Catherine Yassin on thu 13 may 04
I love my chucks! But... they drive me nuts with centering on them. I can
center the chuck just fine on the wheel, but its centering my pieces on the chuck
that I have a problem with. I've been throwing tapered forms that join at the
top (picture an egg). So to trim the bottoms, I put the top inside the chuck,
piece upside down. BUT getting the bottom level is very frustrating. I have
to be careful or I will trim my piece lopsided so it will lean when right side
up. Any suggestions?
Thanks!!!
-Cat Yassin
San Antonio
michael @of the Earth Pottery on thu 13 may 04
Hi Cat,
What I do is use a small level, about a foot long, All I do is put the level on the bottom of the piece, adjust the piece level, making sure that I center the piece both ways, side to side, then criss cros the level and center it the other way, that usually always centers the piece for me. Hope I helped.
Michael
>From: Catherine Yassin <CatBY@AOL.COM> >Reply-To: Clayart <CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG> >To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG >Subject: Chucks and centering >Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 12:19:39 EDT > >I love my chucks! But... they drive me nuts with centering on them. I can >center the chuck just fine on the wheel, but its centering my pieces on the chuck >that I have a problem with. I've been throwing tapered forms that join at the >top (picture an egg). So to trim the bottoms, I put the top inside the chuck, >piece upside down. BUT getting the bottom level is very frustrating. I have >to be careful or I will trim my piece lopsided so it will lean when right side >up. Any suggestions? > >Thanks!!! >-Cat Yassin >San Antonio > >______________________________________________________________________________ >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.
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar – get it now!
John Bandurchin on thu 13 may 04
Cat Yassin wrote about trimming chucks and having a difficult time getting
pieces centered in the chuck.
I've found that plastic drain pipe fittings are very useful for trimming
chucks, especially reducing couplings, as one piece serves as two sizes of
chuck. If the piece to be trimmed is still on the soft side of leather
hard, it will stay in the chuck without any help. Sometimes I have to use a
thin coil of clay to line the edge of the chuck to help it "grab" the piece.
Even if the piece is not very damp it will work if I'm careful not to get
the wheel going very fast. And it's generally easy to make minor adjustment
to "kick" the piece into the center.
I have several sizes of these couplings, one was bought at a construction
materials dealer - it's bigger than you'll find at a plumbing shop or at
Home Depot type stores.
John Bandurchin
Baltimore Ontario Canada
easley59 on thu 13 may 04
How about using a small level on the piece as you're placing it in the =
chuck?
Pam in Seattle
Gorgeously sunny this morning, blue skies, supposedly in the low 70's =
through the weekend, marvelous for us. Busily working on some pieces for =
an auction for a leukemia patient who needs a stem cell transplant, =
finishing up work decorated by the little kids, and generally looking =
forward to a great clay day!
Earl Brunner on thu 13 may 04
Forget centering the chuck- at least at first.
Get a small "carpenter's level" and level the pot in
the chuck, then center the chuck. Once the pot is
level focus on centering the pot or object, forget the
chuck, it may or may not be centered, doesn't matter
as long as the bottom is level, and the object to be
trimmed is centered. (of course the wheel needs to be
level to begin with for this to work..........)
--- Catherine Yassin wrote:
> I love my chucks! But... they drive me nuts with
> centering on them. I can
> center the chuck just fine on the wheel, but its
> centering my pieces on the chuck
> that I have a problem with. I've been throwing
> tapered forms that join at the
> top (picture an egg). So to trim the bottoms, I put
> the top inside the chuck,
> piece upside down. BUT getting the bottom level is
> very frustrating. I have
> to be careful or I will trim my piece lopsided so it
> will lean when right side
> up. Any suggestions?
>
> Thanks!!!
> -Cat Yassin
> San Antonio
>
>
______________________________________________________________________________
> 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.
=====
Earl Brunner
e-mail: brunv53@yahoo.com
Hendrix, Taylor J. on thu 13 may 04
Cat!
Meow. If you're really worried about a few loppy pots, you might try
this tool-centric method. Go to homedepot or some such and look for a
level that will level in 360 degrees. Should be a flat piece of plastic
with the clear bubble surrounded by a circle line. Pop that onto the
bottom of your eggs, level, THEN tap chuck 'til pot is centered and trim
away. You can use a small torpedo level and just rotate it 90 degrees,
checking level that way, but to get one of these other levels allows you
to see the level in all directions simultaneously.
What do you think of that? Sorry I don't have the proper tool name for
you.
Taylor
Waco, Texas, USA
http://www3.baylor.edu/~Taylor_Hendrix/tjpots.htm
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Catherine
Yassin
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 11:20 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Chucks and centering
...=20
So to trim the bottoms, I put the top inside the chuck,
piece upside down. BUT getting the bottom level is very frustrating. I
have
to be careful or I will trim my piece lopsided so it will lean when
right side
up. Any suggestions?
