out and water the trees again.  Even in the winter, I will pour it all on the trees.  In warmer weather I have a 2 tub utility sink outside with a hose and buckets under the drains.  Yes, the trees benefit from that.  It's not perfect, but I have made it work!  
Roberta

I had thought about putting in water and a sink, but after pricing out the cost of the running water and drain it was a better solution to use buckets. Running all to the garage would have been over 3k several years ago. Just as running the gas line was 2K.
 
best,
Pres

i have hot and cold water in west va with a normal size laundry tub.  it had a gleco trap but when the plumber moved the sink he did not connect it.  so i use a bucket inside to catch most of the clay residue.   this is connected to a septic tank so i know someday i will have to have it drained.  being there only 7 months a year and using minimum water, i have had no problems.   i also had it raised to a comfortable level so i do not hurt my back leaning over it.
in florida, the sink is a deep one that drains to a barrel outside.  i still use a bucket for the first rinse.  that water is only cold but i have an electric tea kettle right next to the sink.  it is also higher than normal.
just a note for those of you considering a sink but have little room, the average size laundry tub is a lot bigger than the small one i have in my tiny trailer home in florida.   it came from a mobile home supply company and is only 18 inches wide.   it is also set higher than the standard legs that come with these sinks.  
your sink, make it comfortable for your height.

I have a fiberglass stationary tub sitting just outside my studio door (southern California) where the wall is plumbed for a cold water bathtub spout, at stationary tub height , and a hand-held shower head. No drainage plumbed, just a bucket beneath the drain, so I am careful with water usage. Since the tub is not plumbed, but freestanding, I can move it out of the way if necessary. 

Yes I do and I always have had hot and cold running water as well as a hose. My studio, The Potters Shop & School,  is a working studio condo in the  Gorse Mill Studios, an historic mill building that I renovated. I have a double sink with hot and cold water and hose. The sink is fitted with a flexible spray nozzle and Gleco Trap

I have a dishpan in my sink that I wash my hands in and any objects covered with clay.  After the clay settles I pour the top clear water into my settling drain and the thick clay goes into the trash.  I have only cleaned my 15 gallon settling system once and I had my son carry the clay gunk upstairs.  If I get some funky smell coming up from my drain I pour some bleach in it.  Denice

Thanks @liambesaw. The bucket system seems to be working pretty good, and the smell of changing or cleaning out a trap is something I’d like to avoid at all costs. We all have limits, that one is mine. I’d have done something about it if I’d felt it was necessary. 

You can buy one for the dental industry for pretty cheap.  Under 50 bucks.  Just search Amazon or whatever for "plaster trap".  You just replace your sink trap (the U shaped piece) with the plaster trap, it just plugs in.  We use them at work and they work great for both plaster and gypsum, so they'll work for clay too.  
Assuming you'll ever want one, much cheaper than the clay ones

My basement studio has access to a sink with hot water, but I’m careful to use bucket siphon systems for disposal, as I don’t have a clay trap. 12 years in the same house, and so far so good. 

My first studio just had a bucket of water,  that was alright I just did hand building.   My second studio had cold water and I had a garden hose on a utility sink that drained out doors.   My third studio had hot and cold water in a tiny sink and a simple bucket settling system where the clear water went into a floor drain.   I built my current studio it  has a nice large sink, hot and cold water.  The drain line on the sink goes down to a  settling system in the basement,  the clear water drains into the sump pump.  I am still very conservative with my water use I guess it is my training from my bucket days.   Denice

I don't have water in my shed, I need to top off my buckets with a hose.  Hasn't been an issue though.   Large crock pot for hot water, hooked to a 4 hour timer just in case I forget to turn it off (yes, I bought the timer after I came back in to a crock of dried cement one day).  My throwing sessions are generally 4 hours or less, unless on the weekends so I don't go through a lot of water anyway.  I try to recycle as much water as possible by letting everything settle and then scooping it out of my cleaning bucket and back into my throwing bucket.  Works good.

I as a professional I need infrastructure -I'm good at supplying  it as well (meaning I have those skill sets). My studio is insulated and has cold water into a lage flat sink-that sink drains into a two tired settling tubs  outside then runs to a timber Bamboo patch. I shovel the clay out of the tubs after it settles  and dry it and throw it away in the trash can.I heat the studio with natural gas heater and alos can heat water on that stove with all metal pan.
In winter the heat also dries the wares as well as warms our bodies.The drying pots is really important midwinter.
I also have speakers and a sound system and pipe tunes into studio from house  with a volume control in studio and one outside in kiln laoding area (must have tunes to work)-also a central  vacuum system for clay dust control. I also have a few telephones on the wall-one in the main studio and one next to my wheel in throwing room.
With all the time i spend in the studio it has to work well. The floor is wood so leg fatigue is cut downas well.

When I saw my nephew, I told him when he felt really mad or sad. . . .to take a hammer to the pot! He hasn't done that yet that I know of, but then . . . . 
 
 
 
best,
Pres