Hank Murrow on sun 4 aug 02
>Hank, how small do you cut your strainer holes? Sixty of them implies
>pretty small. My tea might tend to clog such a strainer, but then I
>drink the brew made from leaves of finest Assam, which are almost
>tobacco-like in size and shape.
>My strainer holes are a one-quarter inch diameter or slightly bigger,
>and I cut at least a dozen of them - the more the merrier. My spout
>base is sized as big as I can get away with, and still look good,
>which lets me cut that many holes. I leave almost a quarter inch of
>clay _between_ the individual holes in the strainer. Less, and at
>cheese hard the clay between the holes can rip as I cut, given the
>thinness of the wall. Hmm, this reminds me to sharpen the edges of my
>spout cutter to help out here...
>
>When you make your teapots, Hank, are you thinking of a more
>typically east asian tea, small leaved, or even powdery?
>
>Which all goes to show that many kinds of tea call for many kinds of teapots!
>
>happy brews to y'all,
>
>Ned
Dear Ned;
When I make strainers for loose tea, I make the holes with a
nesting brass tube set of about 5/32" diameter. The collector is cut
out of the side of the pot, thinned to half its original thickness,
holes punched, and re-installed with the 'dome' pointing inside the
pot (reversed from original position). I have very little trouble
with the holes tearing. After the bisque, I dampen with a sponge
before glazing to prevent clogs.
Mostly, my customers prefer loose tea, green and black. These
strainers take care of either equally well. BTW, I also make the
strainerless kind that Mel was referring to. I always inquire of my
customers what preference they have. And I educate the galleries that
handle my work to inquire as well.
Cheers, Hank in Eugene
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