Hulk

Thanks to this guy I finally figured out why I haven't been able to tap center any more. 
I was starting to think I hallucinated ever being able to tap center.  Let alone thinking it was so easy, as I had.  But this video finally showed me where I was going wrong.  How was the woman who can't tell her left from her right and throws backwards screwing it up?
How did you guess!  That's right, I was trying to tap center a clockwise wheel with my right hand.  Switch to my left hand and voila!  Suddenly tap centering was easy again.  I can tap center even my off kilter stuff in nothing flat.  I tap centered a chuck the instructor made for me (so its as close to perfectly round as is humanly possible) in two taps.
The slow motion stuff in the beginning while he talked about the direction of your hand in relation to the direction of rotation had it clinched for me in the first few minutes.
I'm so full of myself now!

@Hulk Put a slab of closed cell foam in the bottom to protect sharp bits.  It won't get soggy like other kinds of foam.  I'm talking the black or grey stuff like they use to make pipe insulation.  It is sometimes used as packing material.  I try to snag it whenever it appears.  SOOO many uses.

Test tile weight results on 2 test tiles about the same thickness as my pots, maybe a tiny bit thicker.
1 - bisque weight 48.51 grams, weight just after dipping 53.39, fired weight 50.86
2 - bisque weight 54.97 grams, weight just after dipping 61.80, fired weight 58.32
sg of glaze 1.50, this glaze needs a heavy application to develop microcrystalline finish. 
Glaze LOI is 6.50
Yup, salty water and CO2.

You are absolutely right here, wedging is often botched or neglected which makes struggling even worse.
Thanks for putting up that Clinton video. Your video led to Gabriel Nichols throwing long toms.
A very few alive today will know what 1000 pot production looks like.
 
 
 
 

@Hulkyeah these days I am feeling these weird lumps in the clay as it turns under my hands.  At first I thought it had something to do with being wedged by hand but once in awhile I feel it in the pugged clay as well.  Only not as bad or persistent in the pugged clay so maybe it is something to do with having been hand wedged.  I can't remember ever noticing lumps like that before.
Clinton Pottery seems to have made just the one video which seems odd given I'm pretty sure he was talking about having just bought a stand for his camera so he could record.  And the British guy was a hoot - I guess those are old videos recorded from British TV?  I swear he dresses like a medieval craftsman including beard LOL!  Mostly I've been watching that Korean guy you sent me.  Sometimes I can't actually tell which hand he's treating as dominant - maybe he's a switch hitter like me or maybe I just am not very observant LOL!  That looks so uncomfortable, he started out on his knees. I just kept thinking OUCH. But he's fun to watch.  I love throwing off the hump but I have yet to get the back the knack of cutting it off. 
Best I stick to the cylinders.  Taking a class always kind of messes me up in a way because you end up so focused on making stuff, instead of breaking stuff until you get it right. Ya gotta have stuff to glaze, no matter how lumpy, or the instructor is never happy.
I've mostly been watching Florian Gadsby videos, and some of the Potter's Roundtable stuff.  Jon Brit is up to 30 videos in his glazing series. Hsin Chien Lin has over 500 videos posted over the years, I can remember when he first started posting. I'm never going to catch up with 'em all.
Oh and if anybody is interested, Florian Gadsby has written a book called "From My Hands" (I think).  Its not out until September though.
Hope your move is going well.  I'm dreading ours.

Looks can be deceiving...
While I was taking my Ceramics1 class at Sierra College, about 3 weeks into the course, a young student (weren't they all young?) who was looking to add the course had mistaken me for the professor, who happened to be out of the classroom at the time. It may have been my age and the Vandyke I was sporting at the time

I for one @Mark C.would read that book, I have found working with the public for so many years to be a blessing and a curse.
On another side of things, I had a student for Ceramics years ago that had a debilitating disease in a wheel chair, I struggled over excepting him to class without an aid, but he was a good sort. He was small, weak, in a power wheel chair all day, and back then the wheel chair was basically only a wheel chair unlike the ones of today.  I modified a pile of tools especially for him, smaller paddles, rib tools with thicker handles, modified two boards to roll his wheel chair over to roll out thick coils to slabs, got students to do 3/4 of his wedging tasks.  He was in for the first semester, parents came in for parent conferences second marking period exuberant over how much the class had done for him in the way of hand strength as simple tasks like holding a pencil to write were able to be done for much longer time without him ending up in pain. They said that other tasks that required the use of hands and arms were easier, and more controlled. They asked me to allow him to take the class a second time, I told them it was not up to me, but to the administration as they would not allow second classes when not in the curriculum. Long of the short, they went through guidance all the way up to the Principal and the Superintendent. . . I had Ceramics II, and because one student was allowed to take the class, others had to be allowed. The precedent had been set. Lesson. . . . Never underestimate the power and will of a parent for the good of their child.
 
