teapot spouts

there is no real way to know how much your spouts will "twist" except for
making a bunch and review the results. at a minimum knowing that the spouts DO
twist will help you adjust things in the leather stage.

for me the twist is about 2° or so. small, but noticeable so i do the spout
lip cut at around -2° to try to compensate.

notice too that mugs, pitchers twist and handles should be attached with this
in mind. many times i look at a mug and think "i SWEAR i put that handle on
straight!". it's the clay spring back happening in the fire...

see ya

steve



see ya

steve




Subject: teapot spouts
From: (GaSeku)
Date: 7/26/2003 4:35 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

I have been wanting to try my hand at teapots, but have been reading some
posts
that say that the spouts will twist. Is there a way to avoid that or at least
to know how much it will twist so I can place it on the pot in the best
position? Thanks!







steve graber

"Steve Mills" wrote in message
...
Make a spout, attach it to a flat piece of clay and cut the spout end to
the angle you will most likely use. Make a mark on the end of the spout,
and another on the base piece of clay EXACTLY below it. Glaze and fire
it to full temperature. When it comes out you will have a permanent
example of how much twist is involved, and with it beside you can use it
to judge how much you need to compensate for snip

Um, Steve...
That assumes (and we know what happens when one assumes) that the clay
manufacturer is always going to be right on with the clay body formula.
Clay bodies can vary from mfg to mfg, even using the same formula.
That's also going to affect the twist. It wouldn't apply perhaps, if you're
ordering your clay by the ton, but I've seen wide variations from bag to bag
from the same supplier.

The other thing that affects twist (found this out the hard way :) is wood
firing and gas raku firing. The direction of the fire to the flue (exhaust
gas direction) can dramatically alter the droop/twist of a spout. I now
fire two identical pieces at a time, one on each side of the kiln, and then
display and try to sell them in pairs as "companion pieces" if they both
survive.
Sometimes it's all in the hands of the "clay gods" :)

Wayne in Key West

"GaSeku" wrote in message
...
I have been wanting to try my hand at teapots, but have been reading some
posts
that say that the spouts will twist. Is there a way to avoid that or at
least
to know how much it will twist so I can place it on the pot in the best
position? Thanks!

Well yes spouts do twist, they go back oppisite to the direction of the
turning wheel. So if you cut your spout you have to (normal boring) test to
see how much that happens for you. maybe you could throw lots of spouts
mark where you cut and fire them.
However you do not need to cut the spouts. They can pour very well and look
very good simply thrown. You need to have the lip of the spout very fine.

Other things to remember:

Make sure your spout reaches above the liquid level.

Make sure the lid fits well, has a handle that can be held with finger, but
also has a deep part that goes inside the pot with a pulled out notch to
help hold it in place. Also a steam hole away from handle.

Make sure your handle is sturdy and strong and well balanced to hold and
pour hot liquid.

Spout works best if it is wide at bottom and fairly fine at top and as
mentioned before a very fine lip.

Good luck, making teapots is fun.
A

Slgraber wrote:

there is no real way to know how much your spouts will "twist" except for
making a bunch and review the results. at a minimum knowing that the spouts DO
twist will help you adjust things in the leather stage.

for me the twist is about 2° or so. small, but noticeable so i do the spout
lip cut at around -2° to try to compensate.

notice too that mugs, pitchers twist and handles should be attached with this
in mind. many times i look at a mug and think "i SWEAR i put that handle on
straight!". it's the clay spring back happening in the fire...

it's called "the memmory " of the clay, and i always assumed the spout will so to
speak "untwist", but that is not true, it continues twisting in the direction it
has been thrown. If you hold the teapot in your right hand, the spout will face
away from you.
The degree of twisting also depends on how much it has been worked, if you throw a
spout swiftly, with two pullings and not much more fiddling with it, it will hardly
twist at all, but if you work on it a long time, it will twist considerably. At
least that is my experience.

Monika

--
Monika Schleidt

www.schleidt.org/mskeramik

I reread all the teapot posts and am really wondering if making teapots is
something I want really torture myself with. Maybe I'll still with pitchers.
Thanks again all!

of course you gotta do teapots! they are a great assembly task & elements of a
complete teapot are used on many other pieces.

and i don't even drink tea...

steve




Subject: teapot spouts
From: (GaSeku)
Date: 7/28/2003 5:25 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Message-id:

I reread all the teapot posts and am really wondering if making teapots is
something I want really torture myself with. Maybe I'll still with pitchers.
Thanks again all!








steve graber

Yeah, I think you're right. :-)

Ok, ok. I give up! :-) You've persuaded me to give it a shot. I know I would be
very proud if I could accomplish a nice teapot. Thanks for your encouragement!

"GaSeku" wrote in message
...
I reread all the teapot posts and am really wondering if making teapots is
something I want really torture myself with. Maybe I'll still with
pitchers.
Thanks again all!

Go for it, teapots are awesome and remember you do not have to cut your
teapot spouts it is perfectly ok not to.
Funky teapots that are not necessarily functional are fun too, have a go.
A