| Pottery Batts or bats (either spelling is | | | | |
| acceptable) are round covers that go over the | | | | 4. Keeping the wire flush to the bat's |
| head of a potter's wheel when throwing a pot | | | | surface and as taut as possible; bring the |
| or vase. It protects the wheelhead from | | | | wire toward you in one slow, continuous |
| getting gummed up with clay and can be | | | | motion. |
| removed, vase and all to allow the vase time | | | | |
| to dry elsewhere should another project | | | | 5. Stop the wheel and carefully remove the |
| require the immediate use of the wheel. | | | | bat from the wheel head. The pot is probably |
| Originally these bats where made of wood or | | | | still too wet to touch, but it has been cut |
| plaster and it can be very difficult to | | | | from the bat. The suction between the two has |
| remove a dried vase or pot from one without | | | | been broken and you need not worry of them |
| damaging the unfired clay. Here are | | | | reattaching. Place the bat with the pot |
| step-by-step instructions on how to safely | | | | somewhere to dry. |
| remove a pot or vase from a bat. | | | | |
| | | | 6. When the pot is hard as leather |
| 1. Begin with the bat still firmly attached | | | | (Approximately one to three days) gently lift |
| to the potter's wheel and the pot attached to | | | | it from the bat and store it to dry |
| the bat. The pot should still be slightly | | | | sufficiently before it's fired. |
| wet, it's best to cut them from the bat | | | | |
| immediately after you finish shaping them. | | | | Tips- New bats made from flexible silicone or |
| | | | rubbers exist now which can make this task |
| 2. Get a good grip on the wire; wrap the ends | | | | much easier. Generically they're called |
| around your hands if it helps. Stretch your | | | | Plasti-bats. With one of them you needn't cut |
| wire as taught as possible across the far end | | | | the pot from the bat. Simply wait until the |
| of the bat. The pot should be between you and | | | | pot has dried a bit and peel the bat right |
| the wire. | | | | off. |
| | | | |
| 3. Start the potter's wheel rotating very | | | | Warning- Wait too long to cut your pot free |
| slowly. | | | | from the bat and it will likely crumble. |