Tools of the Trade

Buying a Raku Kiln

aku firing is expressive, exciting and fun. Whether youre rakuing in your own studio, or taking part in a group firing at a school, workshop or community center, raku offers many rewards. But the process requires more than just enthusiasm; you need the proper equipment and tools to make the event successful. If youre interested in getting started with raku or in adding raku to your program, here are a few pointers for getting off to a good start with the right kilnthe most important tool youll need.

KILNS

The Basic Raku Process

With raku you begin by placing your work in a cold kiln and bringing it up to temperature, approximately 1800 1900F. The rate at which you attain this temperature is based on a variety of factors: size of the work, size and type of kiln, burner output, etc. A raku session usually consists of firing more than one load, so the ability to preheat the waiting work, unload the hot ware safely, reload and then reheat the kiln all need to be considered. The choice of fuelnatural gas, wood, electric or propaneis important because each of these carries limitations as well as benefits. Youll need to consider the physical location of the kiln so that it can be placed with ample space around it for safety and space to work. And finally, consider whether youll be firing alone, with an assistant, or with a group.

hats have pulley systems, springs, counter weights, and guiding tracks to raise and lower the chamber. Without the lifting mechanism, a large top-hat kiln requires two people to safely lift the body off, while smaller kilns require only one person. After gaining experience, most raku potters gravitate to one specific style and design. The important thing with any kiln is that you are comfortable with its workings. It must accommodate your work. It must be possible to safely open the extremely hot kiln, remove the contents, reload, and close it up again losing as little heat as possible. Before buying or building a kiln, do as much observation, participation and research as possible.

Temperature
Even though most raku firing takes place in the Cone 01004 range some of the kilns on the market are rated for higher temperaturesup to Cone 10. While some kilns are designed specifically for raku, others were originally designed as stoneware kilns that can be used for raku or were modified for raku. Youll need to check with manufacturers about the full capabilities of their kilns.

Configurations
There are many configurations for raku kilnstop loaders, front loaders, top hats, car kilns and clam shells. Some top

Fuel
Raku kilns can be fired with natural gas, wood, propane or electric (see page 36). If using propane, youll need to purchase or rent a tank. While a 20 lb. tank works on warm days or with smaller kilns, it is recommended that you get a larger, refillable tank, or purchase two or three smaller tanks and gang them together with the appropriate connectors. You can take 30, 40, 60, 70 and even 100 pound tanks in for refilling. With propane, more surface area in the tanks means more gas will be produced assuring a steady supply. This is especially important as you get into larger kilns with bigger burners. With natural gas, you are limited to the available pressure and location of a gas line, but there is some flexibility because you can lead a gas hose to the burner.

Burners
Tim Andrews, Dave Jones and Jim Romberg unloading a top-hat raku kiln at Eagleheart Center for Art & Inquiry, Grand Junction, Colorado.

continued on page 36

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Burners are rated by their output, which is measured in Btus (British thermal units). Natural gas and propane use different orifice sizes so youll need to specify which kind of fuel youll be using. Kiln manufacturers have done the engineering for their kilns and have matched the appropriate burner(s) with the unit, taking size, insulation and temperature range into consideration. Many manufacturers also offer regulators, gauges and safety features with their burner, which are described in their literature. If youre building your own kiln, instructions should include burner specifications. If not, consult with a burner supplier. Kiln size, construction materials and type of gas being used is all the information they will need.

Cost
Many commercial raku kilns are priced under $1000 with a few fetching more than $2500 because of the need for higher end functionality. Building your own raku kiln from a kit or rounding up all the pieces and parts can lower your costs. It is similar to buying a computer or any other major appliance; determine whats in your budget and then look around, but dont forget to factor in tongs, gloves, goggles, shelves and the other equipment youll need. Weve listed most of the manufacturers and their locations, and several of these sell through distributors, which may be closer to home so youll pay less for shipping.

Electric
While any electric kiln can be used for raku, there are some electric kilns on the market specifically designed for raku. Regardless, youll need to either locate the kiln outside, or near an outside entrance so you can unload the kiln and quickly move your pieces outdoors for the subsequent post-firing phase. One hazard with using a standard electric kiln is that the power must be shut off before reaching into it with metal tongs to eliminate the possibility of accidentally touching a live element. Some electric kilns are built with a lifting mechanism, which raises the entire body of the kiln, including all the electrics, up and out of the way when loading and reloading.

