Neoprene for trimming

[Pyewackette]

@Min I've been looking into making my own batmate and neoprene is one of the things I wanted to try. I had been wondering if I could use it the way you use yours.  Why waste a bat on that?  I trim directly on the wheelhead anyway.  If I can slap a neoprene disk down so much the better!

How thick is your neoprene?

[Min]

Xiem BatMate is used for different purposes than the neoprene disc. My neoprene disc is about 3 mm thick. I use a Xiem BatMate (or a knockoff of it) to hold batts to the wheelhead without using batt pins but not to trim on. I know a lot of people use the Xiem BatMate to stop  wobble in uneven batts with the use of pins but it works super well with plaster batts of any size and wood batts up to about 10" without pins at all. I use the neoprene only for trimming. Still have to keep a slight pressure on the top of smaller pots like mugs, no need for clay wodges to hold the pot down.

[Pyewackette]

@Min Sorry I meant the DiamondCore Sticky Bat. Those things are SPENDY!!!! I have my own versions of the Bat Mate.  One is made using that waffled shelf liner, it works fine for Speedball plastic bats to stop clatter and wobble.  The other is made out of Sham Chamois used for wiping down cars.  You wet it, wring it out, and it helps with slightly warped wooden/masonite bats or those solid plastic bats (not Speedballs, they have hollows underneath). It also gives it just a little bit of an underhang to get hold of and pull the bat off when you're done.

I always use bat pins.  Having to center the clay is quite enough centering while I'm throwing LOL!

3mm - that's less than an eighth of an inch!  I guess I'd better rethink that 1/2" neoprene roll I was thinking of getting LOL!

Thanks.

Edited November 16, 2023 by Pyewackette

[Callie Beller Diesel]

For reference, 3mm is a hair more than 1/8”. It’s close enough to not make a difference in this instance. It’s the thickness of single pane window glass if you need a common physical comparison.

1/2” neoprene would be overkill, but not unworkable if you already own it and you’re making your own. A foam bat is the more affordable tool that does the same thing as the diamond core version. I could also see thicker craft foam glued to a bat working for this if you wanted a perfectly smooth surface. 

 

[Pyewackette]

@Callie Beller Diesel I don't care for the foam bats, pieces tend to sink unevenly on them.  Larger pieces in particular.  I haven't got the neoprene yet (its sitting in my Amazon cart pending figuring out whether or not we'll be moving soonish) but I'm thinking the 1/2" neoprene ought to be a decent replacement for the thicker foam bats when I need something to flip a platter over onto to protect the rim, and maybe able to leave it there for trimming.

Thanks for the info, now I know the 1/8" stuff is what I need to make a sticky bat.  Might try the 1/4" for bigger things, rather than the 1/2".

Edited November 23, 2023 by Pyewackette