[Karen B]

Benzine, on 03 March 2013 - 03:16 PM, said:

Pres, on 03 March 2013 - 08:17 AM, said:

Benzine, on 02 March 2013 - 08:35 PM, said:

"Back to my marine/awning shop and they made them with hems on the long sides with grommets every 12 inches. Bungie cords hooked through the grommets kept the canvas tight and made a great working surface."

Now that's a great idea. I've constantly been trying to find a way to secure my canvases to the tables. I thought about using C-clamps, but those would be in the way. The bungie idea is great, though the canvases I have, don't have grommets. I supposed I could add some???

A simple method is to use picnic table clamps.

Even better. Thank you Sir!

For future reference, some put screws or bolts, or even nails close into the sides of the table to hook the grommets onto. Canvas is then easy on and off.

[neilestrick]

I just double up the canvas and screw right through it with pan head screws. A washer wouldn't hurt.

[salamanderkatie]

Pugaboo, on 24 February 2013 - 04:50 PM, said:

Okay I KNOW this is a total newbie question but.... is canvas just canvas or is there a special type for pottery? I ask because I have seen marine canvas, canvas duck and just plain canvas used to describe the canvas used in people's ceramic studios. I have also read that some use old sheets, jeans, etc. I tried an old sheet much too stretchy to hand roll out clay had horrible time with wrinkles no matter how tight I tried to stretch it. The jeans, well I wear cargos not jeans so have none to sacrifice. I bought a 6x9 foot canvas drop cloth from Home Depot; is this the correct type of canvas? It seems fairly tightly woven and heavy. I plan to cut it down into smaller pieces and somehow attach it to some plywood ware boards. I also plan to set aside a bigger piece to clamp to my butcher block work table so I can hand roll out my clay. I haven't tried it out yet though. I priced canvas on some pottery supply websites and they want way too much but maybe I have to buy this special canvas to get good results hand rolling?

When I had very limited studio space and was working alternately in white & red clays on a regular basis, I used portable boards. I covered 2 ft by 4 ft pieces of 3/4" plywood with heavy cotton duck from the fabric shop, fixing it with a staple gun on the back. I had one exclusively for porcelain, one for red earthenware, and one for the raku clay I used which was black when raw. The plywood stood up well to the washing I did after every use, so dust was not a problem. The boards were also very handy when doing demos in schools, galleries, and other small spaces because I could just throw them in the car with my tools. Have studio will travel!

[weeble]

I'm also doing a great deal of work in a shared space with a clay group, and we use 16" by 24" 1/4 inch (or so) plywood covered with fabric as our work surfaces on what amount to cafeteria tables. The regular painting canvas is great if you can afford it, but I've also seen people use old sheets (too thin, don't do it), burlap (really textury!), muslin (works pretty well if you get the heavy stuff), an old paint drop cloth (a bit thin, but it works), some mystery canvas from wherever which works well, and then on mine I have some cheap old upholstery fabric (probably mattress ticking, but who knows) from the dime store. Its held up for 15 years! Attachment methods vary as much as the fabric of choice, some used glue, others used thumb-tacks, some used staples, and a few used duct-tape (the least successful.) Watch the length on your staples and tacks if you use them, nothing worse than finding out your thumbtacks are sticking through the work surface. I have several boards, different ones for different colored clay. I don't generally scrub, but I do spray them down with water and scrape off any slop on a regular basis. This keeps them very usable, and we have little to no problem with dust. We do have to wipe down the tables after our sessions, a couple rounds with a regular kitchen sponge (well rinsed!) leaves them ready to go for the next group.

[Pres]

weeble, on 16 March 2013 - 11:48 PM, said:

I'm also doing a great deal of work in a shared space with a clay group, and we use 16" by 24" 1/4 inch (or so) plywood covered with fabric as our work surfaces on what amount to cafeteria tables. The regular painting canvas is great if you can afford it, but I've also seen people use old sheets (too thin, don't do it), burlap (really textury!), muslin (works pretty well if you get the heavy stuff), an old paint drop cloth (a bit thin, but it works), some mystery canvas from wherever which works well, and then on mine I have some cheap old upholstery fabric (probably mattress ticking, but who knows) from the dime store. Its held up for 15 years! Attachment methods vary as much as the fabric of choice, some used glue, others used thumb-tacks, some used staples, and a few used duct-tape (the least successful.) Watch the length on your staples and tacks if you use them, nothing worse than finding out your thumbtacks are sticking through the work surface. I have several boards, different ones for different colored clay. I don't generally scrub, but I do spray them down with water and scrape off any slop on a regular basis. This keeps them very usable, and we have little to no problem with dust. We do have to wipe down the tables after our sessions, a couple rounds with a regular kitchen sponge (well rinsed!) leaves them ready to go for the next group.

I used plywood boards for a while, uncovered. To the bottom short edge of these I added a wooden strip to catch on the edge of the table. In this way the board could be used to wedge on, and to roll out slabs or do any handbuilding work.

[Mart]

Fabric, plywood, gromets, clamps ... huh, way too complicated All you really need is a plain old chipboard (https://www.google.comsearch?q=chipboard) . The one that is not covered or soaked with water resistant stuff. About 25 mm (1") is a good thickness.
Cut to size that fits your table and when not needed, store where ever you can. You can "wash" it clean with wet sponge.