removig plates from bats

Hello All,
I really like your group. I've learned much from the Q&As. I am a new
potter so I have a lot to learn. Can anyone tell me the best way to remove
a plate from the bat after you throw it? Do you leave it til its dry? If
so, how do you trim a foot ring? I have plastic bats and compressed wood
bats. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandi

It is a paste floor wax, I apply it with a piece of cloth that is not too
soft else it absorbs too much of the wax, make sure your bat is clean of any
clay. I glue the foam to the bat with woodglue. It usually sticks well and
you can clean it off when the foam needs to be replaced.



"sandi" wrote in message
et...
Thank you Adrienne for the advice on removing plates from the bat. Do you
use liquid or paste floor wax? Do you glue the foam to a bat to trim your
plates? Thanks again. Sandi
"Adrienne Kriel" wrote in message
...
Hallo,

Plates are ususally tricky seeing that an s-crack can appear if the
plate
is
left on the bat for to long before cutting it because of the clay drying
and
not releasing from the bat. Some people cut their plates imediately
after
throwing and then again when taking it of the bat, usually at
leatherhard
stage.
However, I have a very peculiar way of decorating my raw plates and
needed
a
sturdy straight base so that I can work on the surface and I need to
work
the surface before I can turn the foot ring. So I do the following, I
use
floor wax on my bats before throwing the plate (just a thin layer else
your
clay won't stick to the bat), the plate releases from the bat by
leatherhard
stage on its own no cutting involved and voila no ending up with an
uneven
base to turn.
As far as turning is concerned, I cut out a piece of 5mm thick sponge to
the
size of one of my bats and glued it to the surface this serves as a
turning
bat and thuss when turning the plate the rim is protected.
I turn 2 footrings, if you are using a high firing clay it is better to
have
a smaller footring as well. Some large plates slumps at high
temperatures,
or you can just leave a little bump. I find it easier to first take of
all
the excess clay until I get to the required thickness, leave about 1cm
so
you have enough clay for the footring, it works in the same way as
turning
a
footring on a bowl, make sure your footring starts where your plates
start
to go level on the surface. After turning away the excess clay it is
much
easier to level the footring if needed, instead of the whole base.

Good Luck
Adrienne


"john n va" wrote in message
et...
Hello All,
I really like your group. I've learned much from the Q&As. I am a
new
potter so I have a lot to learn. Can anyone tell me the best way to
remove
a plate from the bat after you throw it? Do you leave it til its dry?
If
so, how do you trim a foot ring? I have plastic bats and compressed
wood
bats. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandi

"john n va" wrote in message
et...
Hello All,
I really like your group. I've learned much from the Q&As. I am a new
potter so I have a lot to learn. Can anyone tell me the best way to
remove
a plate from the bat after you throw it? Do you leave it til its dry? If
so, how do you trim a foot ring? I have plastic bats and compressed wood
bats. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandi

Sandi:
You can do one of two things:
Use a wire tool to get between the piece and the bat, and saw through to
separate it, or
you can let it get leather hard and try to flex the (plastic) bat to remove
it.
Compressed wood bats are not good for leaving wet clay on to dry. They tend
to absorb
moisture and swell, which ruins them. Some of us use plaster bats, so the
plate can just sit there
and the plaster will help absorb the moisture. Then, the plate just pops
off the bat.

Once the plate is leather hard, you can flip it over onto a different bat,
then center and
hold it in place with a "Griffen Grip" or some wads of clay, and trim your
foot ring on the
wheel (slowly at first, don't go too deep :)

Have you tried throwing the plate face side DOWN and forming the ring as you
work?
That way, when leather hard you can flip it over, secure it to another bat
as above, and only
have to use a stainless rib to smooth the surface of the plate. Some find
that easier.

Good Luck!
Wayne in Key West

Thanks for the information Wayne in Key West. I have heard of plaster bats
but where can I purchase some? Thanks again,
Sandi
"psci_kw" wrote in message
.. .

"john n va" wrote in message
et...
Hello All,
I really like your group. I've learned much from the Q&As. I am a new
potter so I have a lot to learn. Can anyone tell me the best way to
remove
a plate from the bat after you throw it? Do you leave it til its dry?
If
so, how do you trim a foot ring? I have plastic bats and compressed
wood
bats. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandi

Sandi:
You can do one of two things:
Use a wire tool to get between the piece and the bat, and saw through to
separate it, or
you can let it get leather hard and try to flex the (plastic) bat to
remove
it.
Compressed wood bats are not good for leaving wet clay on to dry. They
tend
to absorb
moisture and swell, which ruins them. Some of us use plaster bats, so the
plate can just sit there
and the plaster will help absorb the moisture. Then, the plate just pops
off the bat.

Once the plate is leather hard, you can flip it over onto a different bat,
then center and
hold it in place with a "Griffen Grip" or some wads of clay, and trim your
foot ring on the
wheel (slowly at first, don't go too deep :)

Have you tried throwing the plate face side DOWN and forming the ring as
you
work?
That way, when leather hard you can flip it over, secure it to another bat
as above, and only
have to use a stainless rib to smooth the surface of the plate. Some find
that easier.

Good Luck!
Wayne in Key West

"sandi" wrote in message
et...
Thanks for the information Wayne in Key West. I have heard of plaster
bats
but where can I purchase some? Thanks again,
Sandi

Sandi:
Whenever possible, I like to order right from the source.
I recently made a switch from plaster bats
(which I made myself) to Hydro-bats.
They seem to be stronger. Hopefully, they will be less
prone to damage from tools, chipping, etc.

