David Furman on sun 16 mar 97
Hi all you ClayArters. I am seeking some advice and hope that some of you
might be able to help me out. I have recently received a large commission
from one of America's corporate giants. I will be doing a wall piece for
the Board of Directors' conference room, which is 80 feet long. Attached
to the wall will be 65 "larger than life" sized ceramic elephants' trunks,
approximately 4 to 5 feet in length. I plan to use a very plastic grey
stoneware(perfect color when fired!)which has proven very good as a
throwing body.
I want to mount my potter's wheel on the wall and try throwing
horizontally. The concept here is that after I pull out(not up!)the
cylinder to to about 4 to 5 feet, I would then release the cylinder, and
it would gracefully fall into a "swinging trunk" form. I could then let
it get leather hard by putting my Toaster Oven directly underneath the
"trunk"(I put it on "broil"), and after it hardens up a bit, I can cut it
off the wheel. This all seems to work out pretty well in theory.
But my problem is I'm having trouble figuring out how to mount my potter's
wheel on the wall! I don't like to use an electric wheel(it doesn't let me
stay in touch with my body!), so I figure my old 50's Lockerbie wheel
would work just fine. I have seen those ads on TV with the guy hanging
from a steel beam from his "hard hat" using Super Glue as bonding agent.
Do you think this would work? They say all you need is a couple drops! Has
anyone had experience withe shear strength/ gravity issues with different
adhesives?
Another issue for me is getting the wheel turning so I can throw the work.
I really like the idea of leg power, so I thought I would place a table
under the wall mounted Lockerbie(it weighs about 250 lbs.)and lie down on
the table to easily access the flywheel of the Lockerbie with my feet. I
could get the wheel going really fast, and then I could center the clay in
the "standing up" position, pushing forward instead of pushing down! I
don't think I would get too dizzy from going from a lying down and kicking
the flywheel position to standing up and throwing horizontally, as I am in
respectable "shape".
Has anyone out there tried something like this? It sure would be a big
help if I could get your feedback regarding this project and other
problems I might encounter. I really hope to make this a successful
project. The CEO is really excited about this wall piece. If you have any
ideas, please let me hear from you, and thanks a ton of clay in advance!!
The Shelfords on mon 17 mar 97
David -
IF you are serious about this - and I have to admit it sounds like a
colossal leg-pull -
I hope before you go to all that trouble, you will have tried just throwing
the cylinders in the normal way, then removing the bat from the wheel and
gradually turning it on it's side to get the fall and flow you want, and
hang the bat on the wall to dry. Bats being a tad lighter than wheels...
Not meaning to point out the obvious if you tried this and it didn't work
for some reason.
- veronica
____________________________________________________________________________
Veronica Shelford
e-mail: shelford@island.net
s-mail: P.O. Box 6-15
Thetis Island, BC V0R 2Y0
Tel: (250) 246-1509
____________________________________________________________________________
Jon Lovejoy on mon 17 mar 97
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
David Furman writes:
I want to mount my potter's wheel on the wall and try throwing horizontally.
The concept here is that after I pull out the cylinder, I would then release
the cylinder, and it would gracefully fall into a "swinging trunk" form. I
could then let it get leather hard by putting my Toaster Oven directly
underneath the "trunk"(I put it on "broil") ... I'm having trouble figuring
out how to mount my potter's wheel on the wall!
David -
What a bold and innovative plan! One is stricken with a sense of awe when
confronted with such clear thinking. Upon reading your post, I called my
children around me, teary-eyed, and read it aloud to them. "Such a
visionary", said little Hannah, (who later confessed that she has often
dreamed of throwing four to five foot cylinders horizontally, but never
mentioned it for fear of the scorn and ridicule she might face). I hugged
each one and shuffled them off to bed, knowing that they'd sleep soundly
after sharing your insight.
You didn't mention how well-funded this "corporate project" is - if money
becomes tight you might choose to sell tickets. In today's modern world,
there are thousands of children who have never been to a circus.
Thanks for the laugh -
Jon in CA, hoping and praying that this was meant as a joke.
Fay & Ralph Loewenthal on mon 17 mar 97
Dear David, you have really taken on one hell of a
project. I hope you are being sufficiently paid for all the
effort. First off I feel your thinking is a bit convoluted.
Use some lateral thinking instead of throwing. Hand
build or throw in sections one trunk about 10% larger
than you need it. Let it get leather hard then make a
plaster mould from that one. Slip cast and fire that trunk
to cone 6, and make another mould from that one. Then
do the same again for a third mould. You can do
amazing things with slip cast clay objects while they are
wet. You can bend them, twist them, stick them and they
hold and fire beautifully. Ask my wife she does that sort
of thing all the time. At the end of the day you will have
made / thrown one trunk and got your 65 by casting. Far
less effort and far more options and variations and most
importantly far more profit.
