Bill Merrill on mon 17 oct 11
There seems to be a lot of potters on this site that don't like bat =3D
bins. Personally, I have never used bat pins as I have Randall wheels =3D
that have bucket heads for plaster bats and a flat head for trimming. =3D
The bucket head accepts 12', 16' and 20 ' bats. I had a Soldner P400 =3D
made by Bluebird with a tapered shaft to accept the Randall flat head =3D
and the bucket head. I also have an 18" flat head with pin holes =3D
drilled in it that I use with a 30" piece of plywood attached when =3D
making large platters. The point is if you like a power and kick wheel =3D
combination try to find a Randall wheel with the buck head and flat =3D
head. It may be harder to find the molds to make the bats. However a =3D
good machinist can make molds. I also have a smaller head for 8" bats. =
=3D
I know many potters don't like plaster, but I have used plaster bats and =
=3D
Randall wheels since Dave Shaner showed me his Randall wheel in 1967. =3D
Dave was one of the finest potters to ever live and he had a very high =3D
production rate and part of the reason was the way he made use of =3D
plaster bats. Another plus to the plaster bat is that the plaster will =3D
take some of the water from the foot and the entire pot will have a =3D
uniform leather hardness to the pot. No, it doesn't dry the bottom out =3D
too much. When the pot is ready to remove from the bat, a thin =3D
scientific spatula is placed at the edge of the pot on the plaster bat, =3D
the wheel rotated slowly and the spatula slid under the foot. The pots =3D
comes off the bat easily. =3D20
I have new Soldner wheels where I teach and we will be using bats that =3D
were suggested to me by Vince Pilteka. Vince said the only bats he =3D
uses are =3DBD" Medex, a waterproof MDF from Sierrapine. =3D20
Bill
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