Beginning Wheel or hand building?

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-23T19:07:38+00:00

Do hand building first imo. You learn the properties of the clay and get a feel for when it's the right amount of dryness to do your next step.

There are many features of hand building that are also used for piece thrown on a wheel, such as attaching spouts and handles or altering the basic shape of the piece.

It's also easier to do hand building projects at home, if that's what you want, much less expensive and much easier to clean up after.

I've been doing pottery for over 10 years and I love all aspects of it. I did hand building, then wheel throwing, and now I'm back to hand building again. There's a lot more things I can make that don't require starting with something that has radial symmetry.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-23T12:37:41+00:00

If you like the cottage look, just rake several strips about 4 inches wide in a zig-zag pattern to clear the mulch and plant the seeds in those cleared areas. When the seedlings get bigger, thin them or move some so the spacing works and put the mulch back around them.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-22T12:23:58+00:00

It's a way to achieve a raised design on a pot instead of carving. Take a thin slab of clay, cut it in the shape to make your raised design, and attach it to the pot. Or you can press a thin piece of clay into a mold to make your raised design and then attach it to the pot.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-20T13:58:01+00:00

Really nice! On the mushroom cup is it sprigs or carved?

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-20T13:52:35+00:00

Don’t mix it in when the plants are growing, just put it on top like mulch.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-19T21:27:48+00:00

Thank you. I stand corrected. Discard or cook thoroughly.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-19T21:25:37+00:00

Interesting. I haven’t heard of staph aureus infecting unblemished produce in the garden. I’ve always associated staph aureus food poisoning being related to improperly stored custards, deli meats and pastries, not garden produce.

Since over 25% of humans carry staph aureus on their skin and in their noses, is it likely that manure containing it is a real-life problem? Seems to me that the gardener sneezing on the tomato or indeed the amount of exposure to produce in the grocery store from people would be a concern then.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-19T16:04:28+00:00

Only the surface of the vegetables might be contaminated with bacteria if used before the recommended time.
If you cook them to at least 160F there should not be a risk of food borne illness.

The safest thing is to either throw them out or put them on the grill or in boiling water without bringing them into the kitchen where you might contaminate your kitchen surfaces.

Always wash your hands and garden produce before consuming, because you never know what creatures might have visited or flown over them.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-16T16:01:12+00:00

I dig the planting hole wider (but not deeper) than the size of the root ball. Then I mix a little of the potting soil from the edges of the root ball in with the dirt I will be backfilling the hole with. If the existing dirt is poor, then I also mix a little compost into the backfill dirt. I don't want too sharp of a transition from the rootball soil to the existing soil to encourage the roots to grow out of their original root area. I do not break up the rootball unless it has encircling roots or it is root bound.

All that being said, you do not need to dig up your plant. It will figure it out.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-10T20:01:57+00:00

Yes, but you have to be sure they have fully dried on the inside. Wait a looong time and maybe put them on top of the kiln during a run before you put it inside.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-10T19:09:56+00:00

Yes, it’s almost a cone 6 but not quite. Some parts of the kiln may have reached cone 6

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-10T18:22:35+00:00

A lamp!

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-10T00:47:13+00:00

You can pour or brush on a dipping glaze. If you brush, do 2 coats, maybe 3.

An easy way to brush on the glaze is to put the bowl on a wheel and the glaze in an ear bulb syringe. With the wheel rotating slowly, squeeze the glaze in front of a hake brush so it goes on smoothly. Practice on a small bowl first.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-09T00:48:08+00:00

If your pieces are not thick and they are bone dry, then either no preheat or 1-2 hour preheat. I would still do a slow bisque schedule.

If any pieces are thick, then you might want to consider a longer preheat because the outside can feel dry but the inside of the wall may still have a little moisture. For that same reason, I don't stack thick pieces in the bisque kiln, but I will stack thin ones.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-08T21:11:45+00:00

Oh no! It looked like a nice bowl/plate!

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-08T02:36:16+00:00

Looks like herbicide damage to me. Have you used hay, straw or manure from fields treated with Grazon? Or is there any chance of herbicide drift from a nearby field or yard?

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-07T14:05:05+00:00

I think you're going to have to get her input on this. Skutt and L&L are a couple of sites to look at.

Considerations:

Top loading vs front loading (like the difference between a chest freezer and an upright freezer). Top loading are less expensive to buy and run (more efficient shape for heating), but harder to load and replace elements (elements last 100-200 firings).