Thanks!!!
...=20
Charles Moore on thu 13 may 04
The tool that Taylor Hendrix wrote about is called a "bubble level." It is
round, about an inch and a half across with a circle in the middle. Place
it in the middle of your upturned pot to find the level by adjusting the pot
in the chuck (or Giffin Grip) till the bubble is centered. These levels are
found at most hardware stores for perhaps $2.00.
This level will work if your cut-off is straight, not if you cut-off rises
up on one side.
Charles
With a new email address; SureWest spelled my last name without the final
"e"; I kind of like it.
Donald G. Goldsobel on thu 13 may 04
The hardware stores call it a bull's-eye level and it is the greatest! =
Levels feet on a pot, pots in chucks-I use it the most in hand building =
to get the tops and feet level. Put a light weight piece of flat =
material on the pot, place the bull-eye and trim etc until the bubble is =
in the bull's-eye.
Donald
----- Original Message -----=20
From: michael @of the Earth Pottery=20
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG=20
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 10:45 AM
Subject: Re: Chucks and centering
Hi Cat,
What I do is use a small level, about a foot long, All I do is put =
the level on the bottom of the piece, adjust the piece level, making =
sure that I center the piece both ways, side to side, then criss cros =
the level and center it the other way, that usually always centers the =
piece for me. Hope I helped.
Michael
Of the Earth Pottery & Supply
313 Buchner Court
Waukesha, WI 53186
Toll-Free 1.866.510.0090
www.potterydeals.com
www.almontgallery.com=20
>From: Catherine Yassin >Reply-To: Clayart =
>To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG >Subject: =
Chucks and centering >Date: Thu, 13 May 2004 12:19:39 EDT > >I love my =
chucks! But... they drive me nuts with centering on them. I can >center =
the chuck just fine on the wheel, but its centering my pieces on the =
chuck >that I have a problem with. I've been throwing tapered forms that =
join at the >top (picture an egg). So to trim the bottoms, I put the top =
inside the chuck, >piece upside down. BUT getting the bottom level is =
very frustrating. I have >to be careful or I will trim my piece lopsided =
so it will lean when right side >up. ! Any sugge stions? > >Thanks!!! =
>-Cat Yassin >San Antonio > =
>________________________________________________________________________=
______ >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.=20
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-----
FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar - get it now! =
_________________________________________________________________________=
_____ 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.
Earl Brunner on fri 14 may 04
Now that's an elegant solution.
Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ivor and Olive
Lewis
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 10:20 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Chucks and centering
Dear Catherine Yassin,
I knew that book would come in handy when I bought it, that is "Zen
and the Art of Pottery"
Kenneth Beittel gives the following solution to your problem and I
paraphrase.....
.....Just before you undercut the base to cut off from the wheel, take
a pin tool or some similar pointed tool and run it around the pot
above the cut off line to make a ring around the pot, then cut off.
When you place your pot in the chuck to turn the base, spin your wheel
and watch this indented line. Adjust your pot as needed in the chuck
until it rotates absolutely level, then trim.....
Bonnie Staffel on fri 14 may 04
How to center your oval pots in a chuck is relatively easy if you get
yourself a small lightweight level from the hardware store. I put my chuck
in the Giffin Grip, put the pot in the chuck and test the proposed foot with
the level, making it level first one way, then another. I then make some
small coils and fill the space between the chuck and the clay piece to keep
it in place. If your chuck is made of bisque, it would be a good idea to
soak it very well in water so that the coils don't dry out too fast.
Good luck and I hope this works for you.
Regards,
Bonnie Staffel
http://pws.chartermi.net/~bstaffel/default.html
http://www.vasefinder.com/
Earl Brunner on fri 14 may 04
It seems to me that if we are making an assumption, that the assumption is
never-the-less valid. On a modern potterswheel, the wheelhead should be
"true" and the rim of a properly thrown pot on that wheelhead should have a
direct correlation to the base of the pot. The base, if leveled during
trimming, (either by eye or using some other tool, when trimmed should
relate well to the rim.
If as you say, the base may not be true after cutoff, then I would suspect,
that that is the least of the problem. Someone who can't cut a pot off of a
bat "level" will probably have trouble TRIMMING an unlevel bottom to
"level".
Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ivor and Olive
Lewis
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2004 11:07 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Chucks and centering
Dear Earl Brunner,
As far as I can see those solutions so far posted disregard the fact
that the base has to be trimmed so that it is parallel to the line of
the rim. I presume the pot has been already thrown so that its rim is
truly horizontal and its axis perpendicular to the plane of the rim,
or a least trimmed with a needle tool to that standard of perfection
so that the spirit level to work.
I detect in each solution an assumption that the base is true level
after cut off. This may not be correct.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
william schran on fri 14 may 04
Cat wrote:>. So to trim the bottoms, I put the top inside the chuck,
piece upside down. BUT getting the bottom level is very frustrating.
