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pinchpot tools/noel's visit

updated fri 4 jan 02

 

Joyce Lee on thu 3 jan 02


Everytime I've tried pinchpots, I've been unhappy with the results ..... =
seems I either push them too far and they become a floppy, wavy =
unworkable some-kind-of-pot but nothing like what I had in mind....... =
or, from fear of creating the above, I leave them too thick and they're =
reminescent of a blob of clay with a hole dug into it. That said.... I =
do have success in smoothing the inside of the pot with an appropriate =
sized piece of
Surform...... or at least I think it's called=20
"surform." Probably most of you know this since the info came to me =
from cyberspace; it may even be in the archives ... but, if not, Surform =
is found in most hardware stores. The Surform bends and curves and =
scrapes .... works for me.

I also find that I can use the smaller tools from Bison for =
scraping&smoothing the inside of a pot ...... the ones Phil in Vegas =
creates from titanium steel. These work even if the clay has become =
what we normally would consider to be too hard to be workable ... they =
usually even do some modification on bisque ..... the Bisons also remove =
wax that shows up where you don't want it.

If necessary, I usually follow up the scraping/smoothing with that =
screen/mesh carpenters sometimes use for sanding ... lasts forever and =
can be cut into very small pieces.

Joyce
In the Mojave where she will be in and out this weekend .... but if at =
home will be pleased to have another clayarter stop by, Noel. E-mail =
privately, please, for a telephone number.