Kanna Trimming Tool

Here is a photo of my newest trimming tool. It is a Japanese style trimming tool called a Kanna. This one is 8-inches long with a wooden handle.

The blade is just 3/4-inch steel strapping band that I cut with tin shears and then bent in a table vise. I used a Dremmel tool with a stone tip to shapen the edges. The two halves of the wooden handle are oak, which were glued to the metal blade and then stained and polished.

Tea Bowl Profile

I really hate cutting pots in half but it does provide some good insight. My facebook buddy and tea bowl sensei Cory Lum asked me to post this picture so he could see how my carving/trimming skills are.

I was really really suprised that this bowl was thrown and trimmed so evenly. After I trimmed it with the new kanna that I made, I held the bowl in my hands and I just had a feeling that this bowl was "good." It just felt good.

I didn't have any bowls wet enough to cut in half with a cut off wire so I used a hack saw blade and gently cut the leather hard bowl in half. I was pleasantly suprised. In fact so much more I even sawed some more tea bowls. I think I'm at a point now, after examining the profiles of these bowls, that I will not have to saw any more in half.

A Different Foot

I kind of like this hand carved foot. Its different. Kind of reminds me of a sea shell, and its kind of interesting. Once I carved the circular line to the center, I used a kanna to recess the the center of the sea shell shape.

Foot #1

I used a kanna to trim the foot of this bowl and then used a serated metal rib to finish the interior or the foot. I like this type of foot.

Foot #2

My feet are getting better. Hand carved, smooth on the bottom and rough in the center.

Foot #3

I'm getting much faster at trimming my feet.

Chawan Halved

This is the way my bowls start out. I asked my FaceBook friend Cory Lum to give me some pointers and critique my work and he gladly accepted my plea. Cory asked me to post a few photos and here they are. So, basically this is for Cory and to help him out check out his video of making and trimming a chawan as well as his etsy site.

Still Carving Kodai

I'm still working on carving the kodai. Like I said before, it either makes or breaks the piece. I carved this foot last Friday. Since then I have thown a bunch more chawan and have improved my carving. Will post more photos soon.

Hand Carved Kodai

Chawan

I've been throwing tea bowls (chawan) lately. I've mentioned in earlier posts that its easy to throw a cylander that is round with a smooth even lip and a perfectly trimmed foot but in reality the pot or form itself has no character. Here is a link to some of my earlier thrown tea bowls. Yeah, they're nice wood fired pieces but I feel that the only interesting thing about them is the glaze.

This is one of my latest tea bowls. Initially wheel thrown and then altered. The base and foot were hand carved. This is much closer to what I would call a chawan. I think it has character. It pleasing to hold and interesting to look at. Plan on making a bunch more today.

The Kodai

The kodai, pronounced "koudai," is a very important part of the chawan and contains a wealth of information when looked at closely.

For instance the hand-carved foot reveals the skill and spirit of the potter. It also is the only unglazed spot on the piece that reveals the nature of the clay body. The only other thing I can say about the kodai is that it ultimately "Makes" or "Breaks" the piece. If its "bad" even an idiot will know it.

I'm still carving kodai and a lot of them look like shit as far as I'm concerned but I'm keeping the pieces to test some glazes on. The kodai pictured here is one of my better ones. I'll keep practicing.

Chawan

These are my latest tea bowls (chawan). I am quite pleased with this last batch. In the past all my tea bowls have been too "anal," according to other potters. I can throw bowls to a set dimension with perfect smooth interiors and exteriors but that is not a chawan. Plus, they really are uninteresting forms with no character. Throwing "loose," as other potters call it, has always been difficult for me. I don't know why. Thanks go out to my FaceBook friend Cory Lum who posted a video of how he throws chawan. It helped me a great deal. Now I just need to practice hand-carving the feet. They're not bad (maybe they are) but they still need some work.

Pinch Pot Fish

I got a little bored this weekend in the studio. And I remembered that I recently saw a YouTube video of some guy making a pinch pot fish. Just thought I'd give it a try. They don't take long to make and would be a great project for little kids. Actually, its a fun adult project too.

Didn't get my kiln moved into the studio yet but I did throw tea bowls on all three wheels that I made.

