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make your own pugmill

updated wed 5 may 99

 

David Hendley on tue 4 may 99

>Hi! in Texas-----you sound like someone who might be able to steer me in the
>right direction for info I am seeking.I would like to make(with the help of
>some mechanically minded friends)a pug mill.

How much experience do you have with things like
cutting steel, welding, finding parts at junkyards?
If you can't answer 'a lot' to all those questions, I would not
recommend trying to make your own pugmill. It's not the
place for a beginner to start making pottery equipment.
"The Potter's Alternative" by Harry Davis is the only book I
can think of that has detailed pugmill plans. I don't know how
you could get a copy. But let me tell you, it is pretty daunting
to look it over and think about doing it.
He even shows you how to make a screw auger, which really
seems complicated to me. Grain augers are pretty common at
junkyards; I would definately find one, rather than making it.
The pugmill I made was not designed ahead of time - it was
designed to fit around what components I could find.

If you are patient and keep your eyes open, you will probably
be able to find an old pugmill you could fix up. In fact, I have
an old 'fixer-upper' I don't need. It would require someone
with some metal-working skills to get it going again.
Write if you're interested. I'm only 80 miles from Lousiana.

David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com


At 01:37 PM 5/3/99 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Hi! in Texas-----you sound like someone who might be able to steer me in the
>right direction for info I am seeking.I would like to make(with the help of
>some mechanically minded friends)a pug mill.The only reference that I have
>been able to find is a book by Davis(I think)called the POTTER'S
>ALTERNATIVE.So far I have been unsuccessful in finding a copy,as it is out of
>print and even Amazon can't find it for me.Do you have plans/directions for
>building your own pug?or can you tell me where to find such?
>I am a novice potter,working with hand-me-down equipment and things that were
>out on the curb on trash day !! I am interested in having the pug for
>re-claiming clay and mixing batches of locally dug clay.Any help will be most
>appreciated.
>Merrill--------your neighbor in Louisiana
>