Rolling along

There are some ceramic processes that require flat sheets of clay: tile-making, certain press-molds, slab building. There's lots of ways to produce flat clay. You can cut slabs from a block of clay with wire and a couple strips of plywood. You can throw it against the tabletop at the correct angle and stretch out your slabs. You can even commandeer your grandma's rolling pin, if you promise to get it really clean afterward.

This is a slab roller. It's a sort of mechanized rolling pin for producing flat sheets--slabs--of clay. Actually, it's two rolling pins, rigged with crank (not seen, off the right edge), gear and chain to counter-rotate and pull the clay--sandwiched between sheets of canvas, to prevent sticking--through the rollers and out onto the table on the other side. There's a set screw on each end of the top roller, to adjust the thickness of the slab to be rolled. If you're rolling from very thick to very thin, you'll do it in steps, rolling a slab, lowering the top roller, running it through again. Anyone who's made their own pasta will recognize the procedure. You'll also need to periodically rotate, flip or change the canvas, as it'll start to stick to the clay if it gets too wet.

I used to do a lot of slab-built sculpture, for which the slab-roller was hugely helpful. Lately, I use it mostly for oval platter bottoms and tile projects, though I still hope to get back into sculpting sometime this winter.

Flat stuff

I'm starting to work on one of my winter projects, a series of tiles for a kitchen remodel, eighteen in all, in a couple of sizes. Hand-painted, of course. It's times like this I'm really glad I bought that surplus slab roller from the UO Craft Center back in 1998.

Tonight I'm starting on the first set, six 4x6" tiles for a backsplash. First, I roll the slab to the proper thickness--about a quarter inch--with my slab roller. I lay a sheet of latch hook rug mesh between the slab and canvas and roll it again. (This gives a texture to the back side that will help grip the tile adhesive on installation.)

I then flip the slab over and smooth the top surface with a rubber squeegee (thank you, Goodwill) and silicone rib. I cut out the tile with my punch cutter, transfer it to a piece of drywall, then eject it with the built-in spring-loaded piston.

Keep cutting tile until I run out of slab, then wedge up the scraps and roll again. Finished tiles are stacked between sheets of drywall scrap; slow, even drying will keep the tiles flat. I can fit two tiles on each piece of drywall. Edges are sealed with duct tape to keep crumbs of plaster out of my clay.

Punch with care

I used to lay out and cut tiles with a ruler and square, or a foam-core template; then I got a commission for a full kitchen backsplash/surround, 21 linear feet of 4x6" tiles. I priced a few commercial tile cutters, but decided it would be cheaper by far to make my own.

This is my punch cutter. It's made from sheet brass, folded and screwed to a base plate of 1" sub-flooring. There's a spring-loaded plunger made of metal conduit that presses a piece of half-inch plywood inside the die against the clay, popping the finished tile out onto a square of drywall.