Pyewackette

@Pyewackette, seems like you’re doing most things that I would advise. One more thing, though - speed. You are indicating that you want to throw your porcelain forms faster. That’s something to work on after you have successfully produced the forms consistently.
Struggling with the reclaim probably has made you a better thrower. When I started throwing I spent a summer on a Lockerbie kickwheel with earthenware. That’s when I learned my most useful throwing skill - matching my movements to the speed of the wheel.
When past the raising stage, in order to get the most from my energy spent kicking up that wheel, I began moving more slowly as the momentum of the kick slowed. I found I had much more control over the shapes and they distorted less from excess torque.
Electric wheels encourage us to go fast. Students often don’t learn to ease up on the pedal as the shape is refined. The kickwheel teaches that by its nature. A smoothly working foot pedal can allow the thrower the same control, it just takes more attention. 

@Rae Reich I'm a super dry thrower - I often leave NO water at all in the splash pan.  In fact of late I prefer not to use a splash pan at all except for trimming - because without it, trimmings fly all over the place.  Otherwise the splash pan just gets in my way.  I really am the driest thrower I've ever seen, to the point where I have to kind of check myself and use MORE water than I'm first inclined to use.
I also usually only use sponges to move water, either in or out.  Lots of people seem to throw with sponges in their hand - I'm not one of them.  And I've gotten MUCH better at having even walls, something I struggled with until we got these new clay bodies and I could stop using the perpetually short studio clay body they make here.
However I still feel like I'm pretty slow.  Maybe that's part of it.  Also the form I've been favoring for awhile now is a flared out shallow bowl with very straight sides.  It's pretty gravity defying to start with.  However however I am also struggling with vase shapes in the 3 to 4 lb range.  
Possibly I also need to experience some success with these forms in another clay body as I've made a medium sized bowl as described in one of the new stonewares at the studio (but I only had a bowl sized sample of that available).  I keep hoping the new stonewares will arrive soon, so far it is always "next week".  This week's next week hasn't happened yet either LOL!
I'm faster now but it isn't anything I would actually call "fast" - I am not doing a John Britt 6 bowls in 3 minutes thing by a long shot.  So possibly I've just got my hands on the clay too long, still.
Frankly I was shocked I could throw in porcelain at all, given how I've struggled with the studio clay over the past 2 or 3 years.  I about gave up hope.
I've seen people on youtube using heat guns on porcelain forms in the size range I'm attempting.  I'm really not a heat gun fan but thought maybe I was being too intransigent on this issue in the case of porcelain.  I'll keep trying - sans heat guns.
Thanks.

That type of bat is notorious for not sitting flat, at least the round ones. Back when they were made by CI 30 years ago they did the same thing.

@Fromphylit is a most excellent place to start. There’s always going to be a bit of fine tuning of your firing cycle when you’re sorting out how to use new glazes in your reporitoire, but the info on Digitalfire is good. It’s one of the best free reference s the pottery world has. 

I used river rocks in college for burnishing,  I haven't used them since I graduated.   My puppy brought a black round rock in the house yesterday,  one side had a polished finish the other side was like sand paper.  I thanked him for the presents and quickly put it out of reach.   (New wood floors)  I think I will try burnishing with it,  it has to fit your hand  just right to make a good burnishing tool.   Denice

More reading:
Very paranoid about Silicosis - Studio Operations and Making Work - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
Silica Dust Exposure - Studio Operations and Making Work - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
Can air purifiers remove silica dust from my Ceramic Studio - Studio Operations and Making Work - Ceramic Arts Daily Community|
Dust Collection For Small Studio - Clay and Glaze Chemistry - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
Toxicity (digitalfire.com)
Dedicated Studio shoes/sandals, no tracking clay into the house!
For if/when clay gets on clothes, have a few clean sets handy in the Studio.
Change rags when there's any dry clay on thar, bag or drown in water, along with dusty clothing! ...else, wet that rag.
Wipe down clay smear/bits inside the clay bags with a big ol' sponge, then spray a mist of water in thar before closing up the bag.
Dry clay on plastic sheeting/bags -> instant dust!
Handle the dried out empty clay bags outside, away from the Studio (clean inside and out, save for reclaim!).
Some forum regulars are using air filtration systems, also centralized vacuums (where the exhaust is routed outside/away).
My overhead kiln vent doubles as a glaze mixing station fan.
I'm handling the glaze material outside, away from the Studio door - repacking from the sacks and bags into lidded containers - then hosing the area down later.
Find a P100 (or equivalent) dust mask/respirator that fits you well and wear it when doing dust things.
Check/clean surfaces regularly. Note where dust accumulates, and how much - that's why I believe wedging and trimming are what generates dust in my Studio.
How else can one assess the dusty-ness of the working space?
Heh, I've posed this question several times over the last five years or so...

