Simon Leach's Pottery Handbook

By Simon Leach and Bruce Dehnert

Whether you’re a beginning potter or an old pro, ceramics can be as technical or nontechnical as you want it to be. Depending on your interests, you can either delve deeply into the art form or be happy skirting its perimeters. Likewise, the extent to which you equip your studio with tools of the trade or learn about new techniques and materials is up to you. This chapter presents basic information about setting up your studio, what tools and equipment are available to help you get going, and the clays you will come across along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Jun 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781794835528

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

getting started

Setting Up the Studio

Clay Bodies

Handling Clay

setting up the studio

Whether you’re a beginning potter or an old pro, ceramics can be as technical or nontechnical as you want it to be. Depending on your interests, you can either delve deeply into the art form or be happy skirting its perimeters. Likewise, the extent to which you equip your studio with tools of the trade or learn about new techniques and materials is up to you. This chapter presents basic information about setting up your studio, what tools and equipment are available to help you get going, and the clays you will come across along the way.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

What tools and equipment are necessary for making a pot? That question reaches as far back in time as the craft itself. In truth, pottery can be made with only clay, hands, and a pit fire, but to make our lives a little easier, we humans have continued to develop tools and equipment that let us make ever more complex or useful forms (though I’ve always taken a straightforward approach, and use relatively few tools in the studio).

CLAY MIXING AND PREPARATION

A wedging table and scale are the only equipment needed to prepare clay for throwing. Your bench-height wedging table should be well built and sturdy, since you will be vigorously kneading and compressing the clay on it. Some good surface options are plaster, canvas, concrete, or wood, all of which absorb moisture and easily release clay.

A scale for weighing balls of clay must be durable since you’ll be using it frequently and want it to last. Scales made for professional kitchens or labs are ideal, but inexpensive ones will also suffice. Make sure the scale you’re interested in can measure in your preferred system (metric or imperial). A scale should be able to weigh amounts up to 25 pounds (11.3kg) and can be analog or digital.

POTTER’S WHEELS

The most important piece of equipment in your studio is the potter’s wheel. While a kiln provides more than its fair share of mystery, the wheel brings forth what’s possible. What happens with it is completely up to you and your skills. From an ergonomic standpoint, the type of wheel you use will require you to position your body in ways that are unique to that design. So, with an electric wheel you’ll sit one way, and at a treadle wheel you’ll use a completely different position. The only way to discover which wheel is most comfortable is to try several types. Your local ceramic supply store, or a school, will have wheels that you can try out. There are three popular types of wheels.

Electric wheel

Electric Wheel

The electric potter’s wheel (shown in previous image) is the most commonly used design today. Powered by electric motors, with smooth acceleration, these modern wheels make throwing easier than their foot-operated cousins. Look for a wheel that has a minimum of one-half horsepower. Some brands offer a super-quiet wheel that employs magnetic technology instead of being belt-driven.

Kick Wheel

The kick wheel is the longest surviving version of the ancient glide wheel. It features a heavy flywheel that, when kicked, delivers power and speed for a limited time. With some effort, these wheels can reach high speeds but slow down without continual kicking. While they’re intended mostly for throwing and trimming, they’re also terrific for decorating when glazing time comes. They don’t use electricity and require minimal maintenance. Certain kick wheel designs include the option to switch between kick and electric power.

Treadle Wheel

While it may look similar to a kick wheel, the treadle wheel (shown at right) is a very different machine. The wheel head is driven by the rocking motion of a foot pressing on a swinging treadle beam, and the wheel travels at a slower pace than most other wheels do. Using the body’s direct action as its source of power, the treadle wheel lets you create loose forms with gestural qualities that are unique to this process. The ingenious mechanism emits a gentle rhythmic sound as the wheel turns. The wheel shown at right is a version of one designed by my uncle, Dicon Nance.

