Happy new year to all our reader, I wish you all the best for 2024.
I have been busy figuring out how to make hollow dia s for my extruder, I’ve had the extruder for many years but definitely under used it. I thought it might be time to use it for making hollow forms, tubes and square tubes.
The hollow dias are made by cutting an inner and an outer and attaching both with a U bolt, which the clay passes and is mended by the time it gets to form whatever shape you have cut in the dia. My first shape was a cylinder which was cut using two sizes of hole saw, in plastic sheeting from builders upvc an odd bit of soffit board. My second was out of steel plate cut with special hole saws meant for steel.
The clay put into the extruder has to be kneaded as you would clay for throwing , a long slow pull of the handle without pausing produces the best cylinder. I then roll clay for the base, then throw a bottle top fitted for a cork or pourer. Both top and bottom are scored and fitted using clay slurry, then tidied up using a metal scraper.
The cylinders can be any size limited to kiln size, they make a good filler to fit odd spaces in the kiln. I have also made beakers.
The period after Christmas leading up to early spring can be very boring and dark, I hope you can find things to do to stave off the tedium.
Whitecroft Pottery 