best,
Pres

My customers stories run from great to sad.. Lets see I had a pedestal out front of booth with an small battery under it with an inverter powering a thrown fountain (bowl form full of beach glass) the water poured thru bamboo (home grown) and makes a sweet nosie of gurgling water as it recycled the same water over and over (pump is under glass and rocks in bowl) The student walks around and around the pedestal  looking carefully and finally asks me where the new water is coming from??My takeaway is stay a few more years in school leaning the basics
Lest see in the 80s at a sunny fair location I have a french butterdish as a demo and a sign saying its full of butter and water. My error was it was a black glaze in sun (got very hot) Woman grabs the lid and jecks it up and out and melted 1/2 pound of  butter flies all over her and the booth. My take aways is no more demo butter pots 
Student buys a great teapot 1st day of show. I ask if he knows how to take care of it and he blows me off saying he knows it all. Same student shows up next day wondering how to reapair said teapot after putting it directly on stove burner. I was not happy with this customer as it was a fantastic teapot and its not always about money. He did learn about taking care of teapots at the expoencse of a great pot dieing
Great things that do happen -people love the work and get excited or learn about new forms or learn about pottery and how to take care of it. The curious ones leatn about glazing and firing if I'm asked . I let the work sell itself and only answer questions if asked most of the time. 
I stoped selling forms that customers always ask WHATS THIS FOR?????-drives me nuts after the 2,000 time i hear it
selling to the public you learn that its scary out there ,as in how do they function at all at times
Lets see the bad - customers dog pees in booth on pots-customers dogs get in fight in booth. Customers are  drunk in booth and you need to escort them out before they fall into booth
People start yelling at each other at the show as they get in a tussle walking around show. Religious fanatics spewing crazy talk at art show-the list goes on-bar fight spills into show from bar.
Customers get aggressive and cross the line-once I had a stately fellow put 4 mugs on my sales table and then announce that you will sell them to me for  1/2 off (he was serious ) I stood up from my chair and took the mugs and put them back on mug shelf and told him his money was not good here and asked him to leave my booth. He got upset and left .
I have learned that men can be really really stubbornly stupid  and womens purses are like black holes in space and can seem bottomless -no telling what may be in there.
That someone can look thru 25 spoonrests for 2 hours before always buying the 1st one they liked
I have had customers who where great as well-way more good than bad -you reacall the really bad ones for longer times
I thought about a book on this subject but gave it up-50 years of shows you learn a lot about the public and really for me the takeway is I'm glad to be getting out of it.

What I've learned -  don't call a lazy susan a lazy susan to some Susans because Susan will get angry and make a huge scene in your booth.
@Pres, butter trick with teapots - some potters will put a very thin smear of a fat or clear silicone under the lip of the teapot which makes that area un-wettable therefore the spout won't drip. It's a cheat as silicone will discolour with the tannins from the tea and fats will wash off.

Feel for the clay, precise economy of movement, as they improve with effective practice, so will the clock.
When looking for a clockwise direction video clip that I liked, watched some of the clips I used to watch over and over, like these:
Clinton Pottery didn't post many video clips (maybe two?), lot to see here
Mug throwing, advanced production techniques, Clinton Pottery - YouTube
I like his book as well
Michael Casson - The Craft of the Potter - Throwing (extract) - YouTube
When some time has passed, I'm still seeing others' throwing differently; the clips are still the same, but I am not.
What Clinton Pottery says about clay conditioning - I believe, more and more as time goes by, it being my experience - I'd forgotten, that video clip is where I first heard what a difference the uniformity/homogeneity of the clay makes.