While I don’t use groggy clay, when I did, wet sand the bisque to smooth as much as practical ( rim and foot)  and ALL pieces after glaze firing - foot diamond grit ( wet) sanded super smooth.

I wore out one wrist and a thumb bone in left hand. Missing three bones now in right wrist (PRC) and left thumb bone taken last year in left hand. The Wrist is also from some injury long ago (unknown) and throwing for so long did not help.
This is 50 years of heavy production  throwing so others need not worry.'Yes arthritis in all fingers and hands-but alas its also an age deal.
The plus sides-its kept my back and body in good shape. Its made me strong (age slows this down a bit)  . I had a one time incredible hand grip.
I move clay 12 times from pick up to sale. Pallet moving into truck then hand offload to clay shed) You do 8-12 tons a year for many many decades you either get strong or quit.I got strong
The biggest positive I can say is lifestyle. its given me freedom and focus and more learning than one could ever ask for. I had a lifetime of fixed dates I had to work the rest of the time was mine to work or play when I wanted.
Its also had some great side effects as I needed to master plumbing (to build kilns-I have done 12 at least)
I needed electrical skills so I worked with my best friend an electrical contractor back when I had an off season-learned those skills. I need more space so I worked witha carpenter friend and we built some more pot shop space and a few outbuildings.
Early in my carrier I did not have two dimes to rub together . Later after figuring out my markets (shows and outlets) It gave me financial freedom. 
Yes its taken a toll on the body but the mind and spirit have has tremendous uplifts
You learn to be humble as clay/glaze/fire always will lay you out sooner or later-whether its a ruined load of pots from bad clay or pitted glaze or some other large mistaka. You lewarn to move thru it and move on. I just throw the laod away and throw another and try to understand the whys.
I love being a potter and the same fire I had at 18 with clay is still there in this old mans body.
 

I trim foot rings almost exclusively, but they don't always look the same.  Sometimes I use a foot trimmer thingy like the one Dirty Girls makes.  I still trim inside it.  I cut a line into the clay above the foot as a glaze catcher.  If a piece has a flat bottom that is a sure sign I made the bottom to thin.
I once had an instructor who attempted to push me away from trimming footrings.  He was quite insistent.  I was quite intransigent on the issue.  I won.  It's my work.  Plus the guy sells his pitchers for like $200 a pop - if you're getting $200 a pop you have time to trim a foot ring IF YOU WANT TO.  I certainly don't get $200 (or anything at all) for a piece but I will still trim a foot ring because I WANT TO.
As for the dishwasher thingy, lots of machine made stuff does the same spill-the-icky-dishwater-all-over-the-silverware thing.  If I ever sell a piece, I will be recommending against putting it in the dishwasher.  If you do it anyway, its on you to counteract that.

I originally stumbled across this forum while doing a Google search. I noticed fairly early on that when I did a Google search this forum came up quite frequently; often with multiple threads on the topic. I use the search function here less frequently now given it only searches threads that have been active for the past two years.
Don't know if this is an issue for others here? 

Something I have wondered about is what people’s standard is for functional pottery they’re planning to sell. 
I’ve seen it addressed in various ways and places on the forum, but with the holidays coming up lots of pots are being sold and it feels like a timely question. 
Absorption, crazing, pinholes, % of metallic oxides, barium, lithium... lead??? How about “S” cracks?  
What’s the standard for work you’re sending out into the world? 

My suggestion for a QOTW came about from this thread. The thread drifted a little to include a members comment that cone 6 electric is easier than cone 10 gas reduction. My initial thought was yes firing an electric kiln is less time consuming than firing reduction but there are tradeoffs. 
I’ve always found cone 10 clay nicer to throw than any of the midrange clays I’ve used, the glazes (and clay) are generally less expensive to make for high fire and I also agree with what Michael Cardew said, electricity is a harsher judge of pots than reduction. I find that gifts from the kiln are far less frequent with electric firing vs reduction. Wood firing would top my list as the most work.
So, electric or gas reduction firing at any cone you choose, which is more work overall and at what stage of the pot making is it more work than the other? Also, is firing one way more enjoyable than the other?
And to make this into a 2’fer QOTW suggestion, another question would be this: hypothetically speaking if zoning / bylaws / fuel cost didn’t come into play would you glaze fire gas reduction or electric?

