how do you trim bottom of fragile rim vase

updated wed 17 dec 03

David Hendley on mon 15 dec 03

If the vase has a good shoulder, the clay collar is a good idea.
Just center and open another 8-pound lump and that should
be plenty to hold the vase.
Another suggestion is to use a foam-covered bat. Mine is
covered with 1-inch thick foam rubber, with concentric circles
drawn on it, to help with centering.
The foam grips the pot, so you don't need wads of clay to hold
it down. Put a jar lid on the bottom of the pot, hold it with your
index finger, and the pot will stay put.
You can even trim a pitcher with a big spout this way. The foam
gives enough to accommodate the uneven rim.
David Hendley
david@farmpots.com
http://www.farmpots.com


----- Original Message -----
> I have begun making eight pound vases with rims that are about
3/16
> inch in thickness. When I place the vase on the wheel (upside down) to
trim
> the bottom; The weight on the rims are enough to break or distort them.
How
> do I prevent this from happening. Do you experts make a tall donut of

Duane Archer on mon 15 dec 03

I have begun making eight pound vases with rims that are about 3/16
inch in thickness. When I place the vase on the wheel (upside down) to trim
the bottom; The weight on the rims are enough to break or distort them. How
do I prevent this from happening. Do you experts make a tall donut of clay
to support the shoulder of the vase and keep the rim from touching the bat? Or
do you make the rim thicker to support the weight? I really like the thin
rim and would like to keep that as part of the vase. What are your
suggestions? Thanks in advance!!! Duane Archer, Tulsa Potter

Charles Moore on mon 15 dec 03

Hi, Duane,

To protect the delicate vase rims of your pots, throw a chuck.

I learned a very useful technique for creating chucks at a Steven Branfman
workshop this past year. Steven throws a chunky chuck that will fit the
smallest pot he is trimming, keeping the rim of the chuck on the dry side.
Next he opens the chuck to trim the next pot size up until he has trimmed
all his pots. There remains the chuck, which he can then turn into a pot if
he so chooses.

I have tried Steven's method and found that it works quite well. Of course,
I know no one who throws drier than does Steven. After I throw a chuck, I
give it wipe with a dry sponge since I am not such a dry thrower.

After placing the up-turned pot on the chuck, I use a bubble level to be
sure the pot is indeed centered and level.

Occasionally--but rarely, a bit of the chuck does stick to the shoulder of
the pot; that I usually remove later. One potter friend uses soft mesh
kitchen shelf mats cut to fit to separate her pots from her chucks.

Hope this helps.

Charles Moore
Sacramento
----- Original Message -----
From: "Duane Archer"
To:
Sent: Monday, December 15, 2003 9:39 AM
Subject: How do you trim bottom of fragile rim vase


> I have begun making eight pound vases with rims that are about
3/16
> inch in thickness. When I place the vase on the wheel (upside down) to
trim
> the bottom; The weight on the rims are enough to break or distort them.
How
> do I prevent this from happening. Do you experts make a tall donut of
clay
> to support the shoulder of the vase and keep the rim from touching the
bat? Or
> do you make the rim thicker to support the weight? I really like the
thin
> rim and would like to keep that as part of the vase. What are your
> suggestions? Thanks in advance!!! Duane Archer, Tulsa Potter
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.

Susan Giddings on mon 15 dec 03

Duean,

The trick I use for trikmming these sorts of shapes is to make a chuck and trim them in one of these.

A chuck is a "donut" affair as you have imagined. It can be made from ANY clay actually and even bisque fired. At the co-op where I do most of my work we have several in various shapes and sizes that have been bisque fired. They don't have to be though. Read on...

Basically, there are two different ways of handling chucks:

If bisque fired - wrap a coil of clay around the edge that will come in direct contact with the item being trimmed. Sometimes you can get away with a piece of foam or even a paper towel or two. The purpose for this primarily  is to protect the surface from getting gouged or in any way damaged.

If raw clay (way I prefer) make the chuck any way you need to have it fit the shape you are trimming. Gently taper the opening. This way the chuck will be self centering for the object you are putting into it or on it (Sort of like the principle behind a griffen grip). Take a stainless steel rib to the surfaces of the chuck to remove any wet clay and/or slop. I'll even take a torch to it a bit to be sure it's much drier than it would be as freshly thrown.

Invert your vase or other piece into the chuck.

And of course you can use the griffen grip and just set your piece up higher so that no weight rests directly on the rim. But I figure you don't have a grip or don't have ready access to one otherwise you'd have figured this out already! I actually really prefer making my own chucks for some shapes and the one you mention is one where I'd rather do it all myself.

Get a small level to be sure the bottom is in fact level. You don't want to trim it at an angle so that your piece will have a list to starboard!

Once you get the hang of this, it's really very easy and not at all time consuming. Hopefully others can and will also explain this process.

Hope it helps

Susan

------------------
Susan Giddings
Daytime phone: 860-687-4550
Cell phone: 860-930-8813

 

>From: Duane Archer >Reply-To: Clayart >To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG >Subject: How do you trim bottom of fragile rim vase >Date: Mon, 15 Dec 2003 12:39:38 EST > > I have begun making eight pound vases with rims that are about 3/16 >inch in thickness. When I place the vase on the wheel (upside down) to trim >the bottom; The weight on the rims are enough to break or distort them. How >do I prevent this from happening. Do you experts make a tall donut of clay >to support the shoulder of the vase and keep the rim from touching the bat? Or >do you make the rim thicker to support the weight? I really like the thin >rim and would like to keep that as part of the vase. What are your >suggestions? Thanks in advance!!! Duane Archer, Tulsa Potter > >______________________________________________________________________________ >Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org > >You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription >settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/ > >Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink

com.

---

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Paul Gerhold on tue 16 dec 03

Duane,
At home depot they sell those interlocking mats to stand on. They are if, I
remember correctly, four to a package.Glue a cutout circle to a bat with the
smooth side up. You can also make concentric circles on them with indellible
ink. Pots don't slip so trimming is very easy and the slight cushioning really
helps with fragile rims. With the concentric circles you can also center before
turning upside down so the rim won't warp from sliding the pot on the bat to
get the pot centered.

For super fragile rims you can also just trim upright on a bat assuming you
have thrown the bottom thin enough.

Paul

Donald G. Goldsobel on tue 16 dec 03

For evenly shaped rims, I have used upholstery foam of various thicknesses,
attached to a bat with contact cement. The cushion is soft. I use a baby
food jar lid on the botom of the pot to hold it in place while trimming with
the other hand. The foam is cheap and easy to cut. For plates, platters and
other open forms where I want the bottom supported from inside or totally
off the bat if the rim is uneven, I stack rounds of foam on a foam covered
bat (so there is no slipping) and place the plate on that. For the
irregularly, altered shapes where the rim is fully off the surface, make
sure to level the bottom with a bulls eye level.

Donald
----- Original Message -----
From: "Paul Gerhold"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2003 5:01 AM
Subject: Re: How do you trim bottom of fragile rim vase


> Duane,
> At home depot they sell those interlocking mats to stand on. They are if,
I
> remember correctly, four to a package.Glue a cutout circle to a bat with
the
> smooth side up. You can also make concentric circles on them with
indellible
> ink. Pots don't slip so trimming is very easy and the slight cushioning
really
> helps with fragile rims. With the concentric circles you can also center
before
> turning upside down so the rim won't warp from sliding the pot on the bat
to
> get the pot centered.
>
> For super fragile rims you can also just trim upright on a bat assuming
you
> have thrown the bottom thin enough.
>
> Paul
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.