Hi folks, another week of QotW:  and as there are no new questions in the pool. . . . I will pose a question that has not been asked I believe.
I have dealt with people as a potter, and as a teacher specifically to Ceramics. Over the years, I have heard many stories and talked to lots of people about pots and how to work, as a student, teacher and professional. Over the years I have heard many thoughts about pots and how they could/should be used or made.
There was the woman several years back that did not like my footed bowls because of the square deep foot ring that would capture water in the dishwasher claiming it wasn't dishwasher safe because it collected the residue water and dumped it on lower areas when unloading. I started making bowls with rounded interiors to the foot rings and even cutting half holes in the foot ring to help drain.
There was the man buying teapots at a show that insisted that the tea had to arc from the pot when pouring by having enough pressure from a wide spout base. . . and that  when the pot went upright to cut the flow and not drip. He also said he could spot the butter/Crisco trick that some potters would use to keep their pots from dripping?? Luckily I had reasonable teapots which he bought two or three, but I was befuddled about the butter/Crisco trick!
There are a lot of things that I learned over the years but probably the biggest one in all with teaching and with selling was to listen, even though it was taking my short of supply time to do it. Patience to listen  with all has become ingrained. 
QotW: What have you learned from/by customers/students when dealing with them?
best,
Pres

One more pic of the GB tile as I ran over my 1MB limit.

You show that you have control of the basic concepts, and the wall evenness is impressive. If you start to use a little less water on the last pull you will find you can get a little more height without a whole lot of work. Posting a video would be helpful for further assistance in the throwing process,
 
best,
Pres

PYE! Those are some extremely respectable starting cylinders! Don’t worry about the fact that they flopped when you cut them in half, they all do that. You’re showing a nice even cross section and there’s no extra weight in the corners. Height and evenness will come with practice. This is the point we tell you to go make a really obnoxious number more of them. If you’re making 3 in a session right now, aim for 10 next time. (I said AIM.) When you get to 10, aim for 20. If you get bored, add handles and call them mugs. 
3 lbs is a common starting point for everyone’s first-ever throwing class hockey pucks. Starting too small can present issues because we all cut off tops, tear some away, and mush things.  Also, trying to centre a too small amount can be as difficult to do as trying to centre too much at first. If you have more confidence about centring and aren’t discarding half the clay you started with, you can definitely drop down to 1 or 2 lbs. 
 
 

First cylinder of the day (yesterday)

From the top

Cut in half

Bottom was left thick on purpose - I like to trim foot rings.  But the walls were thicker than I was aiming for.  Also it flopped open like that when I cut it - they pretty much all did.  It wasn't flared like that before I cut it.
Second cylinder after cutting:

I intentionally aimed for a thinner bottom but that was thinner than I meant it to be, plus the island humping up in the middle is not my idea of perfection either LOL!  It is a lot taller than the first one, YAY. Walls are too thick especially towards the bottom so I tried again with cylinder 3:

I feel like I made progress getting the wall even and the bottom a little thinner than I usually like to throw but probably not thick enough to trim for the taller foot rings I prefer.  I like to be able to hold on to 'em while I'm a dippin' of the cup.  It's a couple inches shorter than #2 (I'm guessing that was around 6" tall) but the base is broader than it was on #2.
Given that up until a few days ago all my cylinders flared out at the top like upside down volcanos (Cylinder? We LAUGH at your cylinder!  We are BOWLS!) I think I've made a big improvement. If you bigify the picture you can sorta see one of my lopsided off-center vases in the background from last week.  Told ya they look funny when they get off center LOL!
Obviously there is room for more improvement but hope lives yet in my heart.
I'm working on trying to get the base smaller, but I think I have to use less clay to start with.  The instructor's advice is to use 3 lbs, and cut the top off.  But if I throw with that much clay I end up with a wide base, or else I have a tall blob to turn into a donut.  That doesn't seem to work out so well.  
@Hulk I'm not really right handed for "most things".  Just the most common things like writing and using a knife. And hand sewing, come to think of it. Pretty much had those drilled into me by other people. But most anything I've been left to my own devices, especially darts which I took up in my late 20s, I use my left hand by preference. I still, after all this time, occasionally pick up a pencil with my left hand and start writing.  I switch because the left hand doesn't write as well as the right (given I've had 55 years more of right handed practice LOL!)
And now here is a picture of something that I feel turned out fairly well other than lack of planning.  I should have etched the lines in BEFORE I chattered, like Hsin Chuen Lin - I want to grow up to be like him! The thick line was supposed to be 2 thin lines but the 2nd line got caught on the chattering and jumped the tracks so I had to hand carve it into one big line.  You can see where the top line also jumped the tracks.  I left it.  But I think my chattering is coming along!  See the nice little line  around the foot rim?  For catchin' drippy glaze, I hope.

