Pres

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

How about a large plastic storage tub with lid made into a Damp Box? Mix enough potters plaster to make about a 2" layer in the bottom and after it sets hard, add a cup of water to the tub. (I add about a cup of water every 4 to 6 months and as long as I keep the lid closed, that's all it seems to need to keep things moist.)  I checked mine today and I have a pair of bowls that I threw in 2013 and they are on the damp side of leather hard...too soft to trim. I want to see how long I can keep them there before they start to fall apart. Place the box on a dolly from Harbor Freight and it can be rolled anywhere!

rolling bakers' racks with drywall shelves.  self explanatory.   too bad there aren't very many old refrigerators with wire racks in them.  i have about 18 and have not seen any more of them for years.   they are wonderfully useful for carrying pots after hot waxing and glazing to the kiln.   cannot use when the work is fired because the metal marks the foot. or foots?

The first thing I thought of was a paint sieve that fits on a 5 gal bucket.   I had bought several of them when I painted the house and had a extra one.  I tried one out when I was mixing a 3 gal batch of glaze.   I sieved it through the paint mesh before I sieved it through my 100# mesh sieve.   Doing it this way seem to make the whole process easier and faster.   They are also very inexpensive,  about $3 each.   For people who work with slabs a seam roller for wallpaper can help mesh your seams together.    A vinyl layout pad with measurement marks for fabric  can also be helpful for slab,  both are also inexpensive.    Denice

Working with a coarser clay makes the smooth process  a little slower,  I got into coiling when I was in college.   I took a archeology class that was in a competition with other colleges to replicate  Anazai pottery.  It was held in the pottery studio and I was the only clay person in the class.  The professor taught the class how he thought they made the coiled pots,  I told him he was wrong  that the pots would crack and fall apart.   At the end of the semester we fired them in a trench firing,  my work come out fine the rest was broken shards.     I had a dozen pieces come out of the firing most of them quite large and thin walled.    The professor admitted I was right,  the archeology department  won the competition  with my work.   Denice

My studio is full of clay right now,  I have a off white speckled, Speckled buff. Standard red,   Death Valley red and yellow.   These are my clay's used for coiling ,  the  coils are smoothed and Indian designs usually Mimbres or Anazai  are applied using stains or glazes.   At least half of the pot is not glazed  so the color  of the clay and texture is important.  I also have a buff throwing clay that I have been using to improve my throwing skills.    I recycle my clay,  it is part of my process.   I went to college during the hippie era and was taught that all of mother earths offerings such as clay are precious and need to be recycled.   I was also taught to evaluate a piece before you fire it,  think about someone finding that pot hundreds of years from now.   Is it worthy of being around that long,  because it is fired it won't disintegrate and return to the earth.    Denice

I'll bite
Cone 10 porcelain mostly Daves from Laguna -fired in treduction atmosphere to soft cone 11. All homeamde glazes  dipped and some brushing. Aslo  use a bit of 50/50 porcelain and some Babu both from Laguna clay company. down to 6-8 tons per year now.95% thrown forms with minor slab work.I fire in two gas kilns-a small 12 cubic footer (fired my 18th laod yesrterday for the year in that kiln and my car kiln. (35 cubic feet) fired my 17th load yesterday for the year in that kiln.
I like porcelain as it tougher and shows the glazes off better than stoneware and chips less as well.

I use so very little cobalt, I'm not even sure anyone would care if I gave it up or not. I use it in increments of 1% or less, so I'm still working on the 250g package of carbonate I bought two years ago. 
I don't work in oranges or reds because I don't want to expose myself to cadmium, never mind anyone else. I don't care if they're stable enough for my use, someone had to expose themselves to keep me safe. To me, it's not worth it for a few pots. I bought the smallest package of red stain I could 5 years ago, and I can't bring myself to use it much. 
The yellow stain I do have is praseodymium based. Not sure how rare earth mining practices compare those of cadmium or cobalt. 

Rare earth refining is where you would draw concern I think.  I think all the lanthanides are mined together and separated via chemical process.  Since China is the dominant (only) producer of rare earth elements I'm sure they do it all safely and ethically.  But once again, the pottery world draws almost zero demand, so you aren't the driving force behind the mining and processing of the ore, you're a side concern of a side concern when it comes to praseodymium.

Every day I must make big and small decisions regarding ethics, safety, exploitation of adults and children, integrity, willful disregard or unavoidable look-the-truth-in-the-face.  Every day I wind up feeling unsatisfied with some of what I "had" to  choose, for my own well-being, survival, and reasonable comfort. I choose--for darn good personal reasons--to not be an activist against heavy-duty matters that violate people's safety, health, rights, reasonable living conditions. I choose, to the extent that I am aware of what I am choosing-to not participate when I can reasonably avoid participation (free shipping and reward points not withstanding-shame on me). 
I recently "rescued" a betta (Siamese Fighting Fish-betta splendens) from a little cup of water in a pet store, to give it a wonderful home in a naturally planted aquarium. And yet, am  I not just perpetuating the hostage breeding  of these creatures,  just for my own pleasure-same as we breed chickens/cows/pigs just to be killed because broccoli gets boring?   I hope my mainstream commercial glaze suppliers do use ethical sourcing, but I am unlikely to research that further myself. If I learn they do otherwise, I'll stop using their cobalts.  I do what I can, but, frankly, I feel that it ain't very much. 

I don't think potters drive enough of a demand for cobalt to be worried that they're the reason for bad mining practices.  I don't know the numbers but I'm going to guess that potters use less than a thousandth of a percent of the cobalt mined.  We use cobalt alloys at work and I know they're the metal of choice for prosthetics and implants because they're biocompatible.  Of course the electronics industry is the biggest consumer.  So as far as feeling guilty, I just can't.  Too far removed from the problem and not driving demand.  
Speaking of which, I guess demand has plumeted because cobalt is cheaper than I've seen in long while.  Last time I picked up a pound I was shocked to see it at like a quarter of it's usual price.