Wet Work Tools
I purchase clay from a local distributor in 50 pound boxes. The clay is cut, weighed, and wedged (similar to kneading bread) before it hits the bat atop the wheel head.
For throwing, I stick to a plain rib, a sponge, a needle tool, and a shammy leather strip.
For trimming, I’ve come to like Xiem’s and the instagram user @find that bro made these trimming tools. I also really appreciate using a Giffin Grip when possible for trimming, which will center and hold my leather-hard pieces while I trim. Once trimming is done I’ll do the rest of my greenware work like adding spouts and handles, and finally my maker’s mark is 3d printed by my partner @littleguys3d <3
Glazing Tools
Squirrel Cage Mixer
There are a number of ok options for this and a lot of bad ones. This mixer is designed to mix things like thick paints, it sucks from the top down and the bottom up, so i like to hold the whole assembly at a ~15* angle. It helps reduce slashing.
Sieve
There are different mesh (size holes) sieves, but the true value at first is just filtering out all of the debris and larger pieces of mineral that weren’t milled to powder. I had to pay the price of ignoring this step before I learned its importance. See below for a particularly grainy batch of glaze.
Grinding Batts
These batts are coated with three different diamond grit, and can be attached to the wheel head. I use this to grind smooth the bottom of all functional wear so that it is smooth to the touch and doesn’t scratch your table.
Respirator
All glaze materials present a breathing hazard, so any time that I’m working with them I wear this (link).
Glazing Tools
Test Tiles
I throw my test tiles as a single ring of clay, and when it’s leather-hard I use an old kitchen knife to cut them to width. They are thrown and cut so that they are as tall as the firing chamber in my test kiln, and just a little narrower than the test tubes.
Test Tube + Holder
These are 50 mL conical test tubes and an associated holder, all grabbed off amazon. I get the tubes in big packs. Using these I can quickly iterate across many different glazes without producing a lot of material waste.
Studio Equipment
The studio is equipped with two wheels and two kilns. My workhorse wheel is a Brent electric wheel modified to be standing, and I sometimes us my Lockerbie kick-wheel as well. My workhorse kiln is a Bailey 27” and the glazing test kiln is a Skutt Firebox. I love them both. All of my work is bisque fired to cone 05 and glaze fired to cone 6.
