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question about hardibacker board bats

updated tue 22 mar 05

 

Jennifer Baumeister on sun 20 mar 05


I tried to make bats with the 1/2inch board ( it was the only size available locally ) and had two problems, one it was very difficult to cut, but I suspect that the 1/4 inch board would be much easier to deal with , and the second problem was that the bat was drying out the base of freshly thrown pots too quickly and causing cracking. I think the 1/4 inch board would probably not cause the "extreme" drying especially if dampened or soaked prior to use.

If I remember correctly, there is some reference to making bats with the 1/4 inch board in the clayart archives.

If you do decide to make the bats make sure you get "the special knife" to cut the board with as most cutting blades will burn out.
I rough cut 13 inch squares then drilled my pin holes, then marked and cut the board right on the wheel. I then used a sureform to finish any rough spots. Messy but effective.

I love to use hardibacker in my studio ,as a wedging surface it is perfect and I often use smaller pieces of the 1/2 inch size for ware boards when trimming etc... I also have used well soaked pieces to keep my damp cabinet moist if I want to delay trimming. ( my damp cabinet is made of cheep plastic shelving wrapped in clear garbage bags duct taped together. It works really well ! )

Cheers,
Jen


> I have used hardibacker board to wedge on and roll out on-has anyone on the list made or used bats for their wheel made out of hardibacker board? I was in the Home Depot yesterday and was looking at a piece of 1/4" thick -3'x5' and it looked like you could get 8 bats out of it (have Axner M600 wheel). Seriously considering doing it.
>
>
> Rhonda Kale
> 31.23595 N, 85.40529 W
> Potters Council Member
> qndivauniv@e...

Leesh on sun 20 mar 05


This sounds interesting. How do you cut bats out of HardieBoard? Are
you cutting them square? I've never used HardieBoard, but it sounds
like it would be difficult to cut in a disk shape.
Leesh


On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 20:05:29 -0500, Wayne Seidl wrote:
> Rhonda:
> I've made bats out of HardieBoard, and love them. If I can help
> please let me know. I got 8 out of mine as well, and am planning
> another 8. They should last me the rest of my life.
>
> Best Regards,
> Wayne Seidl
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Rhonda
> Kale
> Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 3:30 PM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: question about hardibacker board bats
>
> I have used hardibacker board to wedge on and roll out on-has anyone
> on the list made or used bats for their wheel made out of
> hardibacker board? I was in the Home Depot yesterday and was looking
> at a piece of 1/4" thick -3'x5' and it looked like you could get 8
> bats out of it (have Axner M600 wheel). Seriously considering doing
> it.
>
> Rhonda Kale
> 31.23595 N, 85.40529 W
> Potters Council Member
> qndivauniv@earthlink.net
>
> ____________________________________________________________________
> __________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your
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> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> 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.
>

Rhonda Kale on sun 20 mar 05


I have used hardibacker board to wedge on and roll out on-has anyone on the list made or used bats for their wheel made out of hardibacker board? I was in the Home Depot yesterday and was looking at a piece of 1/4" thick -3'x5' and it looked like you could get 8 bats out of it (have Axner M600 wheel). Seriously considering doing it.


Rhonda Kale
31.23595 N, 85.40529 W
Potters Council Member
qndivauniv@earthlink.net

Taylor from Rockport on sun 20 mar 05


Howdy ,

Yep, I've made hardibats. Several others on the list have as well. I love
my bats. I don't have bat pins and these bats adhere to a slurry-covered
wheelhead just like plaster bats do. They dry pot bottoms very quickly as
well. They are quite hardi (hardy har har) and you don't need to get the
1/4 inch unless you just want to. I have stuff half that thickness (Or so)
and I can knock Marsha out with one and it doesn't break.

You will need to get a special blade for cutting that stuff. I used a jig
saw. Be sure to do it outside and wear the best respirator you can. I have
about 8 12 inch bats, same 6 inch bats, and a dozen 4 inch bats (those are
fantastic for mugs).

Ask further questions, I love to give answers to things I know something about.

Peace out,

Taylor, in Rockport, TX


On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 14:29:50 -0600, Rhonda Kale
wrote:

>I have used hardibacker board to wedge on and roll out on-has anyone on the
list made or used bats for their wheel made out of hardibacker board? I was
in the Home Depot yesterday and was looking at a piece of 1/4" thick -3'x5'
and it looked like you could get 8 bats out of it (have Axner M600 wheel).
Seriously considering doing it.

Wayne Seidl on sun 20 mar 05


Rhonda:
I've made bats out of HardieBoard, and love them. If I can help
please let me know. I got 8 out of mine as well, and am planning
another 8. They should last me the rest of my life.

Best Regards,
Wayne Seidl

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Rhonda
Kale
Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 3:30 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: question about hardibacker board bats

I have used hardibacker board to wedge on and roll out on-has anyone
on the list made or used bats for their wheel made out of
hardibacker board? I was in the Home Depot yesterday and was looking
at a piece of 1/4" thick -3'x5' and it looked like you could get 8
bats out of it (have Axner M600 wheel). Seriously considering doing
it.


Rhonda Kale
31.23595 N, 85.40529 W
Potters Council Member
qndivauniv@earthlink.net

____________________________________________________________________
__________
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.

Taylor from Rockport on mon 21 mar 05


Howdy,

Not a problem at all to cut circular. My 4 inch bats (or was that 6
inches?) were just as easy to cut as my 14 inch bats. I traced out the
shape using a pin tool, calipars, sharpie, and some duct tape. Tada! a
compass. Once I had the lines, I used the special carbide blade on my jig
saw (looked like a metal version of sandpaper), and cut away. I also used
a surform to bevel the edges so they would not bite me. No reason a small
brad and twine can't be used to draw the bigger circles either. The tiny
hole makes no difference.

Octagonal bats would be interesting, very Lee Love-like. Hehe. No reason
for round bats other than they catch the knuckles a lot less on the edges,
OUCH.



On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 22:58:54 -0500, Leesh wrote:

>This sounds interesting. How do you cut bats out of HardieBoard? Are
>you cutting them square?