I'm mostly right handed*.
I throw clockwise, period**.
I'd tried centering and coning with main pressure on the "away" side (left hand), am sticking with the "toward" side, right hand.
The clay is moving into the force hand, seems easier to control, more effective - for me.
Looks like the more popular approach, from what I've seen.
...am not recalling seeing a thrower work on the toward side for pulling.
I work with the right hand inside, left hand outside, on the away side, seven to nine o'clock or so.
Have learned much watching this one over the last few years (a clockwise example):
Tokoname Master Craftsman - Hokujo (Genji Shimizu)　伝統工芸士　清水源二 - YouTube
Most often, my opening move is both thumbs, where the right thumb tip covers the bottom half of the left thumbnail.
The right thumb does touch and spread the opening, but the left thumb is at the point.
Both thumbnails are protected - the nails wear away too fast and don't grow back fast enough to be of much use, hence, each throwing move/grip involves protecting the nails...

*right eyed, throw right, kick right, bow/slingshot/pistol/rifle all right, bowl right, bat right.
However, I skateboard/surfboard right foot forward, pull wrenches for torque left (and most other "power" things left), and breathe left (swimming).
 
**no contest, it's correct for me.
Perhaps due to minor nerve damage, both hands; the way my eyes work; the slight twist of my torso due to years of breathing left (swimming); idk, I really don't.
I've tried counterclockwise, it's ok, but I prefer clockwise, by a long chalk.

Interestingly enough, the hand positioning you describe is almost identical to the way I do it, but my wheel turns counterclockwise. I open differently though. I have a relative who thinks I should have been left handed too, but I don’t remember anyone trying to make me switch. Lots of neurodiverse folks can be fully or partially ambidextrous and/or have poor proprioreception (perception of your body in space). It runs in my family, so we have some sense of how to navigate that.
I’m going to keep my descriptions to inside hand and outside hand in the sense you’ve already described, because I think that’s a good method. My outside hand is my dominant hand (right), and my inside is my left hand. People can fill in what applies to them. 
I use a 3 middle finger method to open. I use my left/inside hand anchored into my left hip to centre, same as you. My inside hand is set against the wheelhead, or just a hair above, to centre. The outside hand  is braced on top of the inside doing that karate chop pose to create the flat spot, as in the most recently posted video. Keeping the inside hand in place, I then use the middle finger of my outside hand to run slowly from the outside edge inwards until I find the exact middle spot.  It’s quite noticeable, and taking an extra breath to find it lets you open in the right place.  I then stack my pointer and ring fingers on top of that middle finger and press down to create that v shape, staying well braced the whole time. If needed, you can switch your braced elbow to your outside hand side, and use your inside hand fingers to add more downward pressure. To scale this move to larger amounts of clay (>5lbs) you can use the side of your fist instead of fingertips, but the bracing stays the same.  
To create the flat base, rather than pulling to the side like with the 1 or 2 thumb methods, lock your joints on all 3 fingers and pull that well braced outside hand straight towards yourself at the 6 o’clock position. If necessary, steady that wrist with the inside hand by grasping it from above. The person who taught me to do this had some background in kinesiology, and said that this was a more joint friendly method, and incorporates body weight movements rather than brute strength. 
-That same person advised keeping your hands in contact with each other on the clay, unless physically not possible. It offers a lot more support and stability. Play with what works.
Other thoughts about getting a cylinder vs a bowl:
-make sure you start your pull only after you’ve allowed a full revolution of the wheel with your fingers at the base. Make sure you’ve made a full donut to pull up, not a spiral. When you get to the top of the cylinder, allow at least a full revolution before you take your fingers away.
-the direction your form moves in will be in the direction the last point of contact pushed it towards. If you want your piece’s rim to move inwards, stagger your finger position slightly. When pulling, place the fingertips of your outside hand just below the fingertips of your inside hand so your outside hand can push in to correct any hint of flaring caused by your inside hand.  That should get you your volcano. If you want the piece to flare on purpose, inside fingertips should be at or below outside fingertips, mostly just supporting it so things don’t happen too fast.
 
