Saturday, September 13, 2008

Sponge on a stick, Throwing Tool


One of my favorite pots to throw on the potters wheel are narrow neck vases. Any one who makes wheel thrown pottery knows that all the free standing water within the vessel needs to be removed before cutting the pot free from the wheel head. Failure to do so will result in a cracked bottom as the clay absorbs all of that free standing water.

Commercially available sponge on a stick tools (does this have some other name?) are too wide for removing the water from the base of a narrow neck vase and they have the tendency to roll around while the wheel is spinning. I devised a very simple, inexpensive and quick method of making my own sponge on a stick tool that is narrow enough not to damage the neck of my vase when inserting it.

Three simple materials are all that is needed- 1" thick foam found at fabric stores and often sold in 2' X 2' pieces. You will need a strip approximately 2" X 3" X 1" for the making of the tool. Don't despair, the remainder of the foam can be used for throwing sponges, cleaning and as padding for pots. These sponges last for years before giving way. You will also need a 1/4" thick wooden dowel approximately 1 foot in length. And lastly, a thick elastic band like the ones that come with bunches of broccoli at the grocery store.

Simply roll your strip of foam around the dowel (2" thickness, 3" length) leaving 1/2" to 3/4" of the sponge to overhang the end of the dowel so that it will not puncture the base of your pot. Secure in place by wrapping the elastic around the top half of the sponge.

This simple tool only takes minutes to create and pennies to make. Make them as thick or as long as you need them. In the image my larger sponge tool is about 5 years old and still working just fine. The best part is that I can insert it into my narrow neck vases without damaging the neck and it won't roll around inside the pot while the wheel is spinning. Happy tool making.

1 comment:

bptakoma said...

Disposable chopsticks are awesome for this!

I split mine a little at the end and wedge the sponge edge into the split.