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Pottery and Ceramics ToolsPlaster Bats
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Do you know what plaster bats are used for? It is used when one is using a potters wheel. Throwing is not always a straightforward thing. It certainly is not something that is learned in a few minutes. The finer the clay, the harder it is to work with. Sometimes a plaster bat can be useful when throwing these finer clays. It is possible to remove a precarious piece of pottery from the wheel head without actually cutting it off, because it just stays on the bat and the bat is removed, freshly thrown vessel and all. Here is a simple method for casting plaster bats. The first thing to do is to find a cake tin that has the same size as your wheel head. Now, find a surface that is totally even and level. This is important, because if you do not work on a level surface, your bat will wobble on the wheel. You will have to get a level to make sure that the table or whatever it is you are working on is a hundred percent level. Now you are ready to mix the plaster. Use about 1 1/2 to 2 pints of water and mix with plaster according to the instructions on the plaster bag. This should give you a liquid level in your cake tin of about 1 inch. After a few hours or after letting it stand overnight, remove the bat from the tin. If you have screws in your wheel head for wooden bats, you may want to install the same for your plaster bat. BE CAREFUL!!The plaster is brittle.Drill the holes slightly larger than you will require for your pins and insert a piece of thin plastic or rubber tube. This tube will protect the bat and make sure it lasts much longer than if you used the raw plaster for the hole. Place the bat on the wheel and trim the edges with a trimming tool. Now, you can also wipe over these edges quite vigorously with a wet sponge to further soften them. This will help to make sure no rough edges will chip off easily. Let the bat dry for a few days, but be aware that the bat may need some rewetting before throwing, otherwise the clay might not stick at all. The important thing to remember is plaster and clay do not mix, so be careful not to get plaster chips in your clay. They will cause small holes and other irregularities in the fired work! Now, you have another tool to work with. The use of a bat will help your piece dry evenly and there is a better chance that you will not have cracks in your pottery.
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The best way of starting out is to take a few lessons. You will probably waste quite a bit in materials when you first get started. Figuring out how to truly make handmade pottery correctly and shape into what you want it to be can be quite an ordeal. The different tools that a normal shop will have can be fun to try. You will soon see which ones you like to use the most and then when you are ready you will know which ones to buy.
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