Test Drive
If you havent tried raku, but have always been fascinated by the spontaneity, immediacy and simplicity of the craft, by all means, sign up for a workshop. Youll be amazed at what a great activity this is and why its one of the most popular clay studio techniques around, enjoyed by thousands of potters of all ages.

The Do-It-Yourself Option

One option is to build a raku kiln from one of the many plans available in books and online. We have two plans on our website at www.potterymaking.org, one for a fiber-lined wire-frame design and the other a small fiber-lined barrel. Another inexpensive option for the DIY route is to purchase a kit. Some kits, which include all the materials needed to not only build a kiln, but also essential extras like tongs, furniture, gloves, etc.

Raku Kiln Manufacturers

Axner ..........................................................www.axner.com Brackers Good Earth Clays ....................www.brackers.com Ceramic Services ..........................www.ceramicservices.com Clay Art Center ..................................www.clayartcenter.net L&R Specialties, Inc. ..............................www.claydogs.com Laguna ....................................................www.laguna.com Mile Hi Ceramics, Inc. (Zen Kilns) ..www.milehiceramics.com Nabertherm ......................................www.nabertherm.com New Mexico Clay Co. ..............................www.nmclay.com Olympic Kilns........................................www.greatkilns.com Seattle Pottery Supply ......................www.cruciblekilns.com Sugar Creek Industries (Good Kilns)www.sugarcreekind.com Summit Kilns ............................www.swiftweb.com/summit Ward Burner Systems ........................www.wardburner.com

Safety
Raku is inherently a dangerous activity, but no more so than working around a bonfire. If you purchased a commercial kiln, youll need to read, understand, and follow all safety instructions provided by the manufacturer because their warnings are based on experience and following them assures an accident-free experience. If building your own, be sure that youre comfortable and confident in your design and experience. The appropriate clothing, gloves and eye protection are critical for protection against the kilns heat for any of those handling the work, and in both solo and group situations, attention must be paid to the choreographythe danceof the raku firing process. It is certainly not the time to be tripping over one another.

Thanks to Steven Branfman, author of Raku, A Practical Approach, 2nd Ed., kp books, for assistance on this article.

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Tools of the Trade by William Schran

Picking the Right Shelves

urchasing a kiln is one of the more important investments every potter makes. After deciding which electric kiln to purchase, perhaps the next most important consideration is choosing your kiln furniture. Most manufacturers offer furniture kitsa selection of shelves and postsand, if purchased with the kiln, this may save on shipping expenses. What type of shelves are you getting in these kits? Most likely theyre cordierite, but other shelves composed of different materials may serve you better in the long run.

KILN SHELVES

Cordierite
Cordierite is a naturally occurring minerala magnesium iron alumina cyclosilicate (Mg2Al4Si5O18). Cordierite shelves are a mix of cordierite, mullite and smaller amounts of other minerals, and are usually made by a slip-casting process. The desirable qualities of cordierite are that it has a low coefcient of expansion, a resistance to thermal shock and good electrical insulation. The downside is that these shelves are more susceptible to warping at high temperatures and are fairly porousabout 2030%. This means a major glaze run, even with a layer of kiln wash protection, can melt into the shelf, requiring careful chipping and grinding to remove the glazed areas. If allowed to remain in the shelf, the glaze continues to melt through the
For comparison, the 10-sided high alumina shelf is -inch thick and weighs 21 pounds. The round -inch cordierite shelf weighs 19 pounds, while the -inch nitride-bonded silicon carbide shelf weighs only 11 pounds. For comparison, the smaller 17-inch round cordierite shelf weighs 9 pounds. The relative thickness of three 1824-inch kiln shelves composed of different materials. The thickest (bottom), a 1-inch cordierite/high alumina shelf weighing 21 pounds; the next is a thinner but denser -inch silicon carbide shelf that weighing 20 pounds; and the thinnest shelf, a -inch silicon carbide nitride bonded shelf weighing only 9 pounds!

shelf in each subsequent ring. For larger kilns thicker shelves are necessary, but this also means that more energy is required for heating the kiln furniture than the pottery.

