Karen Ann on tue 30 jul 02
Llewellyn:
I don't punch out my strainer holes - I use a drill bit. Either use it
by hand or carefully use it on the drill. The clay is not forced but
gently filed away with no tearing. There might be a little lip of excess
clay on the inside - but if you can get your hand inside you can easily
brush it away. Of course I wouldn't try any of this on extremely dry
ware - but I have gotten away with it a time or two.
Karen Ann
In Oregon
Hank Murrow on tue 30 jul 02
>Readers,
>
>I just finished a gas kiln bisque load and fired an electric load today. I
>have two stoneware teas and always notice on the inside of the tea where
>the holes are made - that they often break out around the hole and would be
>better to punch the hole from the inside (which would of course be covered
>up from view by the attached spout. Most teas are too small to get them
>punched from the inside out or so it seems. Has anyone a good solution for
>making clean holes (outside of punching them sooner so they would not break
>the clay away around the newly made hole). Just a thought?
>
>Llewellyn
Dear Llewellyn;
I learned this from Hamada in '63. Cut out the side of the
teapot body a roughly circular piece of clay. Then pinch it to thin
and enlarge, and give it a dome shape. Then use a sharpened umbrella
spoke to make at least sixty holes. The thing here is to make sure
that there is sufficient volume of 'pour' to overwhelm the spout end,
creating good steady stream of tea. More holes, more
volume/pressure. I use a nesting brass tube with a pointy end that
Gordon Ward sells. when you reset the strainer in the side of the
teapot, reverse it so that the dome is bulging into the pot. That way
the water/tea coming back down the spout will wash the leaves back
into the pot. I always dampen this strainer before glazing it so the
glaze will not build up, but the previous thinning that was done when
pinching it into a dome also prevents buildup. I never get the holes
clogged, even with thickish shinos. The downside is an enormous time
commitment in the making of it, but tea lovers love these pots, and
it makes me proud to be able to make them this way.
Cheers, Hank in Eugene
Llewellyn Kouba on tue 30 jul 02
Readers,
I just finished a gas kiln bisque load and fired an electric load today. I
have two stoneware teas and always notice on the inside of the tea where
the holes are made - that they often break out around the hole and would be
better to punch the hole from the inside (which would of course be covered
up from view by the attached spout. Most teas are too small to get them
punched from the inside out or so it seems. Has anyone a good solution for
making clean holes (outside of punching them sooner so they would not break
the clay away around the newly made hole). Just a thought?
Llewellyn
Kris on wed 31 jul 02
You should send this to CM<
Subject: Re: Clean drain tea pot holes
> Our most-used tool for making teapot strainer holes is a simple wire
thing,
> rather like an old-fashioned hairpin. Not the "bobby-pin" shape, but the
> older kind shaped like an elongated narrow letter U. Mount the wire loop
> into a little wooden handle, by pushing the ends of the wire into the
wood.
> The idea is to poke the end of the U into the wall of the pot, pushing it
> right through. Then twist it a half-turn, and pull it out again. The
little
> pellet of clay comes out with the wire, leaving a clean hole. Make as many
> holes as you need, before putting the spout on of course.
>
> The inside of the teapot, where the holes come through, will need cleaning
> up a bit, to smooth off the inevitable raggedy edges. But don't attempt
this
> until the pot is leather-hard. We keep a special sponge for this, a
> ball-shaped one somewhere between golf-ball and tennis-ball size, tied on
> the end of a stick. Just damp it, poke it down inside the teapot, and
> twiddle it round so the rotating ball wipes away the little scratchy bits
of
> clay. Doesn't work if the clay is still soft, because the scratchy bits
just
> smear down into the holes again. But at leather-hard stage, they wipe away
> leaving the interior smooth.
>
> Roger Graham.
>
> http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rogergraham
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
>
Geoff on wed 31 jul 02
Hello Llew,
Long time, I know - there's been much to do ...
Rather than "punch" holes, why not "cut" them out. Holes are best made with
a fine half cylinder shaped tool. My personal preference is the nib of an
old-fashioned ink pen reversed in the nib holder. I'm talking about the ones
that we used to use WAY back in school ... ink wells and all that stuff ...
The nibs come in various sizes but alternatives can be made from all sorts
of things like umbrella spokes or fine, cylindrical metal rods ground down.
All will depend on the diameter of the finished hole. Just push the end of
the tool through the clay walls and twist. Most times the hole from the clay
will come out and can be discarded with the flick of a finger.
Holes up to over an inch in diameter can easily be made this way but depend
on the fineness of the metal. If you're grinding down a cylinder, then grind
it to less than half of a cylinder and taper the entering end to a sharpened
end of arc.
