Thursday, July 9, 2009

Reclaiming clay using a Pugmill

As some of you know I invested in a Peter Pugmill this year in April. I had made a short entry about it then.

Everyday I have been realizing the benefits of having the pugmill. It had really changed my work in such a short while. Mostly because I don't hesitate from trying anything new. That leads to new and hopefully improved work. :)

It has also become a great tool for getting the perfect consistency of clay that I need. Since I do everything like throwing on the wheel, extruding, slab construction, handbuilding etc... It is better to have the clay at the right consistency for the different construction techniques. The pugmill is a great tool for that.

The one function that amazed me the most was reusing all my scrap unfired clay. I collect my small chunks of clay and let them get bone dry. I also collect the slip when I throw on the wheel. I made the following video showing the process involved. I have shortened the video, but you will get the general idea.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Charan: Wow. Great work! We recently purchased a VPM-9 as well and are trying to learn how to use it. My husband commented that your extrusions appear smooth. Ours are rough (they remind me of the worms of Arakis), except when we have the extruder for making cylinders on it. Obviously, the stainless is burnishing at that point. We were wondering what kind of clay you use, or if there is some other technique that makes your extrusions so smooth. Many Thanks, marshalynn3@earthlink(dot)net

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