Any suggestions?<
I have my students position the chuck near the center of the wheel,
but don't anchor it down yet - put the pot in the chuck and with the
wheel going slowly, bring a sharp tool down on the top (bottom of
pot) until it first touches. If level, it will mark equally around
the surface. If only leaving a mark on a small area, that's the side
that's too high, adjust as needed. After leveling, then center pot
and chuck together.
Remember, center the pot, doesn't matter if the chuck is centered.
The other method is to place a small spirit level on the top (bottom
of pot) and adjust that way.
Need to hold the pot down in the chuck. Easiest way is to place a
small metal jar/bottle lid on the pot and press down fairly hard with
your forefinger.
Bill
Ivor and Olive Lewis on fri 14 may 04
Dear Catherine Yassin,
I knew that book would come in handy when I bought it, that is "Zen
and the Art of Pottery"
Kenneth Beittel gives the following solution to your problem and I
paraphrase.....
.....Just before you undercut the base to cut off from the wheel, take
a pin tool or some similar pointed tool and run it around the pot
above the cut off line to make a ring around the pot, then cut off.
When you place your pot in the chuck to turn the base, spin your wheel
and watch this indented line. Adjust your pot as needed in the chuck
until it rotates absolutely level, then trim.....
At $US 14.95 this is very good value for money and it is still in
print. Now the Pottery parts I understand and can make use of but the
ZEN part I am still struggling with as far as this text goes.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
Ivor and Olive Lewis on fri 14 may 04
Dear Earl Brunner,
As far as I can see those solutions so far posted disregard the fact
that the base has to be trimmed so that it is parallel to the line of
the rim. I presume the pot has been already thrown so that its rim is
truly horizontal and its axis perpendicular to the plane of the rim,
or a least trimmed with a needle tool to that standard of perfection
so that the spirit level to work.
I detect in each solution an assumption that the base is true level
after cut off. This may not be correct.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
Earl Brunner on sat 15 may 04
Maybe I can't visualize the problem then because it seems to me that what I
said still applies. I don't fault the general principal of what you are
saying though. I just didn't think that our assumption was necessarily
that off.
Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ivor and Olive
Lewis
Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2004 6:45 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Chucks and centering
Dear Earl,
Cat's original description contained information that the top of the
pot was curved.
Had that not been the case the assumption relating to the rim would be
true.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
Ivor and Olive Lewis on sun 16 may 04
Dear Earl,
Had I not read the Book, would I have thought to use it?
Earl Brunner made the following response which I appreciate.
<> Now that's an elegant solution.<>
Should anyone have contact with Kenneth Beittel perhaps they would
pass on the Accolade which he deserves.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
Original message,.
<>Kenneth Beittel gives the following solution to your problem and I
paraphrase.....
.....Just before you undercut the base to cut off from the wheel, take
a pin tool or some similar pointed tool and run it around the pot
above the cut off line to make a ring around the pot, then cut off.
When you place your pot in the chuck to turn the base, spin your wheel
and watch this indented line. Adjust your pot as needed in the chuck
until it rotates absolutely level, then trim.....
Ivor and Olive Lewis on sun 16 may 04
Dear Earl,
Cat's original description contained information that the top of the
pot was curved.
Had that not been the case the assumption relating to the rim would be
true.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
Ivor and Olive Lewis on mon 17 may 04
Dear Earl,
I appreciate this dilemma <because it seems to me that what I said still applies. >>
Visualise yourself making a pot. You centre, open, raise a wall to
give a slender tall cylinder, belly out, then collar the rim in to
create an enclosed sealed volume which apart from the flat base is a
completed ovoid form. The upper surface is a rounded point.
You cut the piece from the wheel and when it is appropriate to trim
the base you set it in a collet which you have already centred on your
wheel head. Though you assume your off cutting was precise and the
surface is flat, when you have turned the footring and set the object
upright it has a slight lean with the peak of the form enough off
centre to be noticeable to a perceptive and critical person.
How do you ensure concentricity ? If Giffen Grip is in use you have a
centre spot to guide placement but with the collet you guess.
I offered K. R. Biettel's solution.
I hope that clarifies the concepts for you.
Enjoy your week.
Best regards,
Ivor Lewis. Redhill, South Australia
Hendrix, Taylor J. on mon 17 may 04
Ivor,
I prefer to have a bottom at right angles to the axis of the pot, the
rim be damned.
Thus, the leveling suggestions while a bit fussy for my tastes would
correct the 'problem' no problemo.
Taylor
Waco, Texas, USA
http://www3.baylor.edu/~Taylor_Hendrix/tjpots.htm
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Ivor and
Olive Lewis
Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 1:07 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Chucks and centering
Dear Earl Brunner,
As far as I can see those solutions so far posted disregard the fact
that the base has to be trimmed so that it is parallel to the line of
the rim. ...
| |
|