I hope this helps,
Geoff.
> Readers,
>
> I just finished a gas kiln bisque load and fired an electric load today.
I
> have two stoneware teas and always notice on the inside of the tea where
> the holes are made - that they often break out around the hole and would
be
> better to punch the hole from the inside (which would of course be covered
> up from view by the attached spout. Most teas are too small to get them
> punched from the inside out or so it seems. Has anyone a good solution for
> making clean holes (outside of punching them sooner so they would not
break
> the clay away around the newly made hole). Just a thought?
>
> Llewellyn
william schran on wed 31 jul 02
Llewellyn - Sounds like you simply need to leave a bit more clay
between the holes you cut through the wall.
Bill
Liz Willoughby on wed 31 jul 02
Hi Llewellyn, I find that there is less mess to clean up on the
inside of the teapot if you make the holes when quite leatherhard.
Can't wait too long though as you haven't got the spout on yet. I
have a hole cutter from Britain, a tapered tool, from short to wide
so you can make different size holes. (Wish they sold them in
Canada). After the teapot is finished; covered in plastic to dry
slowly, I then unwrap it and insert any trimming tool that you can
find that works, go in there from the top and scrap all those bits of
clay away. If you do this when the clay is too soft, it will only
gum things up. You have to wait until it is past the leather hard
stage. I then take a bamboo skewer, bend it an inch from the end, so
it doesn't break, but just stays together, go in from the top of the
teapot, and insert the skewer in each hole. Then use a tiny sponge
on a stick to smooth down.
Whether this takes less or more time than Earl's method, I don't
know. Might try that method sometime. I have seen pictures of those
teapot "holes" made that way.
Liz, an addicted neat teapot hole maker.
>Readers,
>
>I just finished a gas kiln bisque load and fired an electric load today. I
>have two stoneware teas and always notice on the inside of the tea where
>the holes are made - that they often break out around the hole and would be
>better to punch the hole from the inside (which would of course be covered
>up from view by the attached spout. Most teas are too small to get them
>punched from the inside out or so it seems. Has anyone a good solution for
>making clean holes (outside of punching them sooner so they would not break
>the clay away around the newly made hole). Just a thought?
>
>Llewellyn
Liz Willoughby
RR 1
2903 Shelter Valley Rd.
Grafton, On.
Canada
K0K 2G0
e-mail lizwill@phc.igs.net
Philip Poburka on wed 31 jul 02
Too, if Leather Hard or so, a slender, thin-wall Brass or other Tube
(sharpened on either it's inside or outside) may be used...to push through
and make a nice clean holes...the little 'plugs' as then are in the Tube may
be pushed out, or the Tube tossed in water so it doesn't get clogged up with
dried out little plugs...
Phil
Las Vegas
----- Original Message -----
From: "Karen Ann"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, July 30, 2002 8:00 PM
Subject: Re: Clean drain tea pot holes
> Llewellyn:
> I don't punch out my strainer holes - I use a drill bit. Either use it
> by hand or carefully use it on the drill. The clay is not forced but
> gently filed away with no tearing. There might be a little lip of excess
> clay on the inside - but if you can get your hand inside you can easily
> brush it away. Of course I wouldn't try any of this on extremely dry
> ware - but I have gotten away with it a time or two.
>
> Karen Ann
> In Oregon
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
Timothy Sullivan on wed 31 jul 02
I find that using a straw from McDonald's works very well. I use the straw
to make a patterned series of holes when the base is not yet leather hard,
and the plastic straw is able to make a very clean hole without sticking. I
much prefer it to using one of the metal tools. Price is right too.
Timothy Sullivan
Creekside Pottery
Marietta, GA
Roger Graham on wed 31 jul 02
Our most-used tool for making teapot strainer holes is a simple wire thing,
rather like an old-fashioned hairpin. Not the "bobby-pin" shape, but the
older kind shaped like an elongated narrow letter U. Mount the wire loop
into a little wooden handle, by pushing the ends of the wire into the wood.
The idea is to poke the end of the U into the wall of the pot, pushing it
right through. Then twist it a half-turn, and pull it out again. The little
pellet of clay comes out with the wire, leaving a clean hole. Make as many
holes as you need, before putting the spout on of course.
The inside of the teapot, where the holes come through, will need cleaning
up a bit, to smooth off the inevitable raggedy edges. But don't attempt this
until the pot is leather-hard. We keep a special sponge for this, a
ball-shaped one somewhere between golf-ball and tennis-ball size, tied on
the end of a stick. Just damp it, poke it down inside the teapot, and
twiddle it round so the rotating ball wipes away the little scratchy bits of
clay. Doesn't work if the clay is still soft, because the scratchy bits just
smear down into the holes again. But at leather-hard stage, they wipe away
leaving the interior smooth.
