Brad Carter on sat 27 nov 04
I am beginning to set up a studio space in my garage. I recently bought two
used electric wheels. I am now considering what type of bays to use. In
the past I have used melamine bats with two holes that slip over bat pins that
protrude from the wheelhead. This system seems to work OK. I usually flip
my pots upside down as soon as they are stiff enough--to help the bottom dry
evenly with the top parts of the pot.
But what about plaster bats? What are the pros and cons of using them ? I
am told that you can simply throw the pot on a plaster bat and then set it
aside and wait for it to dry enough to separate from the bat. Finally, can
anyone comment on the Thomas Stuart Bat Mold system--it makes plaster bats with
pins that protrude from the bat rather than from the wheelhead. I can't
visualize that--Are the pins plaster and cast as part of the bat?? Or are the
pins inserted into the bats after they are cast? HMMM . . .
Best regards,
Brad Carter
Grass Valley, CA
bradcarter@aol.com
John Rodgers on sat 27 nov 04
Brad,
I have used plaster bats for 7-8 years now. I love'em! I bought the Pure
and Simple Bat System from Axner and the system has worked well for me.
Axner carries a variety of bat molds that go with the system, but I have
never had much use for most of them except for the 12 inch and 14 inch
flat bats. I found the key way for the system to adapt well to making 24
inch bats in plaster as well. It works better than any other system I
have seen.
What is nice about the plaster bats is the self releasing quality. When
I complete a pot, I don't cut it free with a wire, but simply set the
bat to one side with the pot still on it. In a little while, the plaster
bat draws enough moisture from the clay that the bottom will
automatically release. And it leaves a very nice, smooth bottom.
Over the years, there has been much talk about getting plaster chips in
the clay and then having blow-outs in the pieces when fired. I've never
had a problem with this. I.E., no plaster ever in the clay.
The bats are quite a bit heavier than other material, and that takes
getting use to, but the self releasing quality more than offsets the
weight inconvenience.
Another quality I like in the plaster bat is that you can carve it and
form molds for patterns in different kinds of ware. You then work the
clay over the surface to pick up the newly carved form or pattern
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
Brad Carter wrote:
>I am beginning to set up a studio space in my garage. I recently bought two
>used electric wheels. I am now considering what type of bays to use. In
>the past I have used melamine bats with two holes that slip over bat pins that
>protrude from the wheelhead. This system seems to work OK. I usually flip
>my pots upside down as soon as they are stiff enough--to help the bottom dry
>evenly with the top parts of the pot.
>
>But what about plaster bats? What are the pros and cons of using them ? I
>am told that you can simply throw the pot on a plaster bat and then set it
>aside and wait for it to dry enough to separate from the bat. Finally, can
>anyone comment on the Thomas Stuart Bat Mold system--it makes plaster bats with
>pins that protrude from the bat rather than from the wheelhead. I can't
>visualize that--Are the pins plaster and cast as part of the bat?? Or are the
>pins inserted into the bats after they are cast? HMMM . . .
>
>
>
>Best regards,
>
>Brad Carter
>
>Grass Valley, CA
>
>bradcarter@aol.com
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
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>
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>
Bruce Girrell on sat 27 nov 04
> But what about plaster bats? What are the pros and cons of using them ?
I
> am told that you can simply throw the pot on a plaster bat and then set it
> aside and wait for it to dry enough to separate from the bat.
We use plaster bats almost exclusively. We like them. One of the "good"
things is the self-releasing character that you have heard of. It doesn't
always work perfectly. In the summer when things are more humid or when we
have been doing a bunch of throwing and the bats have become waterlogged,
they won't release like they should. But most of the time they work well for
us. If you are doing production work the release time may be too long for
you, but for us it's OK.
Whether they release automatically or not, I like the fact that the plaster
is removing some of the water from the bottom as the top is air drying. With
plastic bats the bottom doesn't dry at all until you cut the pot off the
bat. The plaster helps balance the drying of the pot.
We have bats made by Jepson. These sit in a tapered plastic ring that mates
with the pins on the wheel head. One downside is that the soft plaster of
the bats eventually wears and the bat can slip inside the ring, especially
if you are centering stiff clay or a large amount of normal clay.
We have had zero problems with lime pops. While there are times that some of
the plaster from the bats gets scraped into the clay, the fragments are tiny
and too small to cause pops.
When I first started using plaster I had trouble centering because the
absorbent plaster would suck the water off my hand and then my hand would
tend to stick to the bat. This happened only the first few times that I used
the plaster bats. Either I have learned how to deal with it or else the bats
are no longer so thirsty.
We have not broken any bats, though we do have a few with some good sized
dings in the edges. They are plenty sturdy, though. They weigh more than a
plastic or masonite bat and they take more room to store. You need to leave
air space between the bats when they are not in use so that they can dry
thoroughly.
I'm not sure what else to say. We like them. A production potter would
probably hate them. It's going to be a personal choice.
Bruce "let's get plastered" Girrell
Bruce Girrell on sun 28 nov 04
I made a misstatement in my post yesterday on this subject. I said that a
production potter would probably hate plaster bats. But Jepson is, without a
doubt, a production potter and he obviously thinks that plaster bats are
good things. So I retract that statement.
I guess all it takes, really, is a management of your workflow so that you
can be working on other stuff during the time that the plaster does its
thing. Still, I have to believe that there are many who can't be bothered -
wire the thing off as soon as you can and just let it dry. For nice hefty
mugs that probably works well. We throw a lot of porcelain and we throw it
thin. Throwing a piece and wiring it off immediately just isn't an option.
The piece can barely support its own weight, let alone tolerate handling.
Sometimes, to achieve a certain shape, it is necessary to throw an
approximation of the desired form and then refine it later. The plaster
helps the bottom stiffen up during that waiting period, which helps improve
stability during the second forming (shape refining) process.
Bruce Girrell
in rainy/snowy/rainy/snowy/rainy northern Michigan
going back down to the basement to restock those shelves
Janet Price on sun 28 nov 04
Brad,
The pins are metal and stuck in the bats when you cast them. I did this
so long ago that I can't remember the details, but aside from making one
bat too thin, I did not have a problem making them. And I had very
little prior experience working with plaster. They are heavy and do
take up more space. With the pins in the bats, there's automatically
air between them when you stack them, so they dry out better than bats
without pins. Since the wheelhead has holes rather than pins, you can
trim right on the wheelhead.
I have a Thomas Stuart kick wheel, non-motorized. He's very helpful if
you call or email with problems.
Janet
Brad Carter wrote:
> I am beginning to set up a studio space in my garage. I recently bought two
> used electric wheels. I am now considering what type of bays to use. In
> the past I have used melamine bats with two holes that slip over bat pins that
> protrude from the wheelhead. This system seems to work OK. I usually flip
> my pots upside down as soon as they are stiff enough--to help the bottom dry
> evenly with the top parts of the pot.
>
> But what about plaster bats? What are the pros and cons of using them ? I
> am told that you can simply throw the pot on a plaster bat and then set it
> aside and wait for it to dry enough to separate from the bat. Finally, can
> anyone comment on the Thomas Stuart Bat Mold system--it makes plaster bats with
> pins that protrude from the bat rather than from the wheelhead. I can't
> visualize that--Are the pins plaster and cast as part of the bat?? Or are the
> pins inserted into the bats after they are cast? HMMM . . .
>
>
>
> Best regards,
>
> Brad Carter
>
> Grass Valley, CA
>
> bradcarter@aol.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.
>
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