| Pottery can be shaped by a range techniques, | | | | term specific to flatware such as plates whilst a |
| including: | | | | similar technique, jolleying, refers to the production |
| Handwork can be considered both the most | | | | of holloware like cups. These techniques have |
| primitive and the most individualized techniques, | | | | been in use since at least the 18th century Partial |
| where pieces are constructed from hand-rolled | | | | automation of the jiggering and jolleying processes |
| coils, slabs, ropes, and balls of clay body, often | | | | have long been used to increased production |
| joined with a slurry of clay body, known as slip. | | | | rates and de-skill the operation |
| No two pieces of handwork will be exactly the | | | | Roller-head Machine A machine for the shaping of |
| same, so it is not suitable for making precisely | | | | pottery flatware on a rotating mould, as in a |
| matched sets of items such as dinnerware. Doing | | | | jigger, but with a rotary shaping tool instead of a |
| handwork enables the potters to use their | | | | fixed profile. The rotary tool is in the form of a |
| imagination to create one-of-a-kind works of art. | | | | shallow cone of the same diameter as the ware |
| These methods are often referred to as | | | | and shaped to produce the back of the article |
| "handbuilding". | | | | being made. The ware is completely shaped, by |
| Classic potter's wheel in Erfurt, Germany.The | | | | relatively unskilled labour, in one operation at a |
| potter's wheel. A ball of clay body is placed in the | | | | rate depending on the size of the ware of about |
| center of a turntable, called the wheel head, which | | | | 12 pieces per minute. The machine, developed |
| is turned either using foot power (a kick wheel or | | | | from earlier attempts to improve on the use of a |
| treadle wheel) or a variable speed electric motor. | | | | fixed tool, was patented by T. G. Green & Co. |
| Oftentimes, a bat (a disk of plastic, wood, or | | | | and H. J. Smith (Brit. Pat., 621 712, 14/4/49) with |
| plaster) is affixed to the wheel head, and the ball | | | | subsequent improvements by J. A. Johnson (Brit. |
| of clay body is attached to the bat rather than | | | | Pat., 765 097, 2/1/57; 895 988, 9/5/62). It is now |
| the wheel head so that the finished piece can be | | | | widely used across the world |
| removed easily without distorting the piece. The | | | | Ram Pressing A process for the plastic shaping of |
| wheel is made to revolve rapidly while the body is | | | | tableware and sanitaryware by pressing a bat of |
| pressed, squeezed, and pulled gently into shape. | | | | the prepared body between two porous plates or |
| The process of pressuring the body into a | | | | mould units; after the pressing operation, air is |
| rotational symmetry, so that it does not move | | | | blown through the porous mould parts to release |
| from side to side as the wheel head rotates is | | | | the shaped ware. Although the process was |
| referred to as "centering" the body — a | | | | patented in 1952 by Ram Incorporated, US Pats, |
| most important skill to master before the next | | | | 2 584 109 & 10, the term is often used for |
| steps, "throwing" (forming and raising the walls of | | | | similar type shaping processes |
| the piece) and "trimming" or "turning" (removing | | | | Granulate pressing This involves the shaping of |
| excess clay to refine the shape or create a | | | | ware by compressing semi-dry and granulated |
| bottom or foot can be taken. | | | | body in a die, one side of which is a solid surface |
| Potter's wheels can be used for mass production, | | | | and the other a flexible membrane through which |
| although often it is employed to make individual | | | | fluid pressure, of up to 100 MN.m-2, is transferred. |
| pieces. Wheel work takes a lot of technical ability, | | | | The granulate is produced by spray drying to give |
| but a skilled potter can produce many virtually | | | | a fine and free flowing material with a low |
| identical plates, vases, or bowls in a day. Because | | | | moisture content of around 5-6%. Also known as |
| of its nature, wheel work can only be used to | | | | dust pressing the technique is widely used in |
| initially create items with radial symmetry on a | | | | manufacture of wall and floor tiles, and |
| vertical axis. These pieces can then be altered by | | | | increasingly of plates |
| impressing, bulging, carving, fluting, faceting, | | | | Turning is similar to that used for the shaping of |
| incising, and other methods to make them more | | | | metal and wood articles. A blank of clay body, |
| visually interesting. Often, thrown pieces are | | | | with low water content in a condition known as |
| further modified by having handles, lids, feet, | | | | leatherhard, is mounted on a lathe whilst a cutting |
| spouts, and other functional aspects added using | | | | tool follows a profile to removes excess material |
| the techniques of handworking. Pottery that is | | | | and hence leave a shaped article |
| thrown on the wheel is often finished in a process | | | | Slipcasting is a technique often used for |
| known as trimming. | | | | mass-production, and ideally suits shapes that can |
| Jiggering & jolleying These can be seen to be an | | | | not be made by other methods. Liquid clay body |
| extension of using a Potters wheel, and in | | | | slip is poured into plaster moulds, the permeability |
| comparison allow increased speed and improved | | | | of the mould drawing water from the slip to leave |
| repeatability. Jiggering is the technique where a | | | | a layer the clay body of the internal shape of the |
| shaped tool is slowly brought down onto plastic | | | | mould. This method is almost universally used for |
| clay body that has been placed on top of a | | | | sanitaryware, toilets and wash basins, as well |
| rotating plaster mould. The jigger tool shapes one | | | | being widely used for smaller pieces such as |
| face whilst the mould the other. Jiggering is the | | | | figurines which have many intricate details. |