tips on handles

Here's the person with a million and one questions again. I am starting to try
my hand at making handles, hm no pun intended. For now, I just want to use a
handle tool. I'll worry about learning how to pull them later. Ok, here's the
question(s)...After throwing a piece, how long before you start making the
handle? How long do they need to dry to become leather hard? Are the handles to
be leather hard as well? Any tips?
Many thanks!

i know others will disagree, especially the purists, but i cheat when it comes
to handles (probably bk i learned to make them in a production studio years
ago). i shape a short stubby "carrot" shape then role it on a board using a
flat piece of wood. then, if i want a "pulled" look, i add some water to my
hands and shape it once or twice. prepare you handles a little while before
applicatoin so that the moisture difference between them and the cup is not too
extreme. then brush a little wax resist around the joints to slow down the
drying time there so they fuse well -- or wrap the whole thing in plastic to
slow it down to equalize evaporization.

There you go with more great tips! THANKS

"GaSeku" wrote in message
...
Here's the person with a million and one questions again. I am starting to
try
my hand at making handles, hm no pun intended. For now, I just want to use
a
handle tool. I'll worry about learning how to pull them later. Ok, here's
the
question(s)...After throwing a piece, how long before you start making the
handle? How long do they need to dry to become leather hard? Are the
handles to
be leather hard as well? Any tips?
Many thanks!

Went to a wonderful demonstration weekend with Takeshi Yasuda last year. He
showed us an amazing thing with handles.
He has a flat piece of wood with 4 butterfly screws, one in each corner.
He sets to thickness desired and rolls a coil under this.
Then he said just try stuff, look at your coil and press things into it, if
you take a ruler and press sharp side lengthwise into the middle of the
coil, then turn over and press into middle again it looks as if you have two
coils, you can then wind this.
Press the ruler flat side onto coil for another look.
With sharp side of ruler press at angle then roll coil and ruler will spiral
length of coil.
The possibilities are endless.
I just roll coils, often leaving one end thicker to give that pulled look. I
always alter or texture these somehow though.
The advantage is that without the extra wetting pulling creates the handles
can be applied almost immediately to leather hard clay.
Using a tool is ok, but the handles will be a bit boring and will not have
that immediate handmade look.
Pulling is not so difficult though, just use plenty of water, then let them
set up until they are dry enough to handle, its best if you dry them curved
like they will be attached.

How cool!

"GaSeku" wrote in message
...
How cool!

Regarding annemarie's comments for handle making. I also lurk occasionally
on the clayart list, and there was a recent discussion about waiting
"forever" for clay to become leather hard. One person told us that he uses
a microwave to dry the piece "almost leather hard". When I asked for more
detail, he said to give it about two minutes (you have to play with the time
depending on your microwave), and also responded that excess moisture would
not be a concern. Two minutes instead of days here in sticky South
Florida!!

Thought that might be a tip you could use.

Wayne in Key West

Yep, that's another interesting tip. I'm in S. TX so it can be pretty humid
here, too. I guess I have yet to be in a good demo to see and feel what the
clay should be like when it's time to attach. I assume it pretty much means
when the shine is gone and it's not longer sticky, that point may be all to
brief? Heck, I don't know!

If and when you get around to pulling handles try to progress to pulling
them ON the pot; attach a short stub of clay to the *start* point,
decide where you want it to finish and prepare that with scoring and
slip, hold the piece horizontal and as Annmarie says using plenty of
water draw or stroke the handle into shape. Bring the pot upright again;
the handle will fall naturally into place, press and attach, and then
wrap loosely to slow down drying. The advantage with this way is that
the handle will *grow* more naturally from the pot.
As a matter of interest; over the years I have been using 2 very simple
techniques for attaching clay to clay. The first is to use a wet
toothbrush to scrub (briefly) the mating surfaces; this simultaneously
scores the surface AND makes the slip. Do it on both surfaces to be
joined, press together and leave to equalise before cleaning up with a
softish brush. The second I use for attaching handles when pulling them
on the pot; I cross-hatch the pot with a wet finger nail. Again it
scores and makes slip in one go.
Both these techniques WORK, and save time and my failure rate with both
is almost zero!

Steve
Bath
UK


In article , annemarie annemarie
writes

"GaSeku" wrote in message
...
Here's the person with a million and one questions again. I am starting to
try
my hand at making handles, hm no pun intended. For now, I just want to use
a
handle tool. I'll worry about learning how to pull them later. Ok, here's
the
question(s)...After throwing a piece, how long before you start making the
handle? How long do they need to dry to become leather hard? Are the
handles to
be leather hard as well? Any tips?
Many thanks!

Went to a wonderful demonstration weekend with Takeshi Yasuda last year. He
showed us an amazing thing with handles.
He has a flat piece of wood with 4 butterfly screws, one in each corner.
He sets to thickness desired and rolls a coil under this.
Then he said just try stuff, look at your coil and press things into it, if
you take a ruler and press sharp side lengthwise into the middle of the
coil, then turn over and press into middle again it looks as if you have two
coils, you can then wind this.
Press the ruler flat side onto coil for another look.
With sharp side of ruler press at angle then roll coil and ruler will spiral
length of coil.
The possibilities are endless.
I just roll coils, often leaving one end thicker to give that pulled look. I
always alter or texture these somehow though.
The advantage is that without the extra wetting pulling creates the handles
can be applied almost immediately to leather hard clay.
Using a tool is ok, but the handles will be a bit boring and will not have
that immediate handmade look.
Pulling is not so difficult though, just use plenty of water, then let them
set up until they are dry enough to handle, its best if you dry them curved
like they will be attached.



--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK

The best way to describe the state they are in is *Cheese Hard*, in that
they have enough *spring* in them to reshape if need be with 2 finger
pressure on either side of the rim. In practise the only action that can
distort your work is when attaching the stub, but then you would be
supporting it on the inside. Pulling or Drawing the handle out may make
a piece slightly oval, but that's all, it's down to how you hold it
while pulling.

Steve
Bath
UK


In article , Marmaj40
writes
Steve: Are the pieces to which you are attaching handles really leather hard?
Do you ever distort the rim doing it that way?
Thanks--
Martha

--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK