Pres

OK, it's not exactly on the workbench, but it is close by  Greetings of the season. 

My high school only had one wheel,   my teacher would pick a boy to teaching throwing too.  He didn't think girls were strong enough to throw.   When I went to college to get a degree in clay  I needed to take three semesters in throwing.   Rick St.John was my first throwing teacher,  he was very patient and drilled the basics into our brain.   My second teacher was more into teaching us how to recycle,  make clay and cleaning,  very little throwing.   My third teacher was a mountain of a man and  would throw a 25 lb block of clay in minutes,   he gave my class a few helpful hints but mostly we followed a throw and cut schedule.   I decided to concentrate on hand building  when I had completed my throwing requirements.   Who knows I may have stayed with throwing if I had a mentor.   I have been rebuilding my brain/hand  connections since I bought a used wheel.   Marc found it for me and convinced me that getting rid of my kick wheel and going electric was the best way to retrain.   He was right,  maybe he is my mentor.    Denice
 

I took private lessons in 1969 to learn to throw. It was in Seal Beach Ca. I was in high school and I did it as a suggestion from a friend`as we had wheel access at scholl but no instructor . So we signed up for a night class and threw on 5 different wheels-3 were power and two kick wheels.I do not recall how many months we did this maybe 3-4 months. That same year I bought a wheel for home and within 6 months moved away to collage where I had more training in throwing. I guess about 4 instructors in total for throwing skills. I think it took me about 6-8 years to master it really. I thought I mastered it in 4 yrs  but looking back that was not the case especially handles.

From what I remember I was introduced to wheel throwing in 3rd grade, and had ceramics class for part of the year for every year from 3rd to 7th grade, and then took 2 years (6 courses) at community college.  But I pretty much forgot everything between then and when I bought my wheel 2 years ago.  Been slowly reteaching myself with the help of you guys here and YouTube since.  I'm fairly autodidact so when I am interested in something i am driven to learn everything about it.  Doesn't always translate to skill though.

It takes me more time to trim a bowl than throw a bowl. 100 is a great way to learn a form

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

Hi folks, once again it seems the pool of questions is dried up with nothing new offered. Again, I will try to offer a question of interest:  How do you prefer to organize your tools for your work areas?
 I have several work set ups, that I use in the studio.
My wedging table does multiple duty and has a few plastic trays that are attached to the front for tools, like the wire cutters and a putty knife for scraping. I also have a shelf underneath that the banding wheel and scale store on. I have a flip down cover that fits tightly over the original surface that is made of plywood to wedge the white clay on, the darker clays on the original concrete surface. I also have two containers stored underneath of magic water. . . one lighter, one darker. I also have a tray near the wall where the table is attached with a brush, and round dowel like rib, and tooth brushes for joining handles and pieces to pots.
For throwing, I have a CXC with a stand up square wooden trimming guard that stands in front of the wheel on end. This allows me to set a kitchen wire basket with partitions to hold numerous ribs, stamps and other tools. I also keep a bucket on the wheel tray, and a few most often used tools.  When I start trimming, I remove the top kitchen basket, and remove the CXC splash guard to slide the trimming tray in place. On the right of the trimming tray is a magnetic strip where I hand may trimming tools not in use. I also have cabinet next to the wheel with several drawers I can open and retrieve tools or stamping materials as needed. 
There are many of you out there producing many more pots than I, and have excellent organization skills to set up your work areas. . pass these ideas along! So I will ask once again. . . How do you prefer to organize your tools for your work areas?
 
