Yes sir, the long-awaited second installment in my Making Things series is now here. Today I trimmed, not the piece from the first entry, which has been bisqued already, but a series of three that I made yesterday.
For trimming, I use the kickwheel rather than the electric wheel, because I never go very fast and I find the kickwheel gives me better control. There are concentric circles on the wheel to help you begin to center the piece, without which the trimming will be uneven. I place the piece rim-down on the wheel and anchor it with lumps of clay.
I spin the wheel and touch a pin tool to the top of the piece (really the bottom) to tell me if it's centered. If the circle is perfectly concentric with the circular edge of the piece, but if it's not - and it never is; see photo below - I stop the wheel and push the piece a little in the direction that the drawn circle is closest to the edge of the piece. (If that doesn't make sense, think of it as northwest in the picture below)
Then I trim some more and draw the circle again. This time the piece is centered.
I take clay off the bottom and sides to even the thickness, using one of the tools displayed in the first Making Things entry. Normally I would add a foot but since I'm not glazing these pieces it isn't necessary. Here's a trimmed piece. I should smooth out the horizontal lines visible on the sides; I'll try and accomplish that by burnishing.
I impress my honu stamp into the bottom like a boss. (Unfortunately, one of the three pieces had a bottom that was too thin, so the act of stamping made the bottom cave in. So I lost that one. Very sad.)
Here is what the trimmings look like as they fall from the piece. They are much too fragile to keep or fire, which is a pity, since I enjoy their curly shape, but such is life.
- Next up: Burnishing! -
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