 
 

The oil worked like a dream! We found a 3-in-1 solution, cleaned off the grease, and have a slab roller again. Thanks for the help!

Do you want the metal for the feel of the tool, or would you be happy with something 3D printed? I got a set of letter stamps from an Etsy seller in the font of my choosing, and I think she did other images too.

I love my Mini van as well holds about 80 boxes and booth and payload is 2 tons
Space case hold two canopies and custom top box hold full size Pro Panels-16 mpg no matter what you have in it.
It snugs into a 20 foot parking place with inches to spare. It has a great turning radius -when you leave your driveway you start turning towards the state you wish to end up in and in a day or two you are there.It purrs on cruise control for 400  miles before needing to fill up. Loves to run on straight aways. It has a metal cage so if you are in wreck the load will not kill you (I know someone that that happened to once). It got all the safety features of a special order van in 2010.Rear has interior liner on walls and e-track wall system to hold stuff. Electric drivers seat.Most smaller  electric cars will fit inside it as a bonus feature. Love the mini vans-this is my second one in 22 years and will be my last.

I've seen markers carved from wood and other materials, modeled in clay, and cast in metals - curious to read what other Forum contributors do...
I use a small stylus (ball point pen) to mark my Studio initials (TC) within the foot ring. The edges of the mark I leave rough, for the edges are easy to clean up after bisque fire.
Almost always I fill the mark with a colored glaze or underglaze, wiping with a damp sponge to leave just the mark highlighted.
Unfilled mark, clear glaze over

 
Filled with blue glaze, liner glaze over

 
Filled with blue glaze; here the zircopax is clearly visible in my "clear" liner glaze over this red clay. 

 
I like how this red glaze sometimes picks up blue flecks.

 
I like how these soap dishes came out.

Those last two, sigh, am missing the clay, took some time off to heal up after a fall, then we sold our house and moved, so enjoyed paging through images of my old works!
Looking forward to getting back into it!

I've seen markers carved from wood and other materials, modeled in clay, and cast in metals - curious to read what other Forum contributors do...
I use a small stylus (ball point pen) to mark my Studio initials (TC) within the foot ring. The edges of the mark I leave rough, for the edges are easy to clean up after bisque fire.
Almost always I fill the mark with a colored glaze or underglaze, wiping with a damp sponge to leave just the mark highlighted.
Unfilled mark, clear glaze over

 
Filled with blue glaze, liner glaze over

 
Filled with blue glaze; here the zircopax is clearly visible in my "clear" liner glaze over this red clay. 

 
I like how this red glaze sometimes picks up blue flecks.

 
I like how these soap dishes came out.

Those last two, sigh, am missing the clay, took some time off to heal up after a fall, then we sold our house and moved, so enjoyed paging through images of my old works!
Looking forward to getting back into it!

Thank you so much for all the detailed answers. In the studio I go to or the workshops I followed, we were never told about the hazard of dry clay, oxides etc. I'm planning on setting a small studio at my place, whether it's for me or the others I'd rather be too cautious than not enough. At least I know now that I have to use a respiratory mask when handling powders. I'll try to use stains as much as possible since they are less harmful.

Engobe covered with a liner glaze might be another safer option.
I'd thought Hansen's reference to stains and safety had to do with safety for the potter in the process, but on that page he did line the ware with a black glaze*.
The colorants are the same thing once all melted, whether supplied via stain or raw material, is that true?
The stain is safer to handle.
The potter's safety, that's important too!
Hansen typically (what I can see) liner glazes and makes an argument for it, Liner Glaze (digitalfire.com)
*black glaze, for which he makes a case, in keeping with "Liner glazes can also be colored (if they are well tested and demonstrably non-leaching)."

When coated at all, the knob and tube of old I've seen had a loose sleeve of woven white fiber -asbestos - which thermally rates rather well would be my guess, else bare copper between the knobs.
Google images of wire coated with blackened/tarred material may have been ubiquitous, I just haven't seen it in person.
No doubt three wire Romex, when properly sized and protected by its breaker, is superior in every way.