Roger Graham.
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rogergraham
Martin Howard on thu 1 aug 02
Drill bits that are sold, in sets, for wood, seem to be the best for making
these drain holes. They have a sharp point in the centre, which touches the
clay first, then other edges which cut around the size of hole, before
gently scraping/cutting the clay into spirals which then fall into the pot
or outside.
Using more than one size of bit enable us to make a drainage area which
contains a large total area of hole, but retain the strength of the whole
part of the pot.
I use a sponge on a stick, almost dry, to gently remove any odd pieces or
swarf that won't naturally drop out of the pot.
Martin Howard
Webbs Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
01371 850 423
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
Updated 6th July 2002
Rick Hugel on thu 1 aug 02
SWARF! SWARF? I LOVE IT! Where did you come up with this word? Is it an
acronym? Give me some examples of how one uses it.
ANYWAY, I use the same method. The next smaller bit down is useful in
ramming the holes clean. Don't use a sponge on the SWARF, though, I just
wait until the whole thing is dry and then brush the stuff out with a soft
brush -- or bang it on the table(just kidding).
>Drill bits that are sold, in sets, for wood, seem to be the best for making
>these drain holes. They have a sharp point in the centre, which touches the
>clay first, then other edges which cut around the size of hole, before
>gently scraping/cutting the clay into spirals which then fall into the pot
>or outside.
>
>Using more than one size of bit enable us to make a drainage area which
>contains a large total area of hole, but retain the strength of the whole
>part of the pot.
>
>I use a sponge on a stick, almost dry, to gently remove any odd pieces or
>swarf that won't naturally drop out of the pot.
>
>Martin Howard
>Webbs Cottage Pottery
>Woolpits Road, Great Saling
>BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
>01371 850 423
>martin@webbscottage.co.uk
>http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
>Updated 6th July 2002
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Llewellyn Kouba on thu 1 aug 02
Rick,
Thanks for the tip. The idea of using a 'wood' bit sounds like another
twist and additional information that makes sense because of the way they
are designed.
Llewellyn
At 08:44 PM 8/1/2002 +0900, you wrote:
>SWARF! SWARF? I LOVE IT! Where did you come up with this word? Is it an
>acronym? Give me some examples of how one uses it.
>
>ANYWAY, I use the same method. The next smaller bit down is useful in
>ramming the holes clean. Don't use a sponge on the SWARF, though, I just
>wait until the whole thing is dry and then brush the stuff out with a soft
>brush -- or bang it on the table(just kidding).
>
>
>>Drill bits that are sold, in sets, for wood, seem to be the best for making
>>these drain holes. They have a sharp point in the centre, which touches the
>>clay first, then other edges which cut around the size of hole, before
>>gently scraping/cutting the clay into spirals which then fall into the pot
>>or outside.
>>
>>Using more than one size of bit enable us to make a drainage area which
>>contains a large total area of hole, but retain the strength of the whole
>>part of the pot.
>>
>>I use a sponge on a stick, almost dry, to gently remove any odd pieces or
>>swarf that won't naturally drop out of the pot.
>>
>>Martin Howard
>>Webbs Cottage Pottery
>>Woolpits Road, Great Saling
>>BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
>>01371 850 423
>>martin@webbscottage.co.uk
>>http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
>>Updated 6th July 2002
>>
>>______________________________________________________________________________
>>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>>
>>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>>
>>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>>melpots@pclink.com.
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
>melpots@pclink.com.
Martin Howard on thu 1 aug 02
Swarf is what comes from turning metal. Curly wurlies of metal bits.
Just look at any metal working factory and you will see bins of it waiting
for recycling.
So, why not use the same term for the curly bits of clay which come from our
turning of pots, or turning metal tools in the walls of teapots to make the
very necessary holes to drain the loose herbs and tea.
Is there another term in general use? If so I would like to know to add it
to the Esperanto Ceramika terminaro.
Martin Howard
Webbs Cottage Pottery
Woolpits Road, Great Saling
BRAINTREE, Essex CM7 5DZ
01371 850 423
martin@webbscottage.co.uk
http://www.webbscottage.co.uk
Updated 6th July 2002
Bernie Sefick on thu 1 aug 02
Llewellyn
I use a small thin knife to cut the holes at a slight angle so that the =
inside of the opening is smaller than the outside of the pot. I make =
sure my tea is damp leatherhard and wait until it's almost dry before =
cleaning off the holes on the inside of the pot. Dampen a sponge and =
wipe off any pieces left in the inside of the pot. Most of your =
cleaning is on the outside where the hole is bigger.
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