ABCarve
Masterpiece
5/16”
Building a wet slab bonsai pot
- Thread starter ABCarve
- Start date
hemi71cuda
Sapling
From yesterday. About to start day 2 of production on Daves YouTube video.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Looking forward to seeing it!
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
What a great shop.
andrewiles
Shohin
I got a chance to try the extruder at the studio. I love it. Between my 3d printer, their slab roller and their extruder, this is getting a lot quicker. I was able to build a simple pot in about 5 hours. That's about a million times faster than my first attempt.
The really nice thing about the extruder is that I didn't need to use a rib at all. I waited 2 hours for the extruded clay to firm up a bit but as long as I was careful working with it I didn't cause enough damage to require any major cleanups. This made it much, much faster.
This time I also tried a high grog clay. I don't know whether it was the clay or the extruder but this resulted in some pocketing of the clay. I kind of like the look.
The template I printed for the extruder. Tooke about 2 hours.
The pockmarked clay from the extruder:
Thought it would be fun to try some square holes. Not really worth the hassle though. This time I didn't score the feet or use any slip. Since the clay was still wet I just brushed the junction with water and pressed them together. A lot faster and cleaner. It seems like a solid joint.
Finished pot. I need to figure out how to prevent the sides from warping as it dries. Anyone have secret solutions beyond drying slowly? I was thinking about clamping each side between two small boards once the clay is a bit firmer.
The really nice thing about the extruder is that I didn't need to use a rib at all. I waited 2 hours for the extruded clay to firm up a bit but as long as I was careful working with it I didn't cause enough damage to require any major cleanups. This made it much, much faster.
This time I also tried a high grog clay. I don't know whether it was the clay or the extruder but this resulted in some pocketing of the clay. I kind of like the look.
The template I printed for the extruder. Tooke about 2 hours.
The pockmarked clay from the extruder:
Thought it would be fun to try some square holes. Not really worth the hassle though. This time I didn't score the feet or use any slip. Since the clay was still wet I just brushed the junction with water and pressed them together. A lot faster and cleaner. It seems like a solid joint.
Finished pot. I need to figure out how to prevent the sides from warping as it dries. Anyone have secret solutions beyond drying slowly? I was thinking about clamping each side between two small boards once the clay is a bit firmer.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Great looking pot my friend.
My best advice is go really slow on drying and really slow on bisque firing.
BTW, I love the square holes.
My best advice is go really slow on drying and really slow on bisque firing.
BTW, I love the square holes.
Grovic
Mame
Thank you for posting all this info and taking the time to make videos.
I just subscribed to the channel, this is the link to it, in case anyone wants to get the new videos in their feed:
hemi71cuda
Sapling
Looks really good. Regarding warping: You can’t prevent the clay from shrinking. Bracing it with wood would just cause it to break. The extra grog will help, but the trick is to design a bit of outward curve into the wall to start with. As it shrinks it’ll tighten up on its own.
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Nice. For any of you out there that know of Don Gould pots. This is one of the techniques he used for hand building without the foam plug. I made wooden shapes for him to support the outside shapes so joints could be compressed without deforming the extrusion
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Grog is your friend
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Well…. Thanks to Adam Shank of the Cleveland bonsai club we have videos. There are four parts starting with making a rib (part 1). Some may want to start at part 3 which is actually making the pot.
andrewiles
Shohin
These videos are great! Just watched all 4. Thanks for putting them together.
hemi71cuda
Sapling
Wow, that was fast!
andrewiles
Shohin
I need all the help I can get. On my first pot I tried to rib out the entire edge profile from a full-width slab rather than adding a top lip like @ABCarve shows. That's scraping out about half the clay. Let's just say things got messy. Other people at the studio started to move to tables further away.
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Last wood fire for me this season. I made 2 dozen cone10 tamales 
for the overnight crew, temps at 8 F. We finished up at 8:00 this morning. Cone 10 a puddle…. Loaded up the fire box, bricked up the door and vents, closed the damper and went home. Unload Thursday afternoon.
for the overnight crew, temps at 8 F. We finished up at 8:00 this morning. Cone 10 a puddle…. Loaded up the fire box, bricked up the door and vents, closed the damper and went home. Unload Thursday afternoon.
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Very nice!Last wood fire for me this season. I made 2 dozen cone10 tamales
View attachment 421187View attachment 421188
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Not me but I’m sure there something on the internet. Depends on what effect you’re looking for as to what type. I’m glad we have this here as it’s a group effort. I wouldn’t be foolin’ around with this if I had to do it all.
. Just cutting the wood…….. That’s why I feed the group and give moral support. My back just ain’t into the rest of it. 
Pitoon
Imperial Masterpiece
Lol, that's why I'm thinking to build a smaller sized one......something I can manage myself.Not me but I’m sure there something on the internet. Depends on what effect you’re looking for as to what type. I’m glad we have this here as it’s a group effort. I wouldn’t be foolin’ around with this if I had to do it all.
ABCarve
Masterpiece
Anagama? I think I would look into a “Phoenix fast fire”. Fire box is under the chamber and doesn’t blow as much ash on the pots. Much more glaze possibilities. That is what Ron Lang used before he moved south. This one is a train kiln and can be fired in 24 hours if you choose. It is like one used by Akita Satake although his is a top loader. We fire ours in 48 hours…… more ash. Not my choice…. I keep my stuff in the back. The pots in front get too much grey goo for my taste.
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