Wheel Throwing Tools: Basic Kit
Descriptions & Explanations - Clay Tools For Cylinders, Bowls, Vases
Apr 24, 2007
You need very little to throw a pot on the wheel: a pin tool, a sponge and a wire tool. But pottery kits come with a few more mystery objects. Find out what these can do.
Despite the number and variety of tools available, selecting a basic set of throwing tools need not be a daunting task. Many pottery supply and hobby stores sell pottery tool kits which often consist of a wooden rib, a sponge, a loop tool, a ribbon tool, a pin tool, a wooden trimming stick, a wire cutting tool and a steel scraper.
Not all potters will use all of these tools, preferring to either use one tool for multiple purposes or to use their hands. You too will discover what works best for you, but in the meantime, here is an overview of the most common throwing tools and their role in throwing a cylinder, bowl or vase.
- Wire Tool - Consisting of metal or plastic fishing line threaded through wooden handles to facilitate gripping, wire tools are used to cut through blocks of clay and to cut off pots from the wheel head. Some potters prefer to use the wire tool to cut off damaged or uneven rims instead of the pin tool.
- Plastic Sheeting - Old dry cleaning bags work the best; they are large and made of excellent airtight plastic. Use them to wrap wedged balls of clay to prevent these from drying out early in your studio session. Similarly, use them to wrap thrown pots to ensure that these dry slowly and uniformly.
- Pin Tool - A pin tool is precisely that: a pin mounted on the end of a wooden or aluminium handle. It is useful for cutting off lumps and bumps at the base of a centered ball of clay prior to the start of throwing, to cut off uneven rims, to burst air bubbles in imperfectly wedged clay, to measure the depth of the base of a pot and to cut a bevel into the base of a thrown form before cutting it off the wheel head. There are at least two versions: one with a finer pin and the other with a thicker pin.
- Wooden Trimming Stick - This is a simple piece of wood with one rounded end and one sharp pointed end. It is used to clean up the base of a centered ball of clay on the wheel head, to cut a bevel at the base of the thrown pot prior to cutting it off the wheel head or to clean off the wheel head. Using it can help protect your nails from being sanded down by the grog trapped on the wheel head.
- Sponge - A piece of natural sea sponge or synthetic sponge is used to add water to the clay on the wheel head, to remove water that has accumulated at the bottom of a pot during throwing, and to flood the wheel head just before cutting off a pot from it. The sponge is also used to clean off clay from the potter’s hands during throwing so that this does not drag clay off from the surface of the pot and distort it.
- Ribbon Tool - This is usually made of aluminium with a triangular loop on one end and a round loop on the other. The heavy-duty version is an excellent turning/trimming tool used to remove excess clay from the bottoms of leatherhard pots and to cut out feet.
- Wooden Rib - This consists of a piece of wood either in an oval shape or shaped like a right-angled triangle with a gentle arc in the place of the hypotenuse. (There are several other styles, but these two are the ones found in basic kits). They help apply even pressure during throwing so that the potter can achieve more height in the piece. They also compress the clay to remove throwing marks and smooth out a form.
- Metal Rib - A thin and flexible scraper made of metal, this is used to delicately scrape off wet clay from the surface of the pot that is being thrown. Care should be exercised not to gouge the pot or to cut yourself with it.
Curious for more? Please visit the article archives and e-mail me with your questions.
The copyright of the article Wheel Throwing Tools: Basic Kit in Pottery is owned by Jennifer Yap. Permission to republish Wheel Throwing Tools: Basic Kit in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