best,
Pres

Hi folks, once again it seems the pool of questions is dried up with nothing new offered. Again, I will try to offer a question of interest:  How do you prefer to organize your tools for your work areas?
 I have several work set ups, that I use in the studio.
My wedging table does multiple duty and has a few plastic trays that are attached to the front for tools, like the wire cutters and a putty knife for scraping. I also have a shelf underneath that the banding wheel and scale store on. I have a flip down cover that fits tightly over the original surface that is made of plywood to wedge the white clay on, the darker clays on the original concrete surface. I also have two containers stored underneath of magic water. . . one lighter, one darker. I also have a tray near the wall where the table is attached with a brush, and round dowel like rib, and tooth brushes for joining handles and pieces to pots.
For throwing, I have a CXC with a stand up square wooden trimming guard that stands in front of the wheel on end. This allows me to set a kitchen wire basket with partitions to hold numerous ribs, stamps and other tools. I also keep a bucket on the wheel tray, and a few most often used tools.  When I start trimming, I remove the top kitchen basket, and remove the CXC splash guard to slide the trimming tray in place. On the right of the trimming tray is a magnetic strip where I hand may trimming tools not in use. I also have cabinet next to the wheel with several drawers I can open and retrieve tools or stamping materials as needed. 
There are many of you out there producing many more pots than I, and have excellent organization skills to set up your work areas. . pass these ideas along! So I will ask once again. . . How do you prefer to organize your tools for your work areas?
 
best,
Pres

Each of my work stations (for functions in the process) has its own array of most-used tools and assists placed as neatly near by as possible. I use little household bins to hold horizontals and jars for uprights, bowls/catchalls for sponges, hooks for hanging things, carefully chosen shelving, and planned use of spaces under tables. My clay is in 5 gal buckets set on those plant-moving things with wheels, I use carts with drawers to store smalls, labeled by category.  I label everything so I can remember what's what (i.e. this shelf is bisque for glazing, that shelf is greenware etc.). I write the type of clay and cone, and type of glaze and cone, on masking tape and put that where I can see it at a glance. I try to put like items together-by size or type or function.  
I have such a small space and I don't tolerate mess very well, especially my own, that I just have to keep it functional or I get put off and back out when I need to press ahead. It's kind of a mental containment strategy, to keep my studio so that I can walk in and just get to work and have what I need at hand without having to search for things  or clean them off first. 

Ugh I need to hear this, I just have a pile of tools on a sheet of plywood balanced on a 5 gallon bucket of slip 

I used to dig clay and add things to it to make it work-what a hassel for crappy clay. I also used to reclaim all my trimmings-what a hassel-I started in clay in last year of high school(1971) I was full time in 1976- after graduation -drying my scrap in large plaster forms and wedging it all then pugging it at facilities at collage for trade like class tours of studio .
I gave that all up in tyhe 80s and trew dred trimmings away-still do. I bought a second hand peter pugger in 2013 if I recall after hand/wrist surgery(PRC -3 bones removed)
I wish I had done that 35 year earlier-and I could have If i chose to.
I will add that making your own clay gives you insight to clays and the same is true making your own glazes. I like having atht background as a full timer when issues pop up yuou have the skills to guide you. Clay is cheap and making  it costs more time than its worth  money wise at least for me. Its a young mans fancy as its also a  back killer-I reall that part well.
With ceramics knowing as much as you can gives you a edge as the rest of your life you will add to it and never get it all-its about 3 lifetimes worth of stuff to learn 
 

Liam
Getting behind on documentation is one of my worst bads! Seems like there is never enough time.
 
best,
Pres

Denice, I also recycle my clay. First because I live in the city, and would not know or want to dump clay anywhere. Second because I believe it is a resource, and try to use it.  Happy to know someone out there has the patience for coil pottery, and uses colored clays to enhance it.
 
best,
Pres

Lors of the above.
One I love at present..cd discs ribs to shape inside of bowls. Start at top and work down to floor of pot.