Finished Product

Well, it took a long time but I finally finished my kick wheel. I'm not really sure of the "proper" name for this style of wheel. I would call it a "kick wheel." I have heard others refer to it as a "Korean Style Kick Wheel." And, I suppose if you make pottery on this type of wheel in the Onggi tradition it would be called an "Onggi" wheel. What ever the proper name, this wheel turned out much better than I could have ever imagined.

I was going to try it out yesterday but just couldn't bring myself to throwing a bunch of clay on this beautiful wheel so I threw some pots on my stand-up treadle wheel.

Yes it is pretty but I made it to use so today after work I'm throwing some mud on it.

Korean Style Kick Wheel

I finally got off my dead ass and had the local machine shop fabricate the shaft and baseplate for my Korean Style Kick Wheel.

I did make some changes to the wheel design. I did keep the 1-inch flange bearing on the underside of the wheel head but decided to go with a 1-1/4-inch flange on the bottom.

The baseplate is 22 inches in diameter and I had the machine shop cut the 3/8-inch steel plate round just because I thought it would look better.

There is a 6-inch square steel plate welded to the base. A hole was drilled through both plates and the shaft was inserted and welded into that. The square plate was added just for strength. For my next wheel I am not going to weld the 6-inch plate to the base. I will have holes drilled and tapped to accept stove bolts to attatch the shaft to the base. If you decide to build one you'll see why.

Anyway, this wheel is pretty sweet. The last thing I have to do is re-drill the hole in the bottom of the wheel so that it will accept the 1-1/4 inch shaft. Originally it was built for a 1-inch shaft.

If you hadn't read all the previous posts about the building process of this wheel and are interested in building your own wheel, just search my archives on this blog.

Clay Extruder

I decided my studio was too small to mount this big beast on a table top so I decided to buy a piece of straight pipe, drilled some holes in it, and mounted it to the wall. Worked out very well.

I'm also going through the process of giving my studio a make-over/remodel job. Basically about the only things I want in this room are my three wheels, my two work tables, A shelf for ware and a bisque kiln in one corner of the room.

Under the tables I'll keep basic tools, some clay buckets, and low fire glazes and underglazes. All my bucket glazes were moved to the basement. Actually a lot of stuff was moved to the basement.

I moved out an old pot bellied stove that was in one corner of the room to make way for the kiln. Next step is to put up some cement board and a venting system and get it wired.

Plan on finishing the paneling and doing some trim work around the windows and doors. Also have s little bit of insulation to put up and will do a little bit of painting. Probably a lot more work to do but this will at least give me a nice space to work in without bumping into anything. I posted a photo album on my facebook page of the mess I've created. One look at it will reveal why I had to do it.

Gonna' miss the beer fridge, but it won't be too far away.

Clay Extruder/After photo

A little bit of elbow grease, a can of spray paint, ($3.79), and 2 new bolts, ($0.79).

Not a bad. This extruder is supposed to be mounted to a table or work bench but I am going to make a new mounting bracket and secure it to a wall in my studio.

Clay Extruder

My friend Ryan gave me this old clay extruder. I thought maybe it was due for the scrap yard but after examining it more closely I decided to knock the rust off, clean it up, and add some new pait to it.

Sitdown Motorized Potter's Wheel

Well, after hours of internet image searching I found a picture of the "unknown" potter's wheel. At least I'm pretty sure this is the wheel. Still don't have a name for it yet but did find out it has a variable speed, pedal operated, Dayton split phase motor. Still seeking more information and comments about it.

New Old Wheel

A new addition to my studio. This is a really cool table top potter's wheel that was given to me by my friend Ryan. I think the only things missing from this wheel is the manufacturer's name plate and the motor. Can anybody out there tell me anything about this wheel. Would love to know who made it and the approximate age.

I'm thinking this is just a simple table top motorized potter's wheel but perhaps it had another function. There are 4 screw holes along the top of the rim that I have no idea what their purpose is. Kind looks like steel rods or pins can be inserted into the holes and then there is a set screw on the outside to secure the rods or pins. Anyway, any information on this wheel would be greatly appreciated.