Hulk

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.

Details at https://picworkspottery.blogspot.com/2016/11/trimming-chalice-stems.html

My class took place yesterday. The women and a few children had a fine time! 
Gave each a lumo of clay, got them to form into a ball, then hands under the table to shape for a few minutes, then pass to nneighbour, no peeking, x4 so clay now back with original owner, reveal all, keep, or squash.
Lits of laughs, then slab building, or pinching ,  or any of the above, coliured slips, or not..
I had a big bit of paper and they gave their name, drew a sketch of their pots and what glaze they would like listed.
Whew, did they have fun. Exhausted Babs trundled home.
Now to return topack and collect the pots, and home to dry , bisque and glaze. What gutsy folk are out there

In the past, I have placed everything on wareboards, still in the leatherhard stage, and transported that way.  I have a Subaru outback, I was able to lay the seats down and accomodate all the wareboards.  I have also transported in low tubs with lids, placed some old towels and rags between things just to keep them from knocking together.  That way I could stack the tubs and get more in the car.  I prefer transporting things in leatherhard stage, rather than dry.  A bit more resilient, I guess.   I have a bumpy rural roads for part of my journey.   Good luck!

Hi folks,  I am busy making chalices and patens for communion sets of late, and have been thinking of repurposed materials for throwing and trimming tools. I have wondered how many of you have repurposed another tool for throwing, or trimming pots in the shop. Yet I realize that many of you handbuild pottery. 
QotW: Do you have a favorite tools for pottery production that you have repurposed or made? 
I have a shaping rib for throwing that is a bamboo spoon with the handle cut off and rounded like some kidney ribs. However the curve of the spoon works even better than a flat rib of the same shape as the curve allows me to open up, and enlarge a form much easier.
My other favorite tool I used to day, and it is the trimming chuck that holds the chalice stems for trimming without messing up the form or any decoration on the form. This was made from common plastic plumbing parts and is really much better than any chuck that I have used for trimming these forms.
best,
Pres

i learned from 2 wheels, head to head, so I could watch the person teaching me throw as i threw.  Then practice practice practice.  I found it truly interesting to watch others throw, as they often did things that were never mentioned, especially when it came to coning up and centering.  For instance, I was taught to cone up and then push it all straight down, but my instructor pushed the top AWAY from himself, and then down, so I tried that, and centering just happened!!  Well,  most of the time, anyway.   Good wedging was another technique that observation helped with, and other  things I guess i just internalized over time.  

Where there's more than one part, I still almost always make extra parts*.
Handles, I'll typically pull an extra one or two, then recycle the extras.
There isn't always a "worst" one, nor always an oops, but when there is, the extras come in handy.
Lids, I'll make several extra, then check for fit, profile, feel, etc. after bisque and match them up - a matching mark in underglaze helps me keep them together.
The extras pile up, but so handy for oops, broken; yes, we might have a lid that fits that; I don't like any of these, maybe there's a fit in the boneyaaaard; etc.
When the lid and piece are formed similarly - same thicknesses, similar arc/profile, similar amount of "working" - they have a good chance of fitting together.
A good chance, heh.
Put togethers - like teapots, also towers, extended vases and pitchers, fountains - I'll make more add on bits than bodies, then pick at assemble time, and recycle the extras.
Early on, I'd seen Bill van Gilder's video clip on lids, where he advocates standard sizes.
I started out on the half inch, then switched to millimeters; I do 80mm for cups, jars, teapots; 100mm for larger mugs and jars; 120mm for jars; 140 and 180mm for jars and bowls.
Standard sizing helps!
*Here's some extra lids

I'm throwing the knobs, then torch them to leather hard just afore needling them off to attach.
Having tried a few (not all) lid styles, I'm doing almost all lids this way now - no gallery required, fully glazed container, lid and piece fired separately (not touching).
The lid is thrown upside down, trimmed upright. The cylinder knob provides width and height with uniform thickness - without bulk.
The underside of the lids gets liner glaze.

Here is a photo

For firing and glazing, driven by what fits in the kiln, which, happy accident, I had just enough counterspace for a kiln load with leaving room for a glaze bucket, some tools, a cleanup water bucket and sponge, and splash room*.
In making, from one up to forty or so. When in a flow, there's just thrown, ready or almost ready to trim, and another batch in between.
The weather makes a difference in how fast things move along.
Controlling and/or suspending drying is key, as Shawnhar points out.
*The new Studio space will have to have the same or more counterspace!
...while seven cubic feet of kiln space seemed much too big, starting out, I'm used to it now, so looking forward to getting back to it.