I would be working too hard with a cart like that, as I had to move 2K from the street to under the kayaks that are covered with a heavy tarp. I load up a horizontal cart, and in 30 minutes had it all moved and stacked on the 12X4 palette I had built to keep them off the concrete.
 
best,
Pres

Used to place old bath towels wet in the Walker, for the Summer months as it got no use. Saved having to clean out completely before going home for the Summer. Also would put towels in the top of all the Brute garbage cans with sealed lids on. Clay in the Fall was always so fat when coming out of the buckets it allowed time for the new clay boxes to age a bit.
 
best,
Pres

Old credit cards! Excellent scrapers inside glaze buckets, I also use for screening. Cut to any shape for custom jigs, shapers and trimmers. Clean off wheel head and clay tables without scratching.

Add to the list a good convertible horizontal/vertical  hand truck, especially if your clay in dropped by palette in your front driveway and you have gates too narrow for a skid lift!  
 
 
best,
Pres

Hi folks, ONCE AGAIN, no new suggestions in the question pool. I will fall back on something touched on a while back, but maybe mentioned in a different way: What tool or piece of equipment non related to Ceramics would you recommend? 
All of you have probably heard me brag about my re-purposed  electric caulk gun, and the use of plastic plumbing parts for trimming chucks, or using bamboo kitchen utensils to make wooden ribs, or stick blenders for mixing glazes in the commercial ceramic sprayer. I will not go through these again. However, I would recommend that anyone getting into ceramics not waste their time on cheap shelving, as it can only lead to disaster when a shelf collapses from weight, or tips over for some reason. Years ago I purchased a few commercial grade shelving units from a big box store that would hold over 2k lb. in weight. This holds most of my dry glaze and clay materials without the worry of tipping or collapsing.  The other advantage of shelving for these heavy bags is to keep it off the floor to stay dry, and to save on my body when moving them around or filling bins etc. . That also brings me to another tie with the shelving. a good steady metal cart that allows you to move a bin under the bag, and cut the bag on the shelf to fill the bin.
 
Have a good day folks, and think about What tool or piece of equipment non related to Ceramics would you recommend? 
 
best,
Pres

I use the cap from a gallon milk jug when trimming. Just put the bowl upside down on the wheel head and put the milk cap on top and you can push the bowl down with the cap while you trim to steady it.  It's real slippery plastic so it acts as a kind of bearing. 

Six years JohnnyK? Gettin' any mold yet? I'm using plastic one gallon size planters - drain holes taped- over pieces to slow drying, two and five gallon buckets over larger pieces; periodic spray of water arrests drying - mold begins to form after a week or so. The weight of plastic sheeting can distort/mar wet pieces - then I'm sad. Plastic sheeting, so many perils! ...wind, falling things, bump - oops, stick to wet clay, drying clay flakes off and blows aroun', etc. I do like the wet box idea, hmmm ...which involves removing from the bat. 
Other equipment/tools:
  Commercial grade mop, bucket and wringer
  Large (Hulk sized) sponges ("grout sponge" and/or large clean up sponge, car washin' sponge, etc.)  - sees all sponge work except where small and/or purpose cut piece of sponge is required
       Credit Bill Van Gilder on purpose cut sponge bits
  Inexpensive plastic calipers (leave the spendy metal ones in their case, in the drawer) handy for many things!
       "Standard" gallery/lid sizes (e.g. on the half inch - the only standard unit measurement in my studio!) - Bill Van Gilder on this one as well
       No guess foot trimming; get rim to inside bottom (millimeters for me), invert, trim - subtract overall from initial to get base thickness. You can tap, feel, just "know" if'n't works for you.

