Wheel Speed When Trimming

[Benzine]

After doing some trimming the other day, and looking at the scattered clay scrap carnage that it creates, I thought I'd create a poll to see how fast everyone keeps their wheel, while trimming.

[Mark C.]

I tend to trim at very fast speeds-the speed is determined somewhat by the form.

A large 18# bread bowl is trimmed slower than say a small cereal bowl.

As the form gets small the speed gets higher

Your poll did not mention pot size so I assumed it was for small forms.

[Guest JBaymore]

Always very slowly.  Prefer to trim on a wooden type kick wheel.... pulling with the left foot...... but not often able to take that luxury.

 

My CXC wheel has the footpedal always adjusted so that the max speed when fully depressed is WAY slow.

 

Clay scrap almost never "scatters".  I use a small shaving brush to move it off the wheelhead most times.  No splash pan. Scraps go onto the floor around the wheel.  Cleaned up while still wet.

 

I also center and throw at slow speed.

 

best,

 

..................john

[Joy pots]

Medium speed on mugs & similar size pots which seem to be the norm for me lately. The kick wheel is gone but I loved using it for trimming, kick & let it roll.

Joy

[Chilly]

The only regular trimming I do is on the bottom of slip-cast mugs.  To give a glaze-break line.  And as I don't have a wheel at home, I trim on a banding wheel, so speed is very slow!

[Pres]

Depending on the piece, my wheel speed will very from very slow to medium speed. When I am leveling pieces thrown off the hump, I have a tendency to use a hacksaw blade held level over the piece all the way across. Faster speed here works better.

 

 

best,

Pres

[Joseph Fireborn]

I trim slow. My trimmings gather around the pot as I trim it, if that is any indicator of how slow I trim.  I prefer slow not because I can't do it fast, but because I like to trim my feet non uniform. I never really trim down the height or width of the pot any so I don't need to worry about using trimming for that. Mine is purely to shape the foot in a manner which matches the texture and shape of the pot. I rarely trim anything off the form itself. (this includes bowls, which wasn't always the case.)

 

Edit: here is an example of what I am talking about. I trimmed the pot so that the foot was a complete extension of the rest of the shape. The foot circle isn't perfectly round and the lines come with the pot all the way from the rim to the foot. 

 

[neilestrick]

There is a minimum required speed in order for the tool to cut. The speed of the rotation provides the force for the tool to slice through the clay. If you apply too much pressure with the tool at any given speed, the tool will grab and pull the piece off the wheel. Beginners always want to trim with the wheel going slow- it feels more in control. However at those slow speeds you have to be very gentle with the tool or it will grab. I teach them to trim with the wheel at the same medium-fast speed they use for centering when throwing. It provides enough force to deal with their inconsistent trimming tool pressure. 

 

I trim with the wheel going quite fast. It allows me to be very aggressive with my trimming tool, which minimizes the amount of time needed to trim a piece.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

I'm with Neil. Fast wheel, sharp tool and a just-right touch.

If the wheel is too slow, you get pronounced trimming marks. These can be a beautiful aesthetic choice, but not in my personal work at the moment. My clay handwriting isn't that nice.

[preeta]

depends on what emotional state of mind i have been at when i was throwing.

 

if i have just a little to trim then i go very slowly.

 

if there's a lot of clay i have to take off at a particular point then my wheel speed is fast. 

 

but usually it is slow because i am trying to learn to hear the sound of the thickness of clay. 

[Guest]

I trim as fast as I'm comfortable, its nice having a gas pedal to quickly adjust the speed.

 

Fast is relative, I'm accustomed cutting with with hand held tools at spinning speeds of  2500+ rpms.

 

Top speed on my wheel is 240 rpm so I'm somewhere around half that.

[Marcia Selsor]

slow. especially on large orbs.Faster for pieces like bowls.

 

Marcia

[1515art]

I also pick a wheel speed that feels comfortable to my eye and on further thought, that speed depends of a few different things... the choice of tool, smaller tools on average get slightly higher wheel speeds unless I'm looking for some specific surface texture, how well I'm able to anchor, or how adversely centrifugal force will impact the structure. On further, further thought...medium.

[What?]

Pretty fast I say. The size does matter. More trimmings than not are outside the spalshpan. This is also dependent on which type of trim tool I use to.

[oldlady]

just because of this question, i noticed the speed of the wheel when i was trimming today.  for me, faster seems to be better.  the tool bounces and chatters when held lightly and when the wheel speed is slower.  trimming involves cutting excess clay off and faster speed allows the trimmings to fly off the pot cleanly.

 

i think chattering is a flaw.  many people do not and believe chattering tool marks are a desirable decoration.  it is hard to adjust my old mind to the acceptability of today's intentional processing of what would have been terrible failures when i was learning.  smearing cobalt glazes all over white surfaces and feet that are outside the circumference of the pot make me cringe.

[Mark C.]

I will add that as a production potter I need to GET IT DONE

so when using my custom bison double ended tool speed matters 

when I trim I feel the need for speed

It almost done a bit like mediation for me-I get in the groove.

It like waxing  just another process to move thru to get to what I like-the glazing and firing.

[terrim8]

Depends on the item. Usually start off slow then speed it up.

[Guest JBaymore]

My approach to trimming is to take off a lot of clay very quickly... with the wheel rotating slowly.  Very sharp tools... kept sharp.  Instead of many multiple revolutions to get the clay off....... fewer revolutions.  Decisive cuts.

 

best,

 

.......................john

[Chilly]

So, ask 15 potters "how do you do......? and get 22 different answers.

 

I guess the real answer is, as always, "it depends".

[1515art]

I will add that as a production potter I need to GET IT DONE

so when using my custom bison double ended tool speed matters 

when I trim I feel the need for speed

It almost done a bit like mediation for me-I get in the groove.

It like waxing  just another process to move thru to get to what I like-the glazing and firing.

Bison tools are wonderful, nothing I've ever used works so well. I had one for years and the tip recently broke off (very sad). I need to send it in for repair and perhaps treat myself to another, beautiful tools.

[oldlady]

nobody touches my bison tools!!!  they are the best.

[Benzine]

It almost done a bit like mediation for me-I get in the groove.

 

 

I can relate to that.  I find trimming to be quite calming.  The sound of the thin layers of clay being removed is like white noise...

 

 

My approach to trimming is to take off a lot of clay very quickly... with the wheel rotating slowly.  Very sharp tools... kept sharp.  Instead of many multiple revolutions to get the clay off....... fewer revolutions.  Decisive cuts.

 

best,

 

.......................john

 

Coincidentally, I just watched a video of Japanese woodworkers yesterday.  It talked about how they begin every day sharpening their tools.  Doing so definitely makes their work a lot easier, especially considering all they use is no electric hand tools.

[Guest]

 

Coincidentally, I just watched a video of Japanese woodworkers yesterday.  It talked about how they begin every day sharpening their tools.  Doing so definitely makes their work a lot easier, especially considering all they use is no electric hand tools.

 

I sharpen my tools not because they are dull, but because they can be sharper.

[Rex Johnson]

...it does depend...the wetness of the clay, the size of the pot, how soon you need to get it finished

 

Though I often don't do nothing more than a thumb-trim off a plaster bat, I do enjoy the space my head gets in when I do trim.

So many ways to approach the process.

I really appreciate some of the delicate Korean porcelain potters work I've seen with the highly trimmed footies.

For me, that's a whole different direction.

 

This Bison tools look pretty slick. Seems I'm constantly fighting clay build up on my crappy Kemper tools when trying to make a clean foot angle.

Good thing I have decent fingernails, though my dexterity is starting to wain...