Marianne Lombardo on thu 6 sep 01

Darla,

You're probably doing nothing wrong, except you need more practice. =
Hateful word, "practice" but that's what it boils down to.

You and I have been doing potter for about the same amount of time. It =
was taking me that long too. Now, I can pull a handle from a mug from =
start to finish in ten minutes. I'm sure that's still pretty slow, but =
it's an improvement.

Now, this didn't happen until I was nearing the end of making my 100 =
candle holders, so it takes time.

What I do, not necessary the correct way, but works for me:

Take some reasonable soft clay, and form a small "carrot". Dip hands in =
water that has a squirt of vinegar added to it. Make one or two gentle =
pulls. Cut the fat knob part off the top using a flexible metal rib =
that you can curve to match the curve of the pot. Dunk the fresh cut =
end into some slip that you previously prepared with your sloppy clay =
scraps and vinegar. Press onto the scored mug, wiggle a bit, set it on =
a bunched up towel on a table letting the carrot hang down. Do the next =
one. Go back to the first one. Use wet fingers to smooth out the join, =
wet your hands and continue pulling to form the handle. Pinch off the =
extra, and attach with your slip. Smooth out if necessary with a wet =
finger, put it aside and don't mess with it.

Marianne

>>minutes. But it took me from 9:30 am=20
>>until almost 4 to attach 10 handles/mugs!
>>What am I doing wrong?

Tommy Humphries on thu 6 sep 01

Here is my method of pulling 100 mug handles per hour...all it takes is a
bajillion hours of practice and some really soft clay.

first off, when making the mugs, I will wet the board down where the mug
will sit. this will cause the mug to stick tight to the board...very
important later on.

next after making whatever number of mugs for the day, usually 140-180, I
will go and mix some "handle clay" which is usually half clay from the bag
and half wheel scraps (really gooey) and slip. I mix this together in a
method I call cutting and slapping...pile all the clay, stiff and soft,
together in a pile on the wedging table, and mix by squishing it with the
hands till no free water, or slip is apparent. nest cut off a fist sized
hunk with the hand, slap it down on the table, repeating till one pile is
transferred to the other...repeat this at least 5 times, or until no lumps
can be found. this is then divided up into 5 lb. pieces, and wedged till
well blended. these are extruded into handle "blanks" roughly equal to 3/4
of the finished handles length, and slightly larger than the diameter
desired for the top of the finished handle. When enough of these blanks are
made to do all the mugs, the fun begins.

I handle my pots when the top edge of the pot is firm to the touch...not
wiggly. I take one of the handle blanks and cradling it in the right hand I
cut the end off with my left thumb, this will leave one edge with a thin lip
protruding. then with the left hand, I rub a bit of slip into the
attachment point on the pot (I never score the pot, unless I let it get too
hard) to get the surface really tacky, then taking the handle with the thin
lip down (still in the same position in the right hand) I will gently wiggle
it onto the pot, with a little foreword pressure. you can tell when the
handle bonds, as it will grab and not wiggle any more.

Then taking the thumb of a well slipped right hand start blending the thin
lip into the pot, continuing on around the handle till you have a smooth
bond all around.

Your handle is now attached to the pot.

Now, with both hands well slipped---

NEVER ever use clear water when pulling handles, as it will penetrate the
clay and cause it to separate!

--gently, GENTLY begin to pull...no just let the friction of your fingers,
as you let the handle slide through them pull the handle to the desired
length, shaping as you go. Use both hands to keep the profile of the handle
even, if not the handle will tend to be larger on one side.

Wondering why I wet the board down when I made the mugs???
If I hadn't then the pressure of pulling the handles could tip the pots off
the board, as all the handles are pulled with the mugs sitting upright on
the board.

Once the handle is to the proper length, supporting under the upper portion
of the handle with the left index finger, bend the handle down to the lower
attachment spot, adjusting the handle as you go, till the handle touches the
pot, and you grasp the point where it will be stuck down between the thumb
and first finger, wiggle it into the pot till it sticks, then pinch off the
bottom, and smooth into the side of the pot.

This whole process will take about 30 seconds from attaching the top of the
handle to smoothing the bottom attachment. It should take no more than 5-6
pulls to finish the handle. Of course these times come after all those hours
of practice.

This technique smashes one of those long held pottery myths, that you hear
preached as gospel all the time. That is that any time you join two pieces
of clay, you need to score the surfaces to be joined. If the clay is at the
right consistency it will meld together with just a bit of friction.

Get practicing!

Tommy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Marianne Lombardo"
To:
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2001 2:45 PM
Subject: Re: twist / attaching


Darla,

You're probably doing nothing wrong, except you need more practice. Hateful
word, "practice" but that's what it boils down to.

You and I have been doing potter for about the same amount of time. It was
taking me that long too. Now, I can pull a handle from a mug from start to
finish in ten minutes. I'm sure that's still pretty slow, but it's an
improvement.

Now, this didn't happen until I was nearing the end of making my 100 candle
holders, so it takes time.

What I do, not necessary the correct way, but works for me:

Take some reasonable soft clay, and form a small "carrot". Dip hands in
water that has a squirt of vinegar added to it. Make one or two gentle
pulls. Cut the fat knob part off the top using a flexible metal rib that
you can curve to match the curve of the pot. Dunk the fresh cut end into
some slip that you previously prepared with your sloppy clay scraps and
vinegar. Press onto the scored mug, wiggle a bit, set it on a bunched up
towel on a table letting the carrot hang down. Do the next one. Go back to
the first one. Use wet fingers to smooth out the join, wet your hands and
continue pulling to form the handle. Pinch off the extra, and attach with
your slip. Smooth out if necessary with a wet finger, put it aside and
don't mess with it.

Marianne

>>minutes. But it took me from 9:30 am
>>until almost 4 to attach 10 handles/mugs!
>>What am I doing wrong?

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iandol on fri 7 sep 01

Dear Tommy Humphries,=20

<hear preached as gospel all the time. That is that any time you join two =
pieces of clay, you need to score the surfaces to be joined. If the clay =
is at the right consistency it will meld together with just a bit of =
friction.>>

Agreed! But change "Meld" (combine) to "Weld" (unite). Plastic clay has =
many properties which suggest that it behaves almost like a metal alloy =
that has been raised to its forging temperature. But this is a difficult =
concept to comprehend.

Best regards,

Ivor Lewis, Redhill, South Australia

Lynn Korbel on fri 7 sep 01