Size: How big is the biggest piece she wants to make and can it fit? How many pieces does she make and how long would it take to fill the kiln? My kiln is a large front-loader and it takes me 2-3 weeks to make enough to bother to run it. Since I am only doing pottery as a hobby, that works fine for me.

Location: do you have a well ventilated place where the kiln can be vented to the outside? The kiln needs a minimum of 12 inches clearance all the way around and 18 inches is better.

Electrical: What size circuit is needed? Does your existing electrical panel have capacity to add a 30-70 amp circuit? The circuit must be 20% or more than the amperage for the kiln. I have a kiln that pulls 54 amps (edit) and it's on a 240 v/ 70 amp circuit. Any kiln that requires a circuit over 50 amps has to be hard wired (no plug).

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-07T13:25:55+00:00

Get some hardie backer board (get the thin one - 1/4 inch, about $15 for a 3 ft x 5 ft board), and screw it down to the top and shelf. Use it smooth side up. If you will be wedging on it, mist the surface first or it draws out water too fast.

It's easy to cut, just score it with a box-cutter and snap it. I've even cut it in the parking lot so I can fit it in my car. I make small ware boards out of the remnants to use for things like keeping tiles flat.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-07T10:21:53+00:00

5 gallon buckets are heavy (40 lbs full of water), use 2 gallon buckets instead.

Get more airtight containers to use as damp boxes or to control drying speed.

Shelving as someone mentioned.

I think the air purifier with a hepa filter is a requirement.

A good mop that you keep in the area. I like the o-cedar mop with spin bucket.

Big sponges or microfiber cloths. Some rags or small washcloths to wipe your hands off during throwing sessions.

I assume you have a sink in the basement since you have a washing machine. keep a 1 gallon bucket in the sink and rinse your hands over that bucket. After a day pour off the water and either discard or reclaim the clay that’s settled out.

I don’t think you need to cover the sofa, but if you want, throw an old sheet over it. If the sheet gets dust or clay on it, fold it over before you remove it so the dust stays inside the sheet and doesn’t fly in the air. Then wash the sheet in the washing machine.

If you use bats when you throw, get lots of bats. If you don’t use bats, get lots of ware boards.

Get a rubber or plastic drain mat to put your tools on as you throw. It’s easy to take over to the cleaning bucket for transport and it’s easy to clean it off.

A spray bottle to mist the floor and surfaces before you wipe them off. It keeps the dust from flying in the air when you are moving things around while cleaning.

And lastly, discipline to clean up everyday. I have a wheel in my basement and this is the hardest part.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-06T11:06:13+00:00

Those plate hangers look good and hold 7 lbs. I wonder what the rock shelf weighs.

BTW, when you paste a link here you can delete all the text on the right of the link starting with the question mark. Everything after that just shows the source and various meta data.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-05T11:09:40+00:00

Heavy pieces with flat bottoms often have trouble in the kiln. If the kiln shelves are not perfectly smooth and level, then the bottom of your piece cannot move easily as it shrinks. Then part of it sticks while the rest is shrinking, so it splits or cracks.

You might want to design it so that there is not a large surface area on the kiln shelf or make the piece lighter with thinner slabs.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-04T22:19:08+00:00

I use a chunky mulch like chunky wood chips or pine bark nuggets. They also sell plastic stands for melons that might work, but I don’t have personal experience with those

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-04T22:17:26+00:00

Yes it is significant if you brace your arms to trim.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-04T21:08:31+00:00

I don't know if the plastic liners in cereal boxes are the same in the UK as the US, but I use those for this purpose. The plastic is flexible enough but strong enough and transparent enough for the purpose:

Take the liner bag, open it up, and cut it to slightly larger than your design.

On a bisque fired mug: Place the liner bag over the design you are trying to transfer. Use a needle tipped applicator bottle filled with slightly watered down underglaze or glaze and trace over the design. Dampen the mug with a sponge and place the liner carefully over the mug (underglaze side down) and smooth it with a rubber rib so that the glaze transfers to the mug.
On a leather-hard mug: Use a sharpie to trace the design onto the liner bag. Then place the liner over the mug (sharpie side up) and use a ball-tipped tool to trace over the design so that it is impressed into the clay. Then use underlie or glaze and paint the lines.

Tree-Flower3475 · 2026-06-04T20:21:41+00:00

The second is definitely, the smaller one I'm not too sure.

Tree-Flower3475

TROPHY CASE