You can buy them he
http://www.hydrobat.com/

By the way, I have no connection to this company
other than being a customer.

Best,
Wayne in Key West

Hi all,
I make bats from hardy backer board and it acts like plaster bats and more
durable plus no plaster pop outs is a piece of plaster gets in the clay. I
just leave them until the piece pops off. At that time, it may still need
to dry a bit before trimming.
If you would like to try it or see how it's done, go here, and click on 66
cent bats.
http://tonyolsen.com/up/

Take care, Stay muddy!
Tony (Galveston TX)

--
Hello All,
I really like your group. I've learned much from the Q&As. I am a new
potter so I have a lot to learn. Can anyone tell me the best way to
remove
a plate from the bat after you throw it? Do you leave it til its dry? If
so, how do you trim a foot ring? I have plastic bats and compressed wood
bats. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Sandi

In article ,
psci_kw wrote:

Have you tried throwing the plate face side DOWN and forming the ring as you
work?
That way, when leather hard you can flip it over, secure it to another bat
as above, and only
have to use a stainless rib to smooth the surface of the plate. Some find
that easier.

Good Luck!
Wayne in Key West



Wayne,

Can you explain this a little further? It sounds interesting, but I
can't quite picture how it would work. How would you get the concave
inside of the plate, and the rim, if you throw it face side down? Do
you trim the face side intead of the underside? Do you throw the
plate in sections by attaching a ring to the top surface after doing
the underside and shaping it then? (I've done a large platter that
way.)

Deb R.

"Deborah M Riel" wrote in message
...
In article ,
psci_kw wrote:

Have you tried throwing the plate face side DOWN and forming the ring as
you
work?
That way, when leather hard you can flip it over, secure it to another
bat
as above, and only
have to use a stainless rib to smooth the surface of the plate. Some
find
that easier.

Good Luck!
Wayne in Key West



Wayne,

Can you explain this a little further? It sounds interesting, but I
can't quite picture how it would work. How would you get the concave
inside of the plate, and the rim, if you throw it face side down?

By trimming afterward. All you are really creating is the bottom thickness
and the foot ring(s)
and the outside (bottom side of the plate) bevel for the edge when you
throw.
Since the bevel (being upside down) is now "falling"
you needn't worry about it drooping, which is why throwing a plate upside
down
is an attractive method for more inexperienced throwers.

Do you trim the face side intead of the underside?

Yes. That is when you create any concavity you require. Remember that the
edge bevel
and the foot are already done, so only a rib and sponge is required. Of
course, if you want to get
fancy you can. And you can use a sponge or piece of chamois to true and
cleanup the rim.
Remember too that you are working with leather hard clay at this point.
Might need a bit of
moisture, but it's pretty tough stuff.

Do you throw the plate in sections by attaching a ring to the top surface
after doing
the underside and shaping it then? (I've done a large platter that way.)

I've never tried that. I've seen other potters use a coil ring for the
footring, but not for the edge.
Sounds like i have a bit of experimenting to do! Thanks for suggesting
that! :)
I tend to throw everything all at once, the trick of course being that you
are not going to
throw a 36 inch platter on a 12 inch bat. Use a bat at least the size of
the plate bottom. If you are going for an
extended bevel on the edge of the plate (say, more than 2 inches, use a bat
the size of the outside of the plate,
or even larger.
If you are trimming slowly enough, you can actually rest the handle of the
tool on the edge of the bat to steady it
while you shape the bevel.
No sense in having the clay (or your tools) wobbling about in space while
you're trying to shape the bevel and rim.

Throwing using a larger bat than the plate size means that basically, an
inexperienced thrower
need only really center the clay, and flatten and compress it. The bevel
for the outside edge is created easily, as its
resting against the bat. No worries about having to open or pull the clay.
Once the clay is leather hard, then it
gets flipped and trimmed. Leather hard is much more forgiving for the
beginner.
Hope that helps!
Wayne in Key West

Thanks for clarifying this. I can get a better picture of what you
mean, and I might just give it a try. I have a little bit of trouble
with the idea of just using a rib and sponge on leather hard clay--can
you really get enough of a concave surface to your plate? I would
think you'd need a trimming tool to accomplish that, or you'd have a
very flat surface... Actually, though, I can see where you might be
able to get some interesting surface effects by trimming the top
surface with a trimming tool.
Easy...rub the sponge over the surface with the wheel spinning, then carve
with the stainless rib.
you can repeat as often as you like, but that way you are not gouging into
the clay with a trimming tool
(newbies have trouble with gauging depth, and the procedure was designed for
newbies, after all)

We learned a way to throw large plates or serving bowls by throwing a
flat disk (fairly substantial), then attaching a ring to the top
surface to pull up the sides and rim. After cutting the whole thing
off the bat and letting it set up a bit (it was summer, so they sat
out in the sun for awhile), it was turned over and a foot ring
attached and thrown. This was a quick and fairly easy way to make a
large serving-sized plate or bowl (depending on how large the top
ring was, and how high you pulled it up while throwing the ring).

It helps while drying a plate this size to put newspaper under, and
loose plastic over. Give the flat surface of the plate a spritz every
now and then to keep it from bowing up as the foot and sides contract.

There--now we both can play with a new technique!


Thanks, Deb, I will definitely try that. I can imagine HUGE, Voulkos-like
forms coming...gods help me :) I have no room NOW!
Wayne