For firing and glazing, driven by what fits in the kiln, which, happy accident, I had just enough counterspace for a kiln load with leaving room for a glaze bucket, some tools, a cleanup water bucket and sponge, and splash room*.
In making, from one up to forty or so. When in a flow, there's just thrown, ready or almost ready to trim, and another batch in between.
The weather makes a difference in how fast things move along.
Controlling and/or suspending drying is key, as Shawnhar points out.
*The new Studio space will have to have the same or more counterspace!
...while seven cubic feet of kiln space seemed much too big, starting out, I'm used to it now, so looking forward to getting back to it.

For firing and glazing, driven by what fits in the kiln, which, happy accident, I had just enough counterspace for a kiln load with leaving room for a glaze bucket, some tools, a cleanup water bucket and sponge, and splash room*.
In making, from one up to forty or so. When in a flow, there's just thrown, ready or almost ready to trim, and another batch in between.
The weather makes a difference in how fast things move along.
Controlling and/or suspending drying is key, as Shawnhar points out.
*The new Studio space will have to have the same or more counterspace!
...while seven cubic feet of kiln space seemed much too big, starting out, I'm used to it now, so looking forward to getting back to it.

Teapots-I throw a bunch of spouts-the bodies with each lid-then cut an assemble the spouts I think work best.So that a mix
Honey pots are all 10c seats and 10 c lids-never one offs. I make extra lids and they fit any honey/jam/garlic keeper potsiall the same size galleries-all lids off the hump
Butter dish same deal always 17 c lids a bit larger 17.2
same with french butterdishes all the same
Now with meduim large bowls all are one offs although they are weighed so they sometime do not vary much
all salt glazed pots are one offs
 

This is a one off slab construction based on an idea inspired by a bunch of weeds, Preliminary sketches were similar, but I made the thrown rim and lid a little larger than planned. Of greatest importance here was the texture in the slabs that wraps around the piece. Glazing was done by staining the piece with iron oxide and cobalt stains, with wash off.  The inside was glazed after washing off the stains as was the top with and upside down dip. Them areas of the piece were glazed with brown, blue and off white glazes sponged and dry brushed on. Then an atomizer was used to spray  a rutile green glaze over large areas emphasizing the natural landscape look of weeds in dark forest.  I am very happy with the way the textures and the rest of the piece turned out. This was originally made as a demo/door prize piece two years ago, glazed this year. It was given away as a door prize along with some chalices, and vases to folks taking the adult Ceramics class a the HS I used to teach at.
 
 
best,
Pres

When I start on a mural  I will already have the image in my head,   I start putting my idea down on paper,   I redraw it several times improving and and increasing the size of the drawing  then I have Kinko's blow it up to the final size.   My husband and I check out any problems it may have with the perspective and flow.    When I throw I tend to make the same thing over and over again and then give them some personality with glaze.  Hand building is where I tend to start with a large slab that just takes off,  sometimes I am just challenging myself to see what I can make the clay do.   They usually don't make it to the kiln.   Denice

Because I make with a certain amount of consistency for my customers in mind, I will do play sessions like Pres describes as a design session to come up with new ideas, or refresh older ones. Once I’ve picked one or two versions to run with, I’ll make a bunch of copies without having to think too hard about it. 

It's rare that I get to make a complex piece, but if I did, depending on what it is and its function, I would probably make multiple versions.
I'm currently working with my extruder making lotion dispensers in both square and octagonal configs, so, I am making  4 squares and 5 octagonals since that's what I can get out of each slug in the extruder. Tops and bottoms are cut from slabs. In addition to the lotion dispensers, I can make salt and pepper shakers using the same dies by cutting the pieces shorter. I also plan on slab-building tissue boxes and glazing them the same as the dispensers with the idea of selling them as sets.

Hi folks, after last weeks QotW about time frames of making pieces, I think I'll take a different approach to making. 
Often when I am doing something that requires a lot of pieces, I make a lot more pieces. In other words if making chalices, teapots, honey jars or other objects I make more than one, and then mix and match to the best aesthetic with what I have. This usually comes out with completely different pieces that what I would have had if I had planned out the design, and made each piece to the design specification. This way is also a lot more fun at times. 
I still draw out idea in sketch books, and make these pieces to spec, but these are usually combination pieces like slab jars with wheel thrown tops, lids or even feet. some of them get to be a little wild. At other times I have an overall image. . . mentally, and work with pieces to build the image. These are usually slab constructions that start with a large base slab and just take off!
QotW: When doing complex pieces do you mix and match, or do you design and one off?
 
best, 
Pres

Depends on what is being made.
Something like sponge holders I can push 40 at a time, but I no longer have drying issues. I can take pots off the bat still pretty wet, wrap a dozen items on a drywall wareboard, wrap it in cheap trash bag, put a towel over it, and it's good for 5 days. 
I wrap my mugs like this too, and the handles, so nothing dries out as I am working on it. 
I throw as much as I can, then work on a dozen or so at a time, but I like to cut all my sponge holders at once, or handles on all the mugs in one go, so I will limit the number to the amount of time I can give in the next few days after throwing. 

When I first retired from the state I used my vacay/sick leave payout (I rarely took either) to set up my studio, complete w/wheel and a large kiln . Roughly six  12" x 24" shelves of greenware will fill that kiln, tight or loose, depending. When work flow actually flowed I would fill & fire maybe 6 times + or - anually. I was also putting a fair  amount of work in invitational  wood & raku firings, through the NH Potters Guild.  As my health took a dive  & the pandemic hit, and my local retail dried up, the flow slowed to a trickle--maybe filling/firing 4 times a year. I have not fired the kiln at all yet this year, tho I have 6 shelves of work sitting ready.  I rarely use the wheel cuz I can hardly throw anymore & the kiln is too large to fill any faster.  I've shifted gears to a different type of work & much of what I do is now provided to selected local non-profits to use for their fundraising. As far as flow goes, I now take my sweet time and maybe create a shelf-worth within a couple of weeks, but then take forever to glaze. I've got 2 shelves ready to glaze, for the next fire after this one pending.  I'm just waiting for the snow to go away & for it to stop being so dang cold (really LOL).

Difficult to answer,   when I was making coiled pots I could make two at the same time.   I tried to make three but I had  top coils getting  too firm for my coil/pinch up method of coiling .   When I throw I quit when my wrists and hands start to ache,  I can usually throw four pots.   I have been working on a three dimensional mural for awhile.   Just as I think I am ready to roll out the last back ground tiles I find a area that needs more work.  When I change one tile pattern,  I usually have to change all of them.   All of the  three dimensional tiles are done.    Thinking about working with layered colored clay's when the mural is finished.  

Just unloaded the kiln today and to my great relief these platters have NO cracks ! I'm so happy to be batting a thousand this go-around. I hope these results continue. What I did was to lift the bottom edge while throwing these forms to round out that area, omitted the grog, paid more attention to closing up damper for the cool down, and I fired on a fairly thick bed of silica. Thank you all so much

Thanks for all the replies  I have been reading and watching a lot  seems like each wheel has their own ups and downs. Talked to a store that does repairs on wheels and sales wheels. Brent and Shimpo. The gentleman I spoke to recommended the Shimpo Vl Whisper. He said the Brent has a better warranty. But parts are really expensive for the Brent.  But the Speedball Clay boss  is in the middle with price. Again thanks for the replies.  

There are a few threads here on that/similar topic - shopping for a wheel, that's how I found this Forum!
Pottery Wheel Advice/suggestion - Equipment Use and Repair - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
Best Pottery Wheel for Beginners? - Studio Operations and Making Work - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/26802-any-tips-on-purchasing-a-wheel

...there's more; try some different search strings, particularly the brand/model you may be considering.
If you can, take some wheels for test drives.

Hi JLay,
I'm seeing an earlier request for the same info got no replies, however, in this thread a Forum member posted a diagram they had authored, same/similar kiln, about halfway down the first page
Kiln taking longer and longer to fire - Equipment Use and Repair - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
Perhaps that will help?

Slabs are easy and fun--they can drape thin circles over upturned cans/bowls to make free-from bowl shapes (flatten an area on the bottom while still soft). They could make pendants, either free-form or using cutter-shapes (I don't suggest the key fobs tho--that was a bad idea LOL).  Large free-form spoon rests and shallow catchall dishes are also fun. Stamping the slabs 1st before forming makes them look more dramatic when glazed.  Also tea light holders are easy-just need to be flat on top, don't even need a well (top left in the spoon rest pic). If there's no time to get good clay stamps, Home Depot has plenty of drawer knobs that work well.