Treadle wheel

(From left, clockwise): Ruler, chamois leather, calipers, wire tool, sponge stick, sponge, trimming tools, ribs, hole cutter, neck tool, needle tool, fettling knife, throwing stick

POTTERY STUDIO TOOLS

With the exception of a good potter’s wheel and kiln, most other tools are inexpensive, and all of them are sold on the Internet or at your local ceramic supplier. As with any art form, it’s always a good idea to try lots of different tools to learn which are best for the way you work and think.

Banding wheel. A small pedestal turntable used to assemble a form, apply wax, or brush on a band of glaze. The best kind of banding wheel spins long and easily with little effort.

Calipers. Used for measuring the width of a pot’s mouth, rim, gallery, lid, flange, and the like.

Chamois leather. This small leather scrap is used to make the lip of a just-thrown pot silky smooth.

Fettling knife. Used to cut handles, feet, and facets.

Hand truck. Helps move boxes of clay, the wheel, and glaze buckets—anything heavy. Find one that can be used both vertically and horizontally.

Hole cutter. The curved blade is used to perforate forms, like tea strainers and colanders.

Kidney rib. These curved tools are used for shaping, scraping, smoothing, and compressing forms.

Neck tool. Helps shape a narrow-necked bottle, or can be used to pull a cylinder that’s too narrow for your hand.

Needle tool. Used primarily to cut or level an uneven lip during throwing, scoring for additions, testing the floor of a pot for thickness, and popping air bubbles in the wall of a pot.

Plaster slab. Absorbent material used to dry slaked clay and slip you intend to recycle. Instructions on how to make your own slab may be found on this page.

Plastic bucket. A ½-gallon (1.9L) container holds water for throwing.

Pottery sponge. Used to clean the wheel head after throwing a pot (and clean up generally).

Rounder. A handmade ceramic tool that helps put a misshapen leatherhard pot back into a round shape. See this page for directions on how to throw one out of clay.

Sponge stick. Mops up water and slip from the floor of a tall, narrow form. See this page for how to make your own.

Spray bottle. Used to keep pots and appendages from getting too dry. Store several of them, ready to use, in different areas of the studio.

Throwing bat. A round wooden, plastic, or plaster board onto which you can throw a pot. It is attached to the wheel head by means of bat pins or a pad of moist clay. The bat detaches easily so you can move the pot without touching or disfiguring it.

Throwing stick. Sometimes called a wood knife, it’s used like a rib to compress or shape various parts of a pot. Also a great incising tool, and useful for cutting the bevel at the base of a form while it’s still on the wheel.

Trimming tools. For shaping and trimming the foot on a pot. Most often used during the finishing stage of making a pot.

Ware boards. Wooden shelves for moving, drying, and storing pots. Usually custom-cut to specifically fit a given storage area.

Wire tool. Can be used to cut a clay block, to cut a pot from a wheel head or bat, and for decorating purposes. Instructions for how to make your own are on this page.

Wood rib. Used for compressing or shaping the floors, walls, and lips of pots.

making a wire tool

Indespensible to the potter, the simple wire tool can cut a block of fresh clay into manageable portions for wedging or kneading, slice underneath a pot to remove it from the wheel head or bat (see photo at right), or create decorative facets on the wall of a pot. Here’s how to make a counter-weighted wire tool with one wooden toggle and one clay toggle. The heavier clay toggle sits inside the splash pan, while the wooden toggle hangs freely over the side—a design that came from my brother, Johnny. You’ll need:

Multi-tool with hand saw and wire cutter Ruler

Wooden dowel, ½-inch (13mm) diameter

Nylon fishing line

Pliers

Use the multi-tool’s saw to cut the dowel into several 1¼-inch (3.2cm) lengths. Carve a shallow indent (deep enough to hold the nylon line securely) around the center of each wooden piece (1). Fashion an equal number of toggles of comparable size from some clay, and indent those, too. Fire the clay toggles with your pots. Photo 2 shows the pair of toggles needed to make one wire tool.

1: Carve indent in dowel

2: Clay toggle and wooden toggle

Using the nylon fishing line, tie a slipknot around the clay toggle’s indentation. Use three or four loops to create the slipknot, tightening it well with the pliers. Allow 5 inches (13cm) for tying the line to the toggle at the other end, plus at least 12 inches (30.5cm) for the free length between the two toggles (3).

