CP Dunbar on sun 22 sep 96
So, I'm throwing a fairly decent plate, but when i try to cut it loose with a wi
cut thru the body of the plate. Any suggestions on how you do it. I know it may
sort of automatic for many of you, but at my end ot the learning curve, it would
i had some sort of direction to sort of aim for.
So do most of you throw extremely thick plates and then scrape off a large amt d
the turning of the piece ? Or do you throw on top of different bat material.? I
one guy who throws on top of roofing felt, and then peels it off when it is leat
hard.
Input anyone ?
direction - good
cutting thru ware - bad
:) cp
--
CP Dunbar
Leesville, SC USA
address cpdunbar@concentric.net
anne chambers on sun 22 sep 96
Here's a trick you can try:
A couple of years ago I discovered that if you put a piece of canvas or
heavy cotton (denim) on the bat, you will not cut through the plate. I
use wood bats. Wet the bat with some water, then put on the canvas, wet
the canvas a bit more so it is stuck on and smooth it out with a sponge.
I traced my bat on the canvas to get the exact size, except I forgot
cotton shrinks wash it first!
After throwing the plate use your wire to cut under the canvas and then
when it's time to trim just peel it off your plate. A beautiful even
bottom. Use to drive me crazy, if I didn't cut through the piece, the
middle would be too thin to trim a foot.
Hope this helps you.
Anne Chambers,
Ottawa
Marcia Selsor on sun 22 sep 96
I always throw very thick plates and platters on maonite or sealed particle boar
It does not leave a very thick remains on the bootom of the plate. I then
wait (Montana is very dry) 'til leather hard, put a soft damp sponge in
the middle of the plate for support (center usually droops without support)
cover with another bat and flip over. Put the bat on wheel and trim.
No problems. We have a large cutoff string on a metal frame for very large platt
Marcia in Montana
mjbmls@imt.net
debra ulland on sun 22 sep 96
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>So, I'm throwing a fairly decent plate, but when i try to cut it loose with
a wi
>cut thru the body of the plate. Any suggestions on how you do it. I know it may
>sort of automatic for many of you, but at my end ot the learning curve, it
would
>i had some sort of direction to sort of aim for.
>So do most of you throw extremely thick plates and then scrape off a large
amt d
>the turning of the piece ? Or do you throw on top of different bat material.? I
>one guy who throws on top of roofing felt, and then peels it off when it is
leat
>hard.
>
>Input anyone ?
>
>I throw plates on tempered 1/4 in. masonite bats. They will release when
leatherhard.
try throwing thicker bottoms and undercut right after you throw the plate.
Sue Davis on sun 22 sep 96
When throwing plates I use plastic bats, throw the bottom a little thicker
than normal pots. When cutting with the wire, wrap the wire around your
fingers and start at the back of the plate (the side away from you). Hold
the wire taut and pull towards you while pushing the wire down towards the
bat. Both hands will be in the splash pan. Hope this works for you. Of
course you let the plate dry on the bat until leather hard before taking off
the bat and trimming. Usually the next day. Happy potting. :-)
Sue Hutchen on sun 22 sep 96
CP Dunbar,
I would suggest that you are trying to throw a plate at it's finished
thickness. Leave a little extra on or even a lot until the right
thickness becomes second nature to you. There is a well known potter, (I
wish I could remember which one) who begins his throwing demonstrations
by saying, "I can't really throw worth a damn, but I can trim like
crazy."
Hang in there, Sue
Hertz Pottery on sun 22 sep 96
I use a masonite bat that will bend slightly .. if I put it on something so
I can push down on the sides while I pull the string through tight, it cuts
off most of the clay ..
good luck
Erik
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>So, I'm throwing a fairly decent plate, but when i try to cut it loose with
a wi
>cut thru the body of the plate. Any suggestions on how you do it. I know it may
>sort of automatic for many of you, but at my end ot the learning curve, it
would
>i had some sort of direction to sort of aim for.
>So do most of you throw extremely thick plates and then scrape off a large
amt d
>the turning of the piece ? Or do you throw on top of different bat material.? I
>one guy who throws on top of roofing felt, and then peels it off when it is
leat
>hard.
>
>Input anyone ?
>
>
>direction - good
>
>cutting thru ware - bad
>
>
>:) cp
>--
>
>
>CP Dunbar
>Leesville, SC USA
>
>address cpdunbar@concentric.net
>
>
erik hertz
ZALT@aol.com on mon 23 sep 96
Try a plaster bat. Cover lightly and let dry until it pops off the bat.
Then finnish to your tasts.
Terrance Frank Lazaroff
Montreal, Canada
SANTERRE ROBERT on mon 23 sep 96
CP,
I don't know the details of your plate throwing process so this advice may be
way off base, but perhaps useful to consider. Your throwing process may be
creating layers of clay with different degrees of wetness. If the central
bottom portion of the plate (attached to the bat) is dryer then surrounding and
upper layers and if your wire does not have SUPER tension on it when you try to
cut the plate off the bat, the wire can ride up over the harder clay
following the course of least resistance. This can be particularly troublesome
if, for example, you're throwing on plaster bats that suck up a lot of water
from the clay immediately adjacent to the bat surface. The solution generally
is (a) to wet the bat surface a bit so the clay at the surface is not dried
out unevenly, (b) keep a lot of tension on your wire as you cut through the
bottom (sometimes it helps to stabilize the bat and plate during this cut-off
process - a friend or partner can help or build a little cornered stop with
two straight pieces of wood to pull against ) and (c) use a left-right sawing
motion as you cut through the bottom.
Another little trick I've found that seems to help is using a double-stranded
twisted wire ( I make them myself by twisting two single-stranded cut-off wires
together ) rather than a single-stranded straight one - I think the roughened
surface leaves tiny air passages or pockets that make it easier to lift the
plate later.
Throwing with a very thick bottom and then trimming extensively
can be a solution, but really isn't necessary and ultimately will be very
wasteful in terms of both time and materials - there are better solutions.
Hope this helps. Good luck.
Bob
santerre_robert@lilly.com
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>So, I'm throwing a fairly decent plate, but when i try to cut it loose with a w
>cut thru the body of the plate. Any suggestions on how you do it. I know it may
>sort of automatic for many of you, but at my end ot the learning curve, it woul
>i had some sort of direction to sort of aim for.
>So do most of you throw extremely thick plates and then scrape off a large amt
>the turning of the piece ? Or do you throw on top of different bat material.? I
>one guy who throws on top of roofing felt, and then peels it off when it is lea
?hard.
>CP Dunbar
>Leesville, SC USA
>address cpdunbar@concentric.net
LINHARES on mon 23 sep 96
Hi CP
I don't like to center any more clay than I have to so my dinner plates
are thrown to final thickness and left to dry on the bat. Yes, that's
what I said dry on the bat. I use tempered masonite (smooth on both
sides) 1/8th inch bats sealed with Thompson's or polyurethane.
Usually when I make bigger (5# and up) platters or oval platters I cut
them off using fishing line which gets alot closer to the bat (cuts
less into the plate) than a metal cut off wire. A few weeks ago I was
testing a new clay body (Miller #75) and my new two ply polyurethane
21" bats, and I threw a 24" platter. It got too hard to cut off the
bat so I just let it dry and it didn't crack. I was a little surprised.
Good luck!
Paul in Ohio where it's starting to look like fall
| |
|