High Alumina
High alumina shelves have a similar composition to cordierite shelves, but with an additional 1015% alumina, making them more resistant to deformation at higher temperatures. These shelves are manufactured by slip casting and dry pressing, and -inch shelves are rated to re up to cone 11 (2361F). Alumina shelves are also denser and somewhat more resistant to glaze drips, but like cordierite shelves, they do present a signicant thermal mass to be heated.

Silicon Carbide
Known by the trademark Carborundum, silicon carbide shelves are a mix of coke (carbon) and quartz, which is then dry pressed and red at very high temperature. It was the rst man-made material hard enough to cut glass. Silicon carbide shelves are known for extreme hardness and thermal shock resistance. Though less porous than alumina, silicon carbide shelves still require a coating of kiln wash to protect the surface. Since silicon carbide shelves are usually only available in square or rectangle shapes, they are not used in sectional top loading kilns.

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Nitride Bonded

The size of the kiln also determines the thickness of the shelf. We Nitride-bonded silicon carbide have 18-, 23- and 29-inch diamare composed of 68% silicon eter top-loading kilns. We have carbide and a silica nitrogen found -inch shelves function well, bond, and are slip cast and red without warping in the 18-inch in a nitrogen atmosphere using a kilns up to cone 6. In our 23-inch proprietary composition patented kilns, -inch full shelves show by Saint-Gobains Ceramics. About no signs of warping after years 3 years ago they came out with of cone 6 rings. For our 29-inch a line of full and half shelves for kilns, we have half-round -inch electric kilns, measuring -inches and half-polygon 1-inch shelves. thick and weighing about half the After a year of ring to cone 6, the amount of a similar-sized cordierite -inch shelves have warped to an shelves. Nitride bonded shelves are rated to above 2400F and have less than 1% porosity, plus theyll remain at even with a heavy load of pots at high temperatures under repeated rings. TIP: Since nitride bonded shelves are almost totally vitried, kiln wash cannot be absorbed. If kiln wash is needed (suggest mix of alumina & kaolin), use it dry and sprinkle it on the shelf, or mix it into your wax resist and brush onto the bottoms of your work.

extent that large at objects would be warped in cone 6 rings. The 1-inch shelves have remained at after years of cone 6 rings.

Firing Temperature
Another factor in determining the required thickness is how high you re your kiln. For comparison, the following information is about cordierite shelves only. If the kiln will be red only to bisque temperatures, cone 06 or 04, then a -inch shelf may sufce in most instances.

Choosing the Right Shelf

There are several things to be considered when choosing kiln shelves: Kiln size Firing temperature How often you re How much weight you can lift Shelf type

Size
Generally speaking, the proper size of shelf is about two inches smaller than the interior kiln space. For example, a 28-inch kiln uses 26-inch shelves, a 23-inch kiln uses 21-inch shelves, and so on. The correct-size shelf allows for a 1-inch space between the edge of the shelf and the kiln wall. This space is necessary for proper radiation of heat from the elements to the pottery and kiln furniture. A shelf, post, or even a pot that is positioned too close to an element, could be overheated at one spot and the heat radiated back to the element can shorten the life of the element.
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posts. A tightly packed kiln with lots of kiln furniture res up much slower than a loosely packed kiln. Cooling time is also affected by the amount of pottery and furniture. It is advisable not to open the lid before the kiln has cooled to 400F How often you re a kiln may in- to avoid issues of thermal shock to uence shelf selection. You should pots and kiln furniture. We follow gure that a ring cycle includes the practice of not unloading a kiln the ring time, then approximately until the contents can be held in twice that amount of time for cool- a bare hand. In our studio, a kiln ing. Besides heating the pottery, red on a Monday is not unloaded the kiln also heats the shelves and until Wednesday.

If youre planning to regularly re to cone 6, then youll need a inch or 1-inch shelf thickness. For cone 10 rings, 1-inch shelves will be necessary.

Physical Strength
How much weight you can comfortably lift is often neglected when selecting kiln furniture. Having to reach down into a kiln to set or lift out a kiln shelf can prove to be problematic if the shelf weighs almost as much as a bag of moist clay. Figure 1 illustrates the relative thickness of three 1824-inch kiln shelves composed of different materials. The thickest, a 1-inch cordierite/high alumina shelf weighs 21 pounds. The next is a -inch silicon carbide shelf that weighs 20 pounds. Though thinner, the density of the material is the reason it weighs almost as much as the 1inch shelf. The thinnest shelf, a inch silicon carbide nitride bonded shelf weighs only 9 pounds.