After Pres and Mark’s responses I realize it’s a little more complex to answer this than I expected. Making work really is a flow, I’m certainly “working on” more than what’s become bone dry. Each kind of piece demands a different kind of attention at different stages. As Mark said, it’s kiln loads, not pieces.
 I make pots after my day job is done. I’ve found somewhere between three and eight wet pots at a time, depending what they are, is manageable.
Controlling how much I produce has a big effect on how well things come out. Two or three at a time is too little, but if I throw twenty mugs and a third of them get too dry to put handles on that’s no good either. Managing to do the right thing at the right time is the best. 

I'm having these moments almost daily since I'm trying out a bunch of new hand building and decorating techniques. I'm amazed and proud of myself every time something works out the way I hoped it would, or I discover a way to make the process faster or more successful. I haven't had this much growth in such a short time since I first started making pots. I'm having a great time!

Found a small, but heavy roll around stand in storage when we were packing to move, hmmm; its single vertical pole ends in a screw down collet for something 17 mm round.
My ancient articulated desk lamp thingy could fit in there? Just need a piece of tubing with outside diameter 17 mm and thin enough to fit the lamp.
Starting in plumbing, calipers in hand (the cheap plastic one, not the expensive one...), I measured everything round at local A** Hardware.
Down the aisle from the wooden dowels and small/tiny lumber bits, a rack of various metal bits, there's some lengths of 21/32" tubing, aha!

Some thirty-three years ago, this lamp was headed for giveaway pile, unless I wanted it for the garage; the base was missing.
I drilled a hole in the workbench,  voilà! ...but it got much to hot, hence the aftermarket cooling holes.
These last several years it is running with an LED floodlamp, much nicer light, very efficient, and cool as well.
Recent eye exam reveals onset of dreaded cataracts, which explains, in part, why I put so much lights on...
I can roll this just where it's needed, then roll it outta the way as well!

My companion is my studio mate. She doesn’t complain, unless her favorite glazes are running low. 

My husband knew I was serious about clay when we met,  I was 17 he was 19.  When we married I was 21,  we bought our first house a couple of years  later and that is when I got my first kiln.  It was our first major purchase for the house,  other couples buy a refrigerator or a sofa we bought a kiln.  A year later I got a scholarship in art to Wichita State and quit working to go back to school.   He has always supported me but never liked my work,  he worked in engineering  department and my work wasn't precise and perfect enough for him.  I tried not to  let is bother me,  I had the best support otherwise.   He was always encouraging me to buy new kilns,  but I wasn't  ready to jump into the world of controllers.  Last fall  I finally jumped and bought a Paragon Caldera with a Genisis Controller,  easy to use so I ordered a LL kiln with a Genisis Controller this year.   Since my husband has retired he likes to go to the ceramic supplier with me,  he  moves my clay  and loves to unload the kiln.   Right now I am glazing a 3-D landscape mural,  some of the tiles warped or twisted,  he is at the tile saw cutting and checking them with me to see if they will work or need remade.   I only had to remake one tile among the 200 tiles of the mural.   I likewise support his passion of restoring cars,  my passion is less expensive than his but he can always sell a car if he needs the money.     Denice

I was trimming pots today so I took a couple pics of the neoprene disc I trim on. Damp sponge on the wheelhead then plunk the neoprene on and another swipe to dampen the top.  I make a couple guide circles with my finger on the neoprene to help center the pot. I've been using the same disc for about 30 years. Sometimes the pot sticks so well I have to burp the edge of the disc to release the pot. I think the current cost is about $8 for one of these from Seattle Pottery Supply. (they come with an adhesive back now to put on a batt)
 

Aye
I liked Florian Gadsby's video clip on tap centering, mainly because he's tapping the whole time, which gets across the idea to practice practice practice
How to Tap Centre Pots on the Potter's Wheel - YouTube
It does work for me! ...part of the time, like throwing a ball, serving in tennis or racquetball, et cetera, there's the too frequent exception, heh, I just can't reliably do some things, at some angles, anymore. When I turn sideways so I'm tapping with my body and head lined up with the wheel head (horizontal) I can tap center like a boss ...not practical, however.
 

