Rolling along
Dec. 15th, 2015 10:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
offcntrThere 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.
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.