Kiln Use

Shelf Type
The most popular size of kilns purchased is the 7-cubic-foot, 23inch diameter top-loading electric kiln. For this size kiln, you have several options of 21-inch diameter round or 10-sided kiln shelves. Figure 2 shows the available typeshigh alumina, cordierite and nitride-bonded silicon carbide. Kilns using square- or rectangularshaped shelves have some additional options of materials. Cordierite or high alumina shelves range in price from $45 $65 plus shipping. Similar sized 21-inch silicon carbide nitridebonded shelf are signicantly more expensive.

Recommendation
For potters ring 23-inch kilns to cone 6, 21-inch full and half cordierite shelves should meet their needs. If cone 10 ring is planned, then 1-inch thick cordierite or inch high alumina shelves would be ne. For those potters with 28-inch kilns, or if you just want a lighter shelf, silicon nitride bonded shelves should be seriously considered.
William Schran is Assistant Dean of Fine Arts at Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria Campus. He has been teaching ceramics there for 29 years.

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tools of the trade by Frank James Fisher

Accessorizing your Wheel

rimming the bases of pots is another opportunity to bring unity and beauty to your artwork. But different shapes and sizes of work create challenges, and apparently I wasnt the only potter who longed for an easier process. Innovations have shown up in the studio, such as the Giffin Grip, the no-skid Grabber Pad and the latest arrival, the Trimming Disc. If you throw a lot of large bowls and platters, pots with delicate necks, lids, etc., then you should evaluate the trimming accessories described herea select group of products, each with a range of applications. While quality tools have reputations, do your homework and solicit recommendations from instructors, peers, the ClayArt archives, and manufacturers websites. And, of course, The Trimming Disc, shown above in use, works like a mindont be afraid to ask questions. iature lazy Susan, the top part rotating while the bottom

trimming SyStemS

the trimming Disc

part stays put.

For many years, potters placed a jar lid on the bottom of their pots while trimming. This trick made it possible to hold work down with a finger

the Trimming Disc is its versatility. It works efficiently as a stand-alone trimming method and also as a useful accessory with the Grabber Pad and the Giffin Grip.

the giffin grip

The Giffin Grip, developed by Brian Giffin in the 1980s, is essentially a trimming chuck. The Giffin Grip attaches directly to wheel heads of varying diameters, and includes three sturdy brackets that grip the wheel head with a tight friction fit. The Giffin Grip centers and holds leather-hard clay in a three-pronged vice with three constricting hands mounted on rods
(Continued on page 46)

The engineered grips on the bottom part of the Trimming Disc secure it to the pot, while the top part spins easily.

or two, eliminating the need for clay wads to secure the work to the wheelhead. Robert Piepenburg has improved on this technique with his Trimming Disc, a device that works like a small lazy Susan. The small ball bearings in the disk provide a smooth no-friction spin as your fingers press down on the tool, securing the pot without using clay wads. This tool is useful for large or small platters and bowls, as well as steadying tall forms. One advantage of

Bowl secured in a Giffin Grip.

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nonskid material thats adhered to a bat that fits on a wheel head equipped with standard bat pins. You secure it to your wheel head using the pins as you would secure any other bat. The Grabber Pads nonskid material has a tacky, thin foam feel to it. Its ideal for low-profile forms such as bowls and platters. Once the pot is centered, its not going to slide. The tacky surface overcomes the pull of centrifugal

A bottle suspended, secured and ready to trim in a Giffin Grip. (Continued from page 12)

force, though I still like to keep a hand on the bottom of the pot. Since I use my hand as a steadying point for my trim tool to work against, Piepenburgs Trimming Disc also works well with the Grabber Pad. One aspect of the Grabber Pad that I like is that I control the final centering of my pot. If I have a bowl with an off-center base, I can center the bowl by eye rather than by the outer diameter of the rim. It gives me flexibility to experiment with asymmetrical rims. The GrabUse the Trimming Disc in combinaber Pad used to tion with the Grabber Pad to easily To trim jar lids, I secure the jar with the Giffin Grip and pocome with contrim foot rings on pots. sition the Trimming Disc on the center of the inverted lid. centric grooves in something that can otherwise only be done with a clay the pads surface to help you find true center easier, but you can add these circles with a Sharpie permachuck. When trimming jar lids, I use the Trimming Disc in combination with the Giffin Grip (see above). nent black marker.

on rods of varying length. The main attribute of this tool is the way it automatically centers your work. Place the inverted pot near the center, turn the upper platen and the three grips or arms pull the pot into the exact center. Give the platen a quick tug and the pot is secured. There are a variety of fixtures included to secure plates, bowls and even tall vases to the platen. With a Giffin Grip, a narrow-necked bottle can be suspended upside down for trimming the base,

When trimming with a Grabber Pad, invert the piece and center using the rings as a guide.

The Grabber Pad

Oversize Trimming Bat

The Grabber Pad is one of those simple, but great ideas as it eliminates the need to secure your pot to the wheel head with clay wads. It is made of a

Sometimes you just want to throw big, but trimming large platters and bowls requires special equipment. To solve this problem, purchase a 24-inch diameter laminate-covered particle board

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ClassiC!

Oversized platter fastened with wads of clay to a handmade oversized bat.

disk from a lumber yard, cabinet shop or home center (call first). Cut two 12-inch square pieces of -inch plywood and screw them to the bottom center of the disk. (Note: I have a Shimpo wheel and I needed two square pieces to clear the splash pan. Measure the depth of your splash pan Assemble your oversized bat following before adding spacers.) this diagram. After finding exact center, drill two matching holes 10 inches on center to accept bat pins. After assembling the parts, brush on two coats of exterior primer, followed by several coats of marine paint, which is formulated to resist water and the damage it can inflict on wood.

Shoji Hamada (1894-1978) is modern Japans most renowned potter. After studying painting and ceramics he worked at the Kyoto Ceramic Testing Institute and traveled abroad before settling in the town of Mashiko, Tochigi Prefecture, where he lived and worked for over fifty years. A major figure, with Soetsu Yanagi, Kanjiro Kawai, and Bernard Leach, in Japans folk craft movement, Hamada was designated a Living National Treasure in 1955 and awarded the Order of Culture in 1968. This book by Susan Peterson, first published in 1974, has been totally redesigned and all the old black and white photos have been replaced with color images. In a completely new concluding chapter, she assesses Hamadas ongoing legacy to the world of studio pottery. This is an authoritative account of one of the towering figures in the ceramics world by one of the first people to welcome him to America in the early 1950s. The book is a must for anyone interested in the evolvement of hand pottery and the dynamics of ceramics in general. Susan Peterson, Professor Emerita from Hunter College, City University of New York, retired in 1994, and is now a practicing ceramist whose work has been shown throughout the world. She is the author of many books on pottery and potters, including Working with Clay, Contemporary Ceramics, and The Craft and Art of Clay. 2004 Hardcover (240 pages) Co-published by The American Ceramic Society and A&C Black (London) Price: $59.95 | Order Code: CA34 Get it online at: www.ceramics.org/publications
PotteryMaking Illustrated

Final Thoughts

I have found this group of trimming accessories to be capable of handling every clay vessel I have created. Im sure there may be forms in my future that will challenge this system, but the flexibility this combination of tools provides should meet that challenge.
Frank James Fisher has been a potter for more than 25 years. For more product information, contact www.giffingrip.com (Giffin Grip), www.axner.com (Grabber Pad) and email peeblepress@gmail.com (Trimming Disc).

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tools of the trade by David ogle

Ergonomic Egotes
throwing sticks
method for creating these tools with ball ends that simulate the shape of a fingertip.

tools

Examples of egotes (Japanese throwing sticks).