There's room for the truck in the garage as of late yesterday afternoon! Both cars in the garage!!
My reward was to prepare some clay and throw some. This afternoon I trimmed and handled a few wares, first ever in the new house.
I throw and trim clockwise.
I use a small loop tool to start - trimming away the "rind" and some of the bulk near the bottom - then go to a pointer tool to establish the roundness of the foot ring and also the level base*; from there, it's all an L shaped trimming tool fashioned from a hack saw blade, where the end and both sides are sharpened all the way through the bend to the handle portion.
All three** tools I'm holding with my right hand in what I'll call a "pen" grip, where the thumb and forefinger tips meet over one side, and the other side rests against the middle  finger***. This grip is used when:
  working on the vertical/wall portion - along the portion of the pot between facing me and just left of there;
  defining the foot ring, again working the portion facing me and to the left of there;
  shaping the arc of the bottom, within the foot ring, on a diagonal from near the center toward my left shoulder, mostly;
where the angles of presentation changes via bend at the wrist and rotation of the lower arm.
I sit right up close to the wheel, where the lip of my low-slung chair seat is almost touching the wheel's leg/post.
My right arm rests on my right leg, hardly ever on the pan edge.
What I wasn't sure of - had to get to work to see - I support the right hand with my left, where my left thumb and forefinger are supporting the right thumb, or are supporting the tool, or both.  Left arm rests on the left leg, but also the edge of the splash pan (it's a heavy cast built in pan). Hence, the left hand steadying the spinning pot, I'm not doing that. I do the clay wads and chucks.
 
*The pointer helps me get a good start; it does not follow the counter of the pot. I don't see many potters using a point tool to trim. Try it, let me know.
**I'll use a larger loop, but not very often.
***For most of my life, I'd held a pen/pencil where my middle finger, pointer finger and thumb tips all meet over the top, and the other side supported against my ring  finger. No doubt I stopped doing that when I lost sensation on the little finger side of the last middle finger segment. I mostly forget there's no feeling there, as compensation is well established...

Clay wads not needed with neoprene to hold pots down, I don't know why more people don't use it.

I rest fingertips from my left hand on the pot and trim tool with my right. I use a neoprene pad to trim 99% of my pots on, no Giffin Grip.

Bamboo sticks can do the job but you get ice cream with the wooden spoons.   Denice

Favorite needle tool is a small screwdriver that my Dad had ground down to a point.
I like the handle - it's shorter than the typical pointer/needle tool - and larger in diameter. The entire tool is also rather short, which I prefer (except when a long one is needed).
It's also easy to find and doesn't roll far when dropped.
Taking inspiration from some of Hsinchuen Lin's early video clips (afore he began marketing his own line of stainless tools), I've an assortment of trimming and chattering tools made from hack saw blades. I've ground off the teeth, heated and bent the blade, then ground the profile. From there, I touch them up with a file. Some of the tools have been repurposed, as the original profile is long gone via sharpening. I don't mind the few moments it takes to resharpen them*.
My favorite (and only) cut-off wire was just the right length (it had been shortened several times!), then it was too short after the last break.
I'd tried several replacement wires, bah!
Now I'm using the core of a bike derailleur cable, which is holding out great. It's very slim, yet resilient.
Derailleur cables (the type I've been using for some time, by Jagwire) have filaments of metal wound around a core cable; I'm unwinding the outer filaments to reveal the core, boom!
Repurposed! Another use for replaced bike cabling! They're also handy for picture frame hanging wires - be sure to completely remove any grease first tho'.
A frosting spatula is so handy! At first I just used it to lever off batts, however, the small arc at the end is just right for mug lip recurve smoothing.
I'm trimming strips off the (automobile) chamois for lip smoothing.
Less often used, I've: several twist drill bits I use for making holes and dressing the holes' edges; a few small kitchen knives for cutting clay; a razor knife that's especially handy for trimming spouts; a few wooden knives/turning tools; a few wooden spoons for extending the inside hand when the hand won't fit; trimmed brushes for slip, glaze, and other stuff too.
At glazing time, there's a few soup ladles (one is a favorite), turkey baster, ear syringe, inexpensive electronic scale, masking tape**, kitchen whisks (one is fitted with a rod, which chucks up to the drill), blade tools for mixing in that bottom bucket edge ...and more, I'll have to take a look, it's been a long slog with no Studio time since October last!
 
*It's easier to keep them sharp then to re-sharpen when totally blunted.
Side note, dressing off the sharpened edges of frequently used metal ribs also doesn't take long; a square-ish edge can also cut, however, the honed razor thin/sharp by clay edge is so much more dangerous!
**plain half or three quarter inch tape makes a sharp clean straight line.
For curvy, I cut the tape into strips.
The pinstriping tape is nice, however, heh, masking tape is inexpensive, and works just fine, given it is cut with a sharp tool.

Hi folks, going through some of my old techniques, and things I have figured out for myself and wondered about others tricks.
QotW: What is your favorite trick/hack that you have used to solve a problem when making pottery?
One of my favorites when working with cylinders or other thrown forms is to use an embroiders hoop to mark the line around a thrown form to mark an easy cut an angle to cut and then reverse the top portion 180 degrees and rejoin for pieces like salt pigs.
best,
Pres