Ceramic - Pottery Dictionary

by Susan Mussi

COILING (4) Clay with a slab roller

ca: XURROS (4) Argila amb planxes fetes amb laminadora.

es: CHURROS (4) Arcilla con planchas hechas con laminadora.

To make a coil you need a slab roller; set it to the height you want for the thickness of the coils you are going to make and the two sheets of canvas you have to use with this machine.
a) Prepare the clay by making it into a block, lay it between two sheets of canvas, bang it down slightly with your fists and turn it through the slab roller.
b) Take off the canvas that is on top and with a coiling tool, starting at the far end pull it through the clay, in a straight line, towards you.
c) Pick up the far end of the coil and lift it up, lay it down on one side and continue coiling.
d) If you want a coil flat on one side, do the same except the clay when rolled out must be half the circumference of the coil tool being used.
Note: Coiling tools can be bought or you can make them to the sizes you need. The photo shows a handmade one, the top is a circle that is the size of the cone, the twisted part is the neck and the bottom the handle.
Read more about: Coiling (2) Ways of using clay coils.

This is the last section, to go to the firts; Coiling (1) Tools for cutting coils.