eing a sculptor as well as a ceramic artist, Im familiar with all manner of wood and metalworking tools. Ive made the majority of my own ceramics tools over the past forty years of working with clay because in the early days (the 1960s) there werent nearly as many choices of commercially-produced tools as there are today. When you wanted a pear corer trimming tool, you went to the local hardware store and purchased a real pear corer. If you wanted a modeling tool, you just got a piece of hardwood scrap and made one. Another reason for making your own tools was that the tools that were available might not have been just right for the forming, carving, trimming or whatever task was at hand. So tool savvy ceramists just modified or made entirely new tools to suit their needs. Most of the tools available from the ceramics tool manufacturers today, potters and sculptors have invented and made at one time or another over the years. Most recently, Ive been working with saggarfired narrow-necked porcelain bottle forms. Ive always made my own egotes, commonly referred to as Japanese throwing sticks. The egotes available from the pottery suppliers were always too cumbersome for making the tight and narrow curves and shoulders of my narrow-necked forms. My first attempts at curved egotes were very time consuming and required a lot of meticulous work for forming and sanding the rounded ends. Through experimentation, I discovered an easier

I make several variations of the egote, but the one illustrated at the bottom of the photo to the left can be made with readily available simple tools and materials. Pictured below are most of the tools necessary to make the egote. They include a scrap piece of -inch hardwood (maple preferred, but a closegrained hardwood such as walnut, cherry, birch, or even pear wood can be used). Also, two 2-inch hardwood dowels, a saber saw (band saw, if available, makes cutting out the form much easier), a half-round rasp, a round rasp (sculptors wood rifflers make rounding wood easier), a flat rasp, coarse and fine sandpapers, a 6-inch piece of -inch PVC pipe (used as a contouring sanding block), epoxy (or any waterproof glue), and hardwood balls ( inch and 1 inch, available at local craft, hardware stores, or mail-order woodworkers catalogs). The balls may be wooden beads or drawer pulls. Not shown are a drill and a -inch drill bit.

CAUTION: Follow all safety instructions when operating power tools!

Tools and supplies needed to make a curved, narrowneck egote are common and easy to locate.
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Procedure
Start by tracing the natural curve of your hand as if it were in the shoulder forming position (figure 1). Sketch a corresponding curve leaving equal amounts of extra material on each side of the ends (see dotted lines) to facilitate drilling the holes for the dowel rods (figure 2). Draw intersecting lines to find the centers. Cut out the curved form with a saber or band saw. Mark the center with the awl and carefully drill through the center with the -inch drill bit, about -inch deep (figure 3). Wooden balls intended to be used as beads often have inch holes predrilled all the way through. If not, clamp the ball in a vise and drill a -inch hole through each one. Trim off the excess wood down to the dotted lines on each end using a band saw or saber saw (figure 4). Mix the epoxy according to the package instructions and fill the holes in the curved handle and the holes in the wooden balls. Insert the hardwood dowels and press the balls into place (figure 5). Make sure the joints between the balls and the handle are filled with the epoxy mixture. After the epoxy has thoroughly cured (when it is no longer tacky to the touch), cut off the excess dowel protruding through the ends of the balls. Begin shaping and rounding the handle with the rasps (figure 6). Using the coarse and fine sandpapers, smooth the tool. Use the round rasps and sandpaper-covered PVC pipe on the concave side and the flat rasps and a flat piece of sandpaper covered wood on the convex side until the tool feels comfortable to the touch (figure 7). Tip: Wipe the tool with a damp cloth to raise the grain and allow

1
Trace the natural curve of your hand to create a tool that conforms to your throwing position.

2
Be sure to leave extra wood on each end of the egote to facilitate drilling the holes.

3
Find the center, cut out the curved form and drill -inch diameter holes for the dowel connectors.

5
Epoxy the dowels into the drilled holes on the stick. Trim off the dowels after the glue dries.

6
Use wood rasps to begin to rough out the nal shape.

7
Use coarse then ne sandpaper to smooth the entire tool until it feels comfortable to the touch.

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it to dry. Sand again and repeat this a couple of times for a very smooth finish. You can finish the egote with an acrylic spray or soak it in mineral oil. Occasional sanding may be necessary after a few uses, but youll find the tool improves with age after a little breaking in.
As a Ceramics Department founding member and program coordinator, David Ogle has taught both handbuilding and wheel throwing at West Valley College for the last 34 years. He has maintained his own pottery studio creating both functional and sculptural ceramic works. For questions or comments, you can reach him at brnzpnut@aol.com.

4
After using epoxy to attach hardwood dowels to wooden balls, test t the parts, then trim excess wood from the ends on all four sides.