3: Measure fishing line

Tie a simple overhand knot in the wooden toggle’s indent; start the tying 5 inches (13cm) from the nylon line’s end. Finish tying the wood toggle with a three-or four-loop slipknot (4). Tighten it with pliers.

4: Attach fishing line

Trim the loose ends of line at the toggles (5). Hang the clay toggle inside the splash pan (6).

5: Trim excess

6: Hang clay toggle inside pan

making a sponge stick

While pottery sponges come in all shapes and sizes, the one I use most often is a sponge on a stick. The design allows for maneuvering through narrow mouths of pots and down to hidden floors, where it absorbs excess water and slip, saving your pots from countless cracks.

The commercial type is more expensive and some, frankly, are too wide to be of much use and may even be attached to their sticks with screws that will dig into your pots’ floors and leave gouges. This design makes it easy to replace the sponge when it wears out, and the stick doubles as a measuring device. To make this stick sponge, you’ll need:

Ruler

Permanent marking pen

Chopstick or 1/16-inch (5mm) dowel

Multi-tool with file and scissors

Tight-weave cleaning sponge

Plastic ties

Using your ruler and pen, mark units of measure along the length of the stick (1). Start your numbering at the thicker end.

1: Measure and mark stick

File two or three grooves into the stick at the last measurement mark (2). Using scissors, cut a rectangular piece, roughly 3 x 2 x 1½ inch (7.5 x 5.1 x 3.8cm) out of one end of the large kitchen sponge (3) rounding the corners at one end.

2: File grooves into stick

3: Sponge with rounded corners at one end

At the end opposite the rounded corners, use a scissor point or knife to poke a narrow hole into the center of the sponge (4).

4: Create hole in sponge

Insert the narrow end of the stick into the sponge (5, 6). Create a loop with the plastic tie that can fit over the sponge (7). Fit the tie over the end of the sponge, as shown in photo 8; pull the plastic tie as tight as you can without breaking it to secure the sponge into the grooves. Use your scissors to cut off the excess tie at the closure (9).

5: Insert stick in sponge

6: Sponge on marked stick

7: Plastic tie holds sponge

8: Tighten tie around sponge’s base

9: Finished sponge stick

GLAZING AND FIRING EQUIPMENT

Mixing your own glazes begins with keeping a good notebook. While this might seem like a too-ordinary accessory, a potter’s notebook is a kind of bible.

A high-quality gram scale is a must in any glaze room: either the triple-beam balance type or a digital one. It should use both U.S. and metric units, be able to weigh quantities of at least 1000 grams, and read in tenths.

To stir your glazes (and recycle clay), a hand drill with an auger bit is a great combination. These two tools make the job easier and faster. A ½-inch (13mm) drill is best because that chuck size is more useful. Augers can be purchased at any hardware store. An ordinary kitchen blender always comes in handy for small mixing jobs.

To make sure your glazes are smooth and well mixed, you’ll need a sieve. While many potters prefer to use two different sizes of sieves, say, 110- and 60-mesh, you can easily get by with just an 80-mesh sieve.

Dry glaze materials should always be stored in plastic or metal containers. Opened bags create dust, and that dust can be toxic. Small and large plastic buckets with tight-fitting lids work well.

For blushing small areas of pots with a glaze solution or a patina, a handheld atomizer is perfect. This type of sprayer is usually available at your ceramic supply dealer or art supply store.

Heavy-duty kiln gloves are necessary around any pottery studio where kilns are present. Always use a heavy glove when handling the many hot objects associated with firing. Leather welding gloves are easy to find at hardware stores and do a great job of protecting your hands. Specialized high-temperature gloves are also available through ceramic supply dealers.

Two different kinds of safety glasses are a must in the studio. Use a pair of transparent glasses when grinding pots, tools, or kiln furniture. Glass-worker’s glasses should be worn if you want to look into the kiln. Repeated exposure of unprotected eyes to a kiln’s infrared radiation can result in long-term damage. Wear your safety glasses!

