My posts on making jewelry tools have been so popular that I decided to share some ideas for making pottery tools with you. None of these are original but they all present my twist on things. The first one is a clay texture tool. I found a foot massager at a thrift store, took it apart, and now I have two new texture tools plus some to share.
You can also saw up a broomstick a dowel and apply craft foam or hot glue to make patterns to texture clay. There are some examples below.
The glue stick makes a nice texture.
Make a clay cutter to cut canes for Nerikomi. I cut the end off a metal plant hanger and strung it with 24 gauge wire. You can use any form that will keep the wire taut and if the wire breaks, it’s easy to replace.
I love the idea of a tool that will bevel the edges of clay slabs. Enter the beveler! I got the idea to make my own from this site but mine is a bit different. The wood I used is a sidewalk find. I trimmed the smaller piece so the edges were straight. Then I nailed it to the larger piece so I would have two beveling angles, one shallow and a longer one. I didn’t measure anything; I just eyeballed it. I notched the four corners to keep the wire in place and used a screw eye to hold the wire taut. I tried my beveler out and it works beautifully. It really comes in handy when you are beveling curved edges.
And finally, although this is not a pottery tool, I had to include it. I made myself a rawhide hammer from a dog chew following Charles Lewton-Brain’s directions here. My conclusion? Go out and buy one. The dog chews ended up costing about as much as a small hammer and it was much more difficult the make than the instructions let on. But still, I like the way my hammer turned out and I’m using it.
Feel free to share this information and if you want to share ideas for tools you’ve made, leave a comment.
Ornamento 