8
The egote extends your reach inside closed and narrow neck forms.
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Tools of the Trade by Bill Jones

all Mixed up
Clay Mixers & Pug Mills
soldner Mixer
Named after its designer, Paul n all studios, potters are faced with the dilemma Soldner, this mixer of recycling scrap clay, and in many studio situconsists of a chainations, its essential to be able to mix custom clay bodies. Additionally, some studios require clay that driven rotating reinforced concrete is ready to use without any additional wedging, either because of time constraints or concern for wear tub with stationand tear on the wrists. With the right machine, you ary interior bars can easily deal with scrap clay and mix custom clay that mix and blend the clay quickly bodies when theyre needed. and effectively. The Soldner mixer works best when There are four common types of clay processors the water is added on the market: the horizontal-shaft hopper mixer, first. After dry the vertical-axis rotating-drum Soldner mixer, the materials are pugmill and the combination mixer/pugmill. added, the mixture Hopper Mixer The Soldner mixer is an example is rotated through of a vertical shaft mixer. This mixer This type of machine is simply an adaptation of stationary bars that uses a concrete tub that carries clay the traditional commercial dough mixer and consists chop and blend through stationary bars that blend of an open or lidded hopper with a horizontal mix- the clay until the the clay as it moves through. ing shaft. In a hopper-type mixer, its normal to add desired consistency (Photo courtesy Muddy Elbow Mfg.) dry materials first, unless youre reprocessing scrap. is reached. Many Some hopper mixers are equipped with a reversstudios use the mixer as a slurry bucket. When the tub ing switch to allow you to reverse the direction of is half full, they turn it on, let it run for a while and the blades several times to ensure complete mixing. then add dry clay mixture to it. When the mixing is When recycling scrap, clay should be in a slurry, complete, the mixer is unloaded by hand and stored. meaning it should be slaked first (dried then soaked Pugmills in water). Recycled clay requires adding more dry The simplest common analogy for a pugmill is an mix until the correct consistency is reached. Mixed oversized meat grinder. Moist clay is fed into a hopclay is removed from the hopper by hand. per, forced through a horizontal barrel by a series of rotating blades, and, after blending, is finally extruded from a restricted opening at the end of the barrel. A pugmill equipped with a de-airing vacuum attachment can produce clay that is ready to throw without any further wedging. The pugmill is best suited for final blending of clay bodies, for processing clay Pugmills blend and homogenize clays. mixed as slurry A de-airing vacuum pump removes An example of a horizontal mixer. The hopper on this model from Bluebird Mfg. tilts forward to aid in empty- and stiffened to air from the clay, which in most cases plastic consiseliminates the need for further wedging the machine once the batch has been mixed. tency, and for ing. (Photo courtesy Axner Pottery) (Photo courtesy Bluebird Mfg.)

Types of Machines

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potters in a variety of settings. Among the major manufacturers, there are literally scores of options available, so you would be wise to do some homework before you charge ahead.

Function
What do you need? If all you want to do is mix your own clay, you need a mixer at a minimum. If you want a mixer that empties itself, go for the mixer/pugmill or a mixer with a tilting hopper. If (continued on page 28)

Pugmills are manufactured in many sizes up to large industrial models. Most manufacturers produce a range of sizes suitable for a variety of studios. (Photo courtesy Venco Products)

Mixer/pugmills are manufactured in a variety of sizes, and most models are capable of processing both dry and moist clay, as well as scrap in any form. (Photo courtesy Peter Pugger)

processing slaked, stiffened and recycled clay. It can also be used for blending several clay bodies together, and is especially useful for adjusting the moisture content in clay.

Mixer/Pugmills
As the name implies, the mixer/ pugmill provides the features of two machines. Consisting of a hopper for blending dry materials

Some mixer/pugmills operate in each mode independently, and many models have optional de-airing available for ready-to-use clay. (Photo courtesy Bailey Pottery Equipment)

or reclaim feeding into a pugmill, these machines are an alternative to buying two separate machines. Within this group of machines, the pugmill portion can serve in one of two waysas a discharge unit for the mixer or as a separate, fully functioning pugmill. In the former case, clay constantly moves through the machine and has to be returned to the mixer after being extruded. In the latter type, a switch controls separate mixing and pugging actions.

Buying Considerations
Clay mixers and pugmills are great machines designed to help
PotteryMaking Illustrated

May/June 2007

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