Without a doubt a potter must have a respirator. It should fit correctly and be capable of filtering the smallest of particles and the hazardous fumes produced in a pottery studio. Protect yourself against the health risks posed by dry clay and glaze materials, and by kiln gases. Respirators are available at most ceramic supply dealers or online.

A handheld grinder, either the 4- or the 7-inch (10 or 18cm) size, is most useful. A masonry disk for an electric grinder will make it easier to clean kiln shelves. If your budget allows, it’s also convenient to have a bench grinder, for sharpening tools.

Besides your gas or electric kiln, a small test kiln is a wonderful accessory in any pottery studio. It’s inexpensive, easy to use, and ultimately useful for determining clay and glaze qualities before you commit to the time and expense of firing a large load in a larger kiln. Get one that fires to at least cone 8 and can plug into a 110-volt outlet.

Dipping a pot into a bucket of glaze.

Linseed oil protects wooden tools

TAKING CARE OF TOOLS

Some clay can be abrasive, causing wear and tear on your tools. Tools used for throwing and trimming are particularly vulnerable. If they are to last a while, they need to be looked after. As they become worn, their edges, and sometimes even shapes, are changed, making it more difficult to use them as intended.

Occasionally, you should give all of your wooden tools a liberal coat or two of linseed oil to protect them from corrosion. The bench grinder can restore bevels; take care not to burn the wood, as burning weakens fibrous material.

Metal throwing tools, like kidney ribs and needle tools, should always be removed from the water when you finish each day. You can put new edges on these tools with either a bench grinder or a sharpening stone. Be careful not to grind away too much material, and don’t hold the tool in one position so long that you scorch the metal; this too weakens the tool.

STUDIO LAYOUT

Oftentimes the space in which you work has a great deal to do with the individual qualities of your creations, so setting up your studio will be one of the most important things you do before making any pots. Take the time to consider what the limitations of the space are and how to best utilize what you do have. This is important because in a studio, no matter how large or small, there are furnishings and equipment that are difficult to move once they’re in place. In this section, I’ll share some thoughts that might help you make decisions about your own space.

A pottery studio is best organized around the six basic activities that take place there: clay storage, clay preparation, production of wet work, pottery storage, glazing, and firing. There are other activities as well, such as the packing or exhibition of pots, but the primary concerns here have to do with making the pots.

As we all know, clay is heavy, and you don’t want to move it around more often than necessary. Store clay near your wedging table, because that’s the first place you’ll use it when preparing to make pots. If your clay comes ready to use, make sure the clay storage area is nearby, or even under the wedging table, so you don’t have to carry the clay far. If you’re mixing your own clay, it’s best to do that process outside the studio because it’s unsafe to breathe the dust that’s generated by this messy activity; then move it inside near your wedging table. The location of your studio sink will probably help you decide where to locate your potter’s wheel and set up the glaze area. If you can, have the clay storage area, wedging table, wheel, and sink as near to each other as possible.

Equipment, like the potter’s wheel, slab roller, bats, wedging table, and toolbox, should be located on the perimeter of your space. You shouldn’t have to walk around anything that is infrequently used. If possible, utilize natural light by having your wheel or wedging table at a window.

Give a good deal of thought to where the shelves for wet, drying, and fired pots will be located. Ideally, you’ll want shelves for wet work near the wheel, and those for trimmed work waiting to be bisque fired near the kiln. You’ll need shelving where you do your glazing, too. The shelving units ought to be constructed so that the ware boards can be removed easily and carried. Mobile shelving carts with wheels are very useful in any pottery studio.

Work tables should be in the center of the space. As you work on your pots, assembling or decorating them, a centrally located table lets you view them from different perspectives. Tables need to have handy storage space underneath for glazes, clay, or tools. Some potters like several small tables or carts that can be easily moved; others like one or two large tables. If possible, have at least one wood table with a bare top.

Preparing, mixing, and storing glazes in an organized, methodical manner will make your studio time more efficient and enjoyable. If you don’t have a glaze room, store the materials and buckets of glaze under tables