  Straight edges - an old hacksaw blade is about the right size for me, for most things. If straight, they stay straight (very little sag), light, rounded corners... handy!
  Rulers - six and fifteen inch stainless, inches and mm
  Hacksaw blade trimmers and chatterers - grind off the teeth, heat and bend, grind shape and edge(s), voila! A file touches up the edge just fine.
       Credit Hsin-Chuen Lin on repurposed hacksaw blades
  Pointer/pin tool ground from an old screwdriver. I like the handle, it's shorter than the pottery tool, it doesn't roll around, and easy to pick up.
  Light! Repurposed articulated arm desk lamp and clip on utility lights  put the light where I need it; overhead two tube eight footer doesn't hurt.
  Buckets and bins, lots. Each clay has slurry bucket for reclaim, a bin for dried/drying reclaim. There's a settling bucket for wheel and clean up water - use, reuse, reuse reuse…
  Ditto on shelving, lots! I've built one big heavy shelf along one side, which I've set two large bookshelves on (and pinned to the wall); there's enough room under said shelf to store five gallon buckets. Above that, track shelving; on the other three walls, more track shelving - adjustable, no floor footprint, strong.
  Quality dust mask - use it!
  Medium size "French" kitchen whisk fitted with pin for chucking up in the battery powered screw driver - whip that glaze!
  Medium size straight scraper for corners of glaze buckets, where that ^ whisk doesn't quite reach, corner and edges broken just enough such that glaze bucket isn't scratched.
  Tile grout mixer chucks up in half inch power drill, makes reclaim almost fun (open doors and windows to vent the ozone) - don't be huffin' ozone!
Oooh, there's prolly more, but I'd have to go look.            :O

+1 on the grout sponge.
Sketchbooks, and craft foam for templates and small slump molds are worth a mention too. And snap off utility knives are better than fettling knives imo. 

Add to the list a good convertible horizontal/vertical  hand truck, especially if your clay in dropped by palette in your front driveway and you have gates too narrow for a skid lift!  
 
 
best,
Pres

Hi folks, ONCE AGAIN, no new suggestions in the question pool. I will fall back on something touched on a while back, but maybe mentioned in a different way: What tool or piece of equipment non related to Ceramics would you recommend? 
All of you have probably heard me brag about my re-purposed  electric caulk gun, and the use of plastic plumbing parts for trimming chucks, or using bamboo kitchen utensils to make wooden ribs, or stick blenders for mixing glazes in the commercial ceramic sprayer. I will not go through these again. However, I would recommend that anyone getting into ceramics not waste their time on cheap shelving, as it can only lead to disaster when a shelf collapses from weight, or tips over for some reason. Years ago I purchased a few commercial grade shelving units from a big box store that would hold over 2k lb. in weight. This holds most of my dry glaze and clay materials without the worry of tipping or collapsing.  The other advantage of shelving for these heavy bags is to keep it off the floor to stay dry, and to save on my body when moving them around or filling bins etc. . That also brings me to another tie with the shelving. a good steady metal cart that allows you to move a bin under the bag, and cut the bag on the shelf to fill the bin.
 
Have a good day folks, and think about What tool or piece of equipment non related to Ceramics would you recommend? 
 
best,
Pres

Hi folks, ONCE AGAIN, no new suggestions in the question pool. I will fall back on something touched on a while back, but maybe mentioned in a different way: What tool or piece of equipment non related to Ceramics would you recommend? 
All of you have probably heard me brag about my re-purposed  electric caulk gun, and the use of plastic plumbing parts for trimming chucks, or using bamboo kitchen utensils to make wooden ribs, or stick blenders for mixing glazes in the commercial ceramic sprayer. I will not go through these again. However, I would recommend that anyone getting into ceramics not waste their time on cheap shelving, as it can only lead to disaster when a shelf collapses from weight, or tips over for some reason. Years ago I purchased a few commercial grade shelving units from a big box store that would hold over 2k lb. in weight. This holds most of my dry glaze and clay materials without the worry of tipping or collapsing.  The other advantage of shelving for these heavy bags is to keep it off the floor to stay dry, and to save on my body when moving them around or filling bins etc. . That also brings me to another tie with the shelving. a good steady metal cart that allows you to move a bin under the bag, and cut the bag on the shelf to fill the bin.
 
Have a good day folks, and think about What tool or piece of equipment non related to Ceramics would you recommend? 
 
best,
Pres