Hand sanitizer bottles and sponge holders

[Mark C.]

Well for many many decades I have made threaded top lotion bottles with stainless steel pump tops-now they are hand sanitizer dispensers and as you know like toilet paper anything cleaning realated is hot now. sponge holders are on fire now as well. Hey they hold a sponge and that cleans surfaces -who knew???seems many did not. Now they are catching on. Making tons of them now.

[Pres]

Great thing with them, when getting yucky, rinse them well and throw them in the microwave, sponge and all.

 

best,

Pres

[Callie Beller Diesel]

@Mark C. Are your pump tops threaded or another style?

[Stephen]

12 hours ago, Mark C. said:

Well for many many decades I have made threaded top lotion bottles

so I assume you just thread the top with a bigger top when it's stiff enough to handle it?

[Mark C.]

I long ago found that glues and plastic collars come loose so I since day one always thread the top of bottles .E6000 is the best glue but still can and will fail on the plastic to glass gluing.I do not use plastic collars only clay threaded tops on the thrown forms

I use a plaster ring that has the threads in the mold. I have a dozen of them. You press the clay into the collar (about 5/8 inch thick) and let sit a spell and then with a small aluminum circle tool cut thge center out of that clay part. Let dry a spell and it dropos out or unthread it. I score the bolle tops and slip it onto them . For me this is the quickest way . One can (I also have done this) just throw the thread in with a sharp tool-its not that critical just has to be good enough to grab the threaded part. I'll post a photo (today is concrete work  on my soalr array) so in a few.

These collars you can make or buy-they are made  with PVC pipe on the outside for added strenght.

My friends who owns onedream online (They sell pumps of all types and make  and sell crystalline pottery) sell them as well (although they do not work with  well my clay body shrinkage ).This shrinkage needs to work for whatever clay body you use and its critical on the mold-you have some play as you can press wetter clay or dryer clay and this can change the shrinkage enough to work but it has to be close to start with)I suggest buying a one or two to see if the collars work for your body before buying more.

 I bought mine long ago and that business is long gone -axner sold them in the 90s they are long gone from there as well  as when Laguna bought them out they slashed about 2/3 of the product line.

I buy in 200 piece quantity at $550 a pop since I swiched to stainless steel coated plastic tops-I used to sell plastic pumps and still have one wholesale outlet that wants them. I have a few hundred left as I bought a bunch when alftosa went under.The stainless pumps and all pumps for that matter are not as good quaility (meaning work forever)as they where say 30 years ago. Like most items this has degraged in the past decades.I have been using these metal topped pumps for the last 10-15 years .

ok time to work concrete before it gets hotter-more later if you have questions 

PS I'm sure I posted all this info before long ago if you want to look for it-maybe not in so much detail

They are not lotion pumps they are HAND SANITIZER pumps-wink wink -you get that right-wink

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Oh I get it all right! I figure we’d all better get on making these. They might be in demand this next little bit.  I’ll have another search for more specific bottle threading instructions later this eve. The kids are having a day today. 
 

I found One Dream online this morning after hunting through some of the threads here and checking Clay Planet’s selection, since they took over the Aftosa stuff. One Dream has nice looking metal ones, and I had planned on ordering some of the glue in rings since no one seems to have the cork ones in stock without wanting an arm and a leg for them. But if the tap and die set is a better route, I’ll give it a go. How many dies do you recommend for a small production, since you have to let things set up?
 

[Min]

6 hours ago, Mark C. said:

They are not lotion pumps they are HAND SANITIZER pumps-wink wink -you get that right-wink

I think we need at least a trio of pumps, first you wash your hands with soap at home.  Another pump for the hand sanitizer for the office or where ever.  Cup holder sized pumps for the car? Then when your hands dry out from the sanitizer you need a lotion pump or two. I'm down to my last dozen of the pumps, arggggg!

[Callie Beller Diesel]

The distilleries who are making hand sanitizer? They’re selling them in large beer cans. Which is logical enough on their part. But that does mean you have to decant it into something.  

[liambesaw]

13 minutes ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

The distilleries who are making hand sanitizer? They’re selling them in large beer cans. Which is logical enough on their part. But that does mean you have to decant it into something.  

