Miriam Ash
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Posts posted by Miriam Ash
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On 2/28/2021 at 12:25 PM, Bill Kielb said:
I would encourage you to try this.
Remove as much water from your pot with rib and sponge as you can,, trim any excess from the bottom you can. Take a heat gun dry the pot evenly slightly more (30 seconds!) while the wheel spins. Then undercut the foot with your needle tool about 1/4” and wire off cleanly dry your hands, pick up and set your pot on a cheap paper towel on top of your ware board or another batt.I can’t tell you how many new folks this has helped. From developing confidence to lift to learning to throw dyer or rib dryer and just start picking their pots up without the heat gun ............ to evenly drying their stuff once removed and lightly covered. I find water and excess clay all an early enemy to things happening more easily for beginners. Ask your teacher to show you how to pre trim the bottom wall thickness a bit more evenly before removal. Until you become proficient at throwing, often the bases of your pots will be much thicker than they need be. Removing this helps drying and makes final trimming much easier.
I am throwing in my own studio so I don't have access to a heat gun
I am going to try a more aggressive trimming though.
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On 2/28/2021 at 12:21 PM, Hulk said:
Hi Miriam!
I'm re-rounding pots when
a) they get a bit tweaked during the handling process - attaching handles, that is. There may be an ideal dryness where the clay is damp enough to take a handle attachment, but dry enough such that it holds its roundness. Yeah, well, sometimes I undershoot that by a bit.
b) they start to go out of round whilst drying - perhaps due to the air moving from one direction, sunlight coming through the windows, a bit of uneven thickness; the first two can be ameliorated by rotating often enough.
I use bats - plastic, treated powder board, plaster; am having fairly good luck with allowing the pieces to dry enough such that they can be wired off and moved without disrupting the shape. I've enough bats lying about that I'm not in a hurry to free one up. Wiring isn't needed when using plaster bats - the clay releases.
The base doesn't dry as fast as the rim, being thicker, and sealed by the bat (excepting plaster bat!!), particularly the plastic bats. Placing the piece on a plaster bat will speed up drying the base. I don't mind the base being damper than the rim when it's time to trim, not at all - not trimming the top two thirds of the pot, eh?
I don't throw off the wheel head - bat pins. When I do throw off the hump, careful handling and prod, jiggle, flex (as Neil suggests) gets it close enough to round. Plastic bats flex - this can be an advantage (or vexing)!
Any road, here are three slightly tapered plastic vessels; the tall one fits my mugs, the cut one fits soup mugs, and the white one sees use for larger pieces. Typically, I'm finding bowls keep their shape fairly well - a glaze fired bowl can serve as a rounder, when needed...
I'm still working on repeat forms - the two mugs on the left are within a millimeter or so, 450 gram mugs. The taller one is a 500 gram mug.
Drying can be delayed/controlled. I will mist (spray bottle) and cover (with a bucket) to arrest drying.
This is SO helpful, thank you!!!! I am just getting used to throwing again (I took a 2 year break) but once I have the hang of it again I plan to work on repeat forms. I actually got a glass egg easter decoration that looked like the tool you posted and it worked well for some mugs I threw recently.
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1 hour ago, neilestrick said:
My students all float their pieces off the wheel, and have very few warping issues. Make a puddle on the far side of the pot, pull the puddle under the pot as you cut the piece loose with your wire, then push the pice toward the puddle to slide it off. It may take 2-3 cuts to get the water fully under the pot. Slide the pot onto your palm, then place it on a bat. Do not try to slide it directly onto a bat. If it warps a little when you put it on the bat, just flex the piece from the base and it will settle back into round.
Putting paper on the rim of the pot will keep it from distorting, but messes up the rim.
Plastic bats work fine and last forever, but pots will adhere to them. You have to cut them loose from the bat when they're ready to flip.
Some cutoff wires are very thin and don't work well. Specifically, we've had trouble with the Dirty Girl wires. My students and I mostly use 30lb monofilament fishing line. It's super cheap and works great, easy to replace when a wire breaks.
I have tried the water trick! I have also been having issues where my pots are drying very unevenly. The outside dries quickly and the foot dries very slowly so I thought maybe the water on the underside might be the culprit. I tried flipping it as quickly as possible and lost a few pots because they weren't ready. I also tried just wrapping the rim which worked a bit better.
