You really don’t need a lot of tools to make pottery, although having the right tools make it easier and more fun. Something every potter struggles with, especially when they’re starting out, is centering the clay on the wheel. But even after the clay’s centered and the pot thrown, it has to be trimmed. That means centering it again, and trimming it without distorting it.
One tool that makes trimming pots a little easier is a spinner disk. It helps to hold the pot steady while you’re trimming and distributes the weight guarding against pot distortion. Although you can trim without this tool, once I saw spinner disks like this one and this one, I wondered whether one would make trimming my pottery a little easier. While there is no substitute for a well-designed, well-made tool. I try to make my own tools if I can get away with it, especially if it’s a new gadget that looks interesting, but might not really help me too much.
Here’s what I came up with
I had a double sided cap that came with a prescription. One side is child proof and the other side is not. But you could use any dual purpose cap you might have lying around, like this one, or any cap where the center spins and the threaded outside part remains stationary.
Center your pot to be trimmed on the wheel and place the cap, top down, in the center.
Then put something inside the lid so you can hold onto it while you’re trimming. I used a smaller cap that fit into the lid.
Some other items you might try that are lying around the house are fidget spinners, small massage roller balls, or anything else that will spin freely while you hold it on the top of a pot and trim. If you have an old water bottle with a closure like this one, that might work too. All you need is something that spins with the wheel and a top that remains stationary that you can hold onto while you’re trimming. Raid the junk drawer!
Ornamento 