Ours are putting them into pump bottles, which is very nice of them.  They're probably making more money off of the hand sanitizer than they are their liquor since it's taxed differently lol

[Mark C.]

3 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

Oh I get it all right! I figure we’d all better get on making these. They might be in demand this next little bit.  I’ll have another search for more specific bottle threading instructions later this eve. The kids are having a day today. 
 

I found One Dream online this morning after hunting through some of the threads here and checking Clay Planet’s selection, since they took over the Aftosa stuff. One Dream has nice looking metal ones, and I had planned on ordering some of the glue in rings since no one seems to have the cork ones in stock without wanting an arm and a leg for them. But if the tap and die set is a better route, I’ll give it a go. How many dies do you recommend for a small production, since you have to let things set up?
 

The cork ones are really bad news for customers as the cork over a short time wears out.They compress and wear out fast. Corks are not made for years of reuse so forget about corks-I have had so many csutomers ask me for corks as theirs is toast .I take pride in telling themI only have made threaded bottles that last a lifetime. I do not like making things that wear out and do not bring happiness for my customers.

The collar is not a die really as it does not cut into the clay. its a press mold and you cut out the center. so you only press mold the threaded top and then attach to any pot you make with slip when its all damp enough-almost leather hard.

If I recall one dream has a video of them using the diee on a wet thrown pot. I do not make them that way.

I make lotions bottles in 24 runs and have about 8-12 dies (whose counting??) you can press out two runs pretty fast.

I'll post some photos when this cement job is done-its going two days now.Big ground mount solar array-24 panels  array will be 40 feet x 14 feet-lots of work in planing and ceemnt latout-I'm taking 3 days off from clay to do this.In a few months we will have a 9,600KW system  during daylight hours. I'm the solo guy doing it all-no one to fire or to hire.

Monday back to the wheel.

This is a starnge weekend as I have done a art show at UC Davis (3 day art show) for over 25 years now and never been home this weekend since 1993

 

[Callie Beller Diesel]

When you say you’re going to slow down... I do not think that word means what you think it means!

 

I did watch their video, and another one by John Britt showing the method you describe. I think the press mould idea will work better with how I work than the thrown version. I have an email in to them asking about which set I should get for the shrinkage rate. They’ve got a set for cone 10 and one for “low fire.”

[Callie Beller Diesel]

16 hours ago, liambesaw said:

Ours are putting them into pump bottles, which is very nice of them.  They're probably making more money off of the hand sanitizer than they are their liquor since it's taxed differently lol

They had to get a different licence to sell hand sanitizer, which was fast tracked like nothing I’ve ever seen. Liquor and weed stores here were declared an essential service, so they didn’t strictly need to make the sanitizer, but they stepped up because of shortages and community mindedness. I imagine they just relabelled their existing packaging to shorten the turnaround time and lower overhead. It doesn’t hurt that you’re reminded the brewery made the safety stuff, and you should go support them in their regular gig, too. 

[Mark C.]

4 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

When you say you’re going to slow down... I do not think that word means what you think it means!

 

I did watch their video, and another one by John Britt showing the method you describe. I think the press mould idea will work better with how I work than the thrown version. I have an email in to them asking about which set I should get for the shrinkage rate. They’ve got a set for cone 10 and one for “low fire.”

You need to know your clay shrinkage rate? Low fire and high fire is not the right metric-11% 0r 12% that what you need to know-

[Mark C.]

I do not drink much so I cannot help a brewery. Maybe pouring beer down the drain to jump start my septic system would help them.

[liambesaw]

4 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

Liquor and weed stores here were declared an essential service

How very Canadian lol. Our pot shops were declared essential here but not the distilleries

[Mark C.]

Liquor and weed stores are essential in Cali-

[Callie Beller Diesel]

My contributions to the local head shop or the jar store are going to go largely unnoticed as well. 
 

@Mark C. My clay shrinkage is 12-13%. One Dream sells either a “low fire” or “high fire” version of the press mold, without using shrinkage numbers. Kinda weird for potters. 

[Mark C.]

Ok I took the photos and will post a. new thread on the whole topic when works slows.Cement work is done for now. 

[Mark C.]

For a detail look at this process look here