hy make
your own tools? The most obvious reason would have to be the huge cost
saving. But there is also the possibility of customizing tools to your own specifiic
needs, and also the joy of not only making ceramic work, but making it with
your own tools too. This may seem an odd idea to some, who in this time and
age are used to buying everything from a shop. This was not always so, and today
there are still many potters, who insist on digging their own clay.
In some cases pure necessity will dictate the making of your own tools. Such was the case with Welsh born Harry Davis (1910-1986), a potter who worked for over sixty years in remote areas such as West Africa, Praguay, Argentine, Peru, as well as England and New Zealand. During that time, Harry Davis taught himself incredible skills of self-sufficiency in finding and processing his own materials and how to make his own machines required for the making of pottery. In most cases this work is done by hand, without the aid of lathes and other machines.
Davis' book The Potter's Alternative is the result of those many years of work in remote areas. The book is a veritable treasure trove for those wishing to learn how to make their own tools or machines for use in pottey, ceramics or sculpture.
The first part of the book deals with clay materials and machines used for processing clays, such as ball mills, pug mills and blungers. There are a number of different methods described for making your own mills, including making a de-airing pug mill from scratch, without any prior knowledge or technical ability. Many of the materials required can be found at scrap metal salesyards. Each chapter lists materials and plans for building the particular machine described.
The next section deals with how to make your own refractory kiln furniture, including saggers, props, firebricks and kiln shelves. There is even an explanation of how to fire shelves in the raw state with a 'payload'. The book then goes on to describe methods of contructing: a jigger and jolley; kick-wheels; power-driven wheels; presses (e.g. for pressing tiles); hydrometers (for checking glaze density); kilns (two large kilns are desribed in detail).
The second half of the book is of a more technical nature and describes the tools required for making the above machines. This includes drill bits, vices, files, hacksaws, etc. There is a discussion of metals and how to cut, shape and weld them. There are also chapters on how to contruct simple but effective hand machines used in constructing other machines - a beam drill press, lathes and pulleys.
While this may seem like a technical book, it has been written by a potter for potters and for making pottery. In Harry Davis own words "in spite of the welter of technical drawings and information, the book is really about making pots."
-- Please note that unfortunately this book is out of print. Second-hand copies may be found through Amazon.com's book search feature. Scans of the book's Contents pages may be accessed here.
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