I think potters are the most underpaid crafts people I
know. We need to explore avenues to make more efficient use of our talents and a
project and make the best use of your options. Good
luck Ralph in PE SA
Russel Fouts on tue 18 mar 97
David,
>> Hi all you ClayArters. I am seeking some advice and hope that some of
you
might be able to help me out. I have recently received a large commission
from one of America's corporate giants...... <<
All that you suggest will work, the crazy glue, etc You'll need enough
toater ovens to run the whole length of the "trunk" or at least be able to
run it up and down the trunk in order to get even drying.
We worked on a similar project in college involving larger than life
"things that are sometimes droopy but more fun when they're not". We found
that in order to be able to throw out effectively you had to be able to
rotate the whole wall (vertically or horizontally doesn't really matter).
You'll get the idea if you've ever seen dancing elephants in the circus.
Then you have to gradually slow the wall rotation down as the "trunk" got
dryer if you wanted to maintain a life like droop.
A harness is advisable unless you want to be in touch with the universe
as well as your body. Actually crazy glue and tight fitting shoes would
probably work but would limit your movement.
The the speed of the wall rotation was also important to the mass and
length that you could achieve but I'll leave that to the technicians like
Vince or Tony Hansen.
Motion sickness was also a hazard (if you are prone to that) of which
Monona can probably better advise.
Have you thought of attaching the mass of clay to the wall then spinning
and pulling the wheel out to make your "trunks"?
Maybe we could get my ex-professor, Dr Ephriam (Spin Doctor) Frisbee as
a guest host on Marshall's chat line on WBS? I hear that they've recently
let him out of the padded room and taken the straight jacket off.
Russel (Huh!?!?!)
!^NavFont02F05720004HL73D0EC
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
* Russel Fouts, CI$: 100021,23,
Bruxelles, Belgium
Internet: 100021.23@CompuServe.Com
"It took more then one man to change my name to Shanghai Lil."
MD
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JJHerb@aol.com on wed 19 mar 97
I think that David Furman plan for the local negation of gravity is wasted
on pottery. This ability, especially when coupled with teleportation, would
allow the easy infiltration of the most secret bastions of the enemies of the
free world. Using these abilities just to throw a crooked pot when one could
save the world is unambitious to a nearly criminal extent.
It seems interesting to me that an activity (Pottery) that requires knowledge
of solid state physics, mineralogy, high temperature chemistry, industrial
and public health issues, and the economics of energy intensive industrial
processes should be practiced by some remarkibly un-informed people.
Joe Herbert
JJHerb@aol.com
Vince Pitelka on wed 19 mar 97
>We worked on a similar project in college involving larger than life
>"things that are sometimes droopy but more fun when they're not". We found
>that in order to be able to throw out effectively you had to be able to
>rotate the whole wall (vertically or horizontally doesn't really matter).
>You'll get the idea if you've ever seen dancing elephants in the circus.
>Then you have to gradually slow the wall rotation down as the "trunk" got
>dryer if you wanted to maintain a life like droop.
>The the speed of the wall rotation was also important to the mass and
>length that you could achieve but I'll leave that to the technicians like
>Vince or Tony Hansen.
Russel -
I have carefully analyzed the above, and I find considerable merit in your
suggestions. But rotating a single wall seems a bit ineffective and
impractical. As you suggest, motion sickness could be a serious problem. I
propose mounting the Lockerbie securely to the floor, and mount the entire
room on a "gimble" (like a marine compass). The potter would have to be
securely strapped into a comfortable chair, also bolted firmly to the floor.
I suggest the kind of competition bucket seat and a full-body harness that
stock-car drivers wear. While you're at it, a full roll-cage would not be a
bad idea, just in case either the potter's seat or the lockerbie comes
unfastened from the floor during room-rotation. Beneath the potter's left
foot would be mounted a series of pedals controling tilting of the room in
all directions, actuated by hydraulic motors with pinion gears, meshing with
continuous "racks" mounted on the gimble frames. In order to allow quick
rotation of the room on both axes, a very substantial power system would be
needed. The entire affair could be portable if mounted on a semi-trailer,
and powered by an 8-V71 Detroit Diesel engine coupled to a large capacity
variable displacement hydraulic pump. When throwing the "elephant trunks,"
the entire room could simply be rotated to the position most suitable for
the particular stage of the forming process. Initial lifting could be done
right-side-up, with the potter and wheel in a normal position. For final
stretching of the 'trunk," the room would be shifted 180 degrees, so that
the potter and Lockerbie are suspended from above, allowing gravity to do
its work. For the side-slumping, the room would be shifted back 90 degrees.
For advanced effects, the room and the wheel could be rotated simultaneously
in synchronous orbit, possibly resulting in a cosmic phase allignment,
shifting the clay platelates into sub-micronic flux, initiating a
Heismann-Schultze alpha-particle-inversion, allowing even greater distention
of the enlarging member.
And if the room were lined with heavy ruberized walls, when not being used
for throwing oversized elephant trunks, it could be transformed into a GIANT
BALL MILL!! I say make the most of every innovation!!!
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Phone - home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801
Appalachian Center for Crafts
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
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