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On 2/26/2021 at 1:49 PM, Hulk said:
Hi Miriam!
Regarding 2) throw on my plastic bats
You might try wiring the piece earlier - when it is starting to stiffen up, but not yet ready for trimming. Later, when it is ready to trim, you might need to wire it again, however, it will be easier.
Before taking the bat off the wheel, trimming away the skirt at the base - leaving a groove may make removing the piece easier later on.
Some potters wire the piece before moving the batt off the wheel, then wire again later.
I'll typically wire pieces and remove them from the batt when they are stiff enough to move, but not yet ready for trimming.
Timing!
As for 1) throw directly on the wheel
There are tricks, e.g.
leave a thicker base
reset to round via the way the piece is set down - takes practice
reset to round when leather-ish hard using a tapered tool. I have a collection of tapered plastic containers I use. Here's a "rounder" that Bill Van Gilder demonstrates in a video.
He used to have them for sale on his website as well. I prefer a steeper taper...
I love the idea of a tapered tool but Bill Van Gilder's is sold out. Can you give me some examples of plastic containers you use?
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1 hour ago, Sorcery said:
Wire type matters too.
Something braided or like the Mudtools Squiggly wire will create a better gap to lift off.
A thin smooth wire will just keep it stuck.
Sorce
I have the Mudtools wire but not the squiggly one. I will give that a try too!
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19 hours ago, liambesaw said:
One of the many reasons I don't like plastic bats. I throw on masonite and it just pops off when the object is leather hard.
If I have to pull off the wheelhead I dry my hands real well, make sure the pot has all the slip scraped off, and just cut and lift with dry hands. Sometimes they go out of round a little and I kinda give the wareboard a little shake to try to settle it back into round.
What masonite bats do you recommend?
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22 minutes ago, Hulk said:
Hi Miriam!
Regarding 2) throw on my plastic bats
You might try wiring the piece earlier - when it is starting to stiffen up, but not yet ready for trimming. Later, when it is ready to trim, you might need to wire it again, however, it will be easier.
Before taking the bat off the wheel, trimming away the skirt at the base - leaving a groove may make removing the piece easier later on.
Some potters wire the piece before moving the batt off the wheel, then wire again later.
I'll typically wire pieces and remove them from the batt when they are stiff enough to move, but not yet ready for trimming.
Timing!
As for 1) throw directly on the wheel
There are tricks, e.g.
leave a thicker base
reset to round via the way the piece is set down - takes practice
reset to round when leather-ish hard using a tapered tool. I have a collection of tapered plastic containers I use. Here's a "rounder" that Bill Van Gilder demonstrates in a video.
He used to have them for sale on his website as well. I prefer a steeper taper...
I have noticed timing is everything! Until now I have been a part of a studio and so I had different habits that lent itself to better timing- for example, I set a piece aside after throwing it and let it dry for a bit without being wrapped. In my own studio I can come and go with more frequency so I end up wrapping my pieces earlier. I do wire twice, once right after I throw and once when I am trying to lift the piece from the bat.
I have been using cups, bottle, etc to try to restore the shape. I had no idea this tapering tool existed! Will have to try that too.
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51 minutes ago, akilspots said:
have you tried the trick where you lay a piece of paper on the rim of the pot then cut and lift it off the bat? the paper creates a seal that helps it not warp
I haven't- at what stage do you do this? Do I just use a regular piece of printer paper?
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I have always struggled with getting my pieces off the wheel cleanly. Here are some of my issues.
1) When I throw directly on the wheel the piece warps either when I try to lift it off or when I set it down. I've tried the pot lifters and I have issues with those too.
2) When I throw on my plastic bats I have a lot of trouble removing them when they are leather hard. They stick firmly to the bat.
Once I get them off I put them on a tile lined with wet newspaper which seems to prevent sticking.
Any advice?
Thanks!
Miriam
I am going to try a more aggressive trimming though. 
Pieces warping/getting stuck to bats
in Studio Operations and Making Work
Posted
I learned this the hard way the other day!!! I have been recycling a lot of clay with all my mistakes.