Making A Slab Plate on the Pottery Wheel from start to finish- narrated version
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- čas přidán 3. 02. 2023
- This video shows how to make a flat-bottomed plate on the pottery wheel with a slab. This is the narrated version of the video. The ASMR version with ambient studio sounds is available at • Making a Slab Plate on...
This is a fun way to make a plate that is quick and great for beginners or advanced makers. First, roll out a slab. In this video, I'm using a portable slab roller but you can also use a rolling pin. Next, smooth one side of the slab, unless you want canvas texture on the bottom of your plate.
Then, transfer your slab to the wheel putting the smooth side down. It is very important to use some kind of absorbent bat for this style of plate. In this video, I'm using a Hydrobat, but you can also use a plaster, wood, or composite bat. You could try this with a plastic bat, but it may be harder to dry the piece successfully.
Once the slab is on the wheel, smooth and cut it to your desired width. I'm cutting this one to about 12 inches wide. Then smooth the edge and next, raise the edge with a wooden knife. Start slowly and make sure to not push any balls of clay underneath the edge. After you have lifted the edge with a wooden tool, you can switch to a sponge to further raise the edge. It could be any angle that works for you.
Then, the piece needs to dry for a few days under plastic. When it is leather hard, bring it back to the wheel. Flip it, and trim or clean up any irregularities. Then dry it carefully under plastic. When it is bone dry, bisque fire it.
The next step is cleaning off any dust, glazing, and then firing again.
That's it! A fun way to make a plate that is quick and can give you beautiful results. Have fun.
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Quick and fun process! Nice to see all the steps. 👍
Thanks for watching! Have fun trying out this technique.
Bravo !
Thanks!
Matthias,those is brilliant!Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you!
Great video mate
Thanks!
This is a fantastic idea. What size was your plaster bat if you used a 14 inch clay circle?
Hi, thanks for your question. I used a 14 inch Hydrobat. In practice, the bat might be 13.5 inches wide. I cut the clay slab to around 12.5 or 13 inches before bringing up the wall.
Can I ask what type of wood you're drying out the plates on?
Hi, thanks for your question. The large wooden boards in this video are actually a plywood, specifically wood-veneer laminate over pressboard material. I believe they were once very deep bookshelves? I found them on the street here in NYC and repurposed them in the studio. I also have a variety of birch plywood wareboards. For these plates, most of the drying occurs on the hydrocal Hydrobats, as I find that helps keep the drying even.
Love this! How thick was your slab?
I typically start with a slab that is about 1/2 inch thick or maybe 7/16" thick. The slab is thinned a bit when it's on the wheel. Usually, my goal is to end up with walls around 3/8" thick in the greenware stage for all my pottery, but there can be some variation with this and you will find your own way if you make pottery from slabs!
hey, would you help me with a problem? Having, my rims are drying faster than the rest of the body and I always get warps. So it's the center either popping up or down. I just can't get them to stay flat. They are dried covered, I do soak the sponge and sponge the rim in the middle of the drying process, and I also tried flipping them over, it did get a little bit better but I still get a slight pop in the center. What can I do to fix this?
these are perfectly flat, this is magic to me
Thanks for your questions and my apologies for the delay in responding.
For plates, I always make them on an absorbent bat. In this video (and my studio) I use the "Hydrobats," which are made with hydrocal, which is a dense plaster. This allows for even drying on the top and bottom.
Another method you could try is getting the plates onto a wire shelf, so that they have airflow all around and dry evenly.
The key to keeping things flat is to have everything dry evenly. I personally don't sponge or add water to pieces in the drying process. Instead, I use the hydrobats or wire shelves along with covering pieces with plastic, to slow the drying process and keep things even.
Good luck!
Helpful video… I struggle with warping on my plates. ….with the center of the plate rising slightly….Evan after I have weighted down the center during the drying process… any suggestions…thank you
Thanks for your question. I think that warping is often caused by uneven drying. This might be a result of uneven thickness, but assuming your plates are relatively even, my best advice would be to try an absorbent bat and to dry the pieces slowly under plastic. I use Hydrobats, which are made with the plaster-like material hydrocal. You could also try a wooden or masonite bat.
With slab plates, it's pretty straightforward to wedge and roll out an even slab, and then dry slowly. If you are throwing bats, let it get to the dry side of leather hard, then trim, and cover with plastic again to dry completely. I hope this helps and feel free to ask more questions if this doesn't help. Good luck!
What type of wheel are you using? Does it fit on a tabletop?
Thanks for your question. I'm using a full-size Soldner wheel. You could definitely do this technique with a table top wheel too, such as a Speedball Artista. I have also tried this technique with a banding wheel with nice results, but the edge was more varied because you don't have a motor to constantly spin it for you to make it super even. Try it with what you have - you could even just turn a board or a bat by hand while raising the rim. Good luck!
Really great video, thank you! Today I followed your instructions to make 3 plates and so far they‘re looking great ☺️ fingers crossed for the next steps. Greetings from @santosa.ceramics from Switzerland
I’m sure they’ll turn out great! I find it helpful to dry plates slowly.
What is the profile of biscuit firing? My plates got cracked at delta 100 grad C till 650 ?
Hello, I use a medium slow bisque firing schedule. In Fahrenheit:
Preheat at 180 F for 3 hrs
Climb 120 per hour to 250
Climb 300 per hour to 1000
Climb 150 per hour to 1100
Climb 180 per hour to 1700
Climb 108 per hour to 1945 (cone 04)
If your plates are cracking, try drying them completely before bisque firing. Good luck.
Thank You!
Do you know how much clay you use for each plate?
I have never weighed it, but I would imagine it is around 1 to 2 lbs of clay at the beginning.
My lip just flopped down when I tried this technique. Is it because it was porcelain, or maybe I wasn’t using enough water?
Sorry for the delayed response. Porcelain is definitely trickier, but try it with a thicker slab, or be careful to not thin the rim and get it too wet. When the plate is leather hard, you can always trim it thinner as well