View Larger Image The Trimming Disc, shown above in use, works like a miniature lazy Susan, the top part rotating while the bottom part stays put.

April 9, 2007

Accessorizing Your Wheel With Trimming Systems

by Frank James Fisher | Read Comments (7)

 

Trimming the bases of pots is another opportunity to bring unity and beauty to your artwork. But different shapes and sizes of work create challenges, and apparently I wasn’t the only potter who longed for an easier process. Innovations have shown up in the studio, such as the Giffin Grip®, the no-skid Grabber Pad® and the latest arrival, the Trimming Disc. If you throw a lot of large bowls and platters, pots with delicate necks, lids, etc., then you should evaluate the trimming accessories described here—a select group of products, each with a range of applications. While quality tools have reputations, do your homework and solicit recommendations from instructors, peers, the ClayArt archives, and manufacturers’ websites. And, of course, don’t be afraid to ask questions.

The Trimming Disc

For many years, potters placed a jar lid on the bottom of their pots while trimming. This trick made it possible to hold work down with a finger or two, eliminating the need for clay wads to secure the work to the wheelhead. Robert Piepenburg has improved on this technique with his Trimming Disc, a device that works like a small lazy Susan. The small ball bearings in the disk provide a smooth no-friction spin as your fingers press down on the tool, securing the pot without using clay wads. This tool is useful for large or small platters and bowls, as well as steadying tall forms. One advantage of the Trimming Disc is its versatility. It works efficiently as a stand-alone trimming method and also as a useful accessory with the Grabber Pad and the Giffin Grip.

The Giffin Grip

 

The Giffin Grip, developed by Brian Giffin in the 1980s, is essentially a trimming chuck. The Giffin Grip attaches directly to wheel heads of varying diameters, and includes three sturdy brackets that grip the wheel head with a tight friction fit. The Giffin Grip centers and holds leather-hard clay in a three-pronged vice with three constricting hands mounted on rods

on rods of varying length. The main attribute of this tool is the way it automatically centers your work. Place the inverted pot near the center, turn the upper platen and the three grips or arms pull the pot into the exact center. Give the platen a quick tug and the pot is secured. There are a variety of fixtures included to secure plates, bowls and even tall vases to the platen. With a Giffin Grip, a narrow-necked bottle can be suspended upside down for trimming the base, something that can otherwise only be done with a clay chuck. When trimming jar lids, I use the Trimming Disc in combination with the Giffin Grip (see above).

The Grabber Pad

The Grabber Pad is one of those simple, but great ideas as it eliminates the need to secure your pot to the wheel head with clay wads. It is made of a nonskid material that’s adhered to a bat that fits on a wheel head equipped with standard bat pins. You secure it to your wheel head using the pins as you would secure any other bat. The Grabber Pad’s non-skid material has a tacky, thin foam feel to it. It’s ideal for low-profile forms such as bowls and platters. Once the pot is centered, it’s not going to slide. The tacky surface overcomes the pull of centrifugal force, though I still like to keep a hand on the bottom of the pot. Since I use my hand as a steadying point for my trim tool to work against, Piepenburg’s Trimming Disc also works well with the Grabber Pad. One aspect of the Grabber Pad that I like is that I control the final centering of my pot. If I have a bowl with an off-center base, I can center the bowl by eye rather than by the outer diameter of the rim. It gives me flexibility to experiment with asymmetrical rims. The Grabber Pad used to come with concentric grooves in the pad’s surface to help you find true center easier, but you can add these circles with a Sharpie permanent black marker.

Oversize Trimming Bat

Sometimes you just want to throw big, but trimming large platters and bowls requires special equipment. To solve this problem, purchase a 24-inch diameter laminate-covered particle board disk from a lumber yard, cabinet shop or home center (call first). Cut two 12-inch square pieces of ¾-inch plywood and screw them to the bottom center of the disk. (Note: I have a Shimpo wheel and I needed two square pieces to clear the splash pan. Measure the depth of your splash pan before adding spacers.) After finding exact center, drill two matching holes 10 inches on center to accept bat pins. After assembling the parts, brush on two coats of exterior primer, followed by several coats of marine paint, which is formulated to resist water and the damage it can inflict on wood.

Final Thoughts

I have found this group of trimming accessories to be capable of handling every clay vessel I have created. I’m sure there may be forms in my future that will challenge this system, but the flexibility this combination of tools provides should meet that challenge. 

Frank James Fisher has been a potter for more than 25 years. For more product information, contact www.giffingrip.com (Giffin Grip), www.axner.com (Grabber Pad) and email peeblepress@gmail.com (Trimming Disc).