Kate Johnson on sun 28 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.
That's how I started out, a million years ago, before my 30+ year hiatus! I
didn't know any other way, and still miss it, so will be making some plaster
bats, soon. Is it necessary/preferable to use a kit like Axner's, or just
form them in a box of some such?
I am also wanting to make some plaster press molds and hump molds for my
18th C. style redware, particularly the platters. A friend made me a
gorgeous wooden mold, but it's slightly irregularly shaped--I love it for
demos of how "they" did it, but I'd like something a bit more uniform--and
smaller!--for most stuff. A lot of platters or serving bowls of the period
were obviously made either by draping a slab of clay over or into a mold...
Any advice on how-to successfully make molds in the shapes I need? And as
to the possibility of lime-chips, any more likely to get them using a mold
than a flat bat for drying?
Thanks in advance...
Best--
Kate
John Rodgers on sun 28 nov 04
Kate Johnson wrote:
> Is it necessary/preferable to use a kit like Axner's, or just
> form them in a box of some such?
>
> I am also wanting to make some plaster press molds and hump molds for my
> 18th C. style redware, particularly the platters. A friend made me a
> gorgeous wooden mold, but it's slightly irregularly shaped--I love it for
> demos of how "they" did it, but I'd like something a bit more
> uniform--and
> smaller!--for most stuff. A lot of platters or serving bowls of the
> period
> were obviously made either by draping a slab of clay over or into a
> mold...
>
One more thing.
The Pure and Simple bats must be gouged out a tiny bit on the back of
each bat to provide a recess that the bat pins on the wheel can fit
into. This ensures the bat sits flat on the key drive.
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
John Rodgers on sun 28 nov 04
Kate Johnson wrote:
>>> But what about plaster bats? What are the pros and cons of using
>>> them ?
>>
> Is it necessary/preferable to use a kit like Axner's, or just
> form them in a box of some such?
The Pure and Simple system from Axner uses a drive key that you attach
to the wheelhead using the bat pin screws. It is a positive drive and
does not rely on frinction to drive the bat as does the Jeppson setup.
Slippage simply does not occur on the Axner setup. Also, changing the
bats as you work is done with the greatest of ease.
I like the key drive setup also because when you put a bat on the wheel,
it self centers automatically. Jeppson does as well, but when you use
just a simple flat bat - flat on both sides with no keyway, one can
spend a bit of time centering the bat. With the key drive or Jeppson set
up just plop the bat on the trive and it's already centered ready to go.
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
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