es: CUÑA (1)
Wad is a small piece of refractory clay for sealing and balancing furniture when packing a kiln. It does not fuse into the furniture and can be pulled off when unpacking the kiln after firing.
Note: Wad is the same as wedge but a wedge is fired and in the Spanish they both have the same name cuña.
es: CUÑA (2)
Wad applies to the sections of clay that have been passed through a wad box. The clay gose through a tapered nozzle or a die to form a wad, snake or coil. These are used to form plates and pots by coiling, handles and seal parts that have to be connected like corners of a box and saggars.
a) Handle. b) Clay. c) Wad..
See: Extruder / Die
es: CUBUBETA DE LAVADO Y JARRO
Wash basin and pitcher: In the past when houses and hotels did not have running water many bedrooms had this type of washing facilities, a pitcher full of water and a basin to put the water in.
es: DESPERDICIO
Waster: is a piece of pottery that has been damaged during the process of making it and is abandoned as waste.
Water absorption: is the amount of water that can be absorbed by ceramic materials that are porous and is calculated as a percentage of the dry material in unfired and fired work.
These are a few suggestion son how to use wateer when decorating:
1) Have a large jar with a wide neck for washing your brushes. Keep changing your water as a clean brush helps to keep the paint clean.
2) Have a bottle of water with a narrow neck, so you never put your dirty brushes in it and it is kept clean and can be added to the colors, should they dry or become too thick.
3) If you want to be very economical, keep the dirty water and let it settle so the paint falls to the bottom of the jar, then tip off the water and keep the paint that has collected at the bottom. When you have a good amount of this, mix it all together. Fire some on a small test piece to be able to see the end result, and then add other colors to make into one that can be used.
es: CERA
Wax: It is also called beeswax, a solid, yellowish, nonglycerine substance allied to fats and oils, secreted by bees, plastic when warm and melting at about 145ºF, variously employed on making candles, models, casts, ointments, etc., and used by bees in constructing their honeycomb. From: Webster’s Dictionary.
Note: They forgot to mention it is also used in ceramics for wax resist decorating.
Wax resist is to apply warm melted wax to a ceramic surface, which when cold and covered with a slip or glaze will prevent them from adhering to these parts.
Wax is applied to pottery surfaces, it is then covered with liquid pigments, slips and glazes which when fired cannot adhere to these parts which burn away. It can be laid on to leather-hard clay, bisque, a glaze-base or color. The wax is melted down and applied with free brush strokes, sponges, dripping or shacking and many other methods of creating textures. More layers of glazes and wax can be added.
Method of working
1) Wax pencils can be bought or you can use a candle.
2) Prepare the wax so it is a liquid and can be used freely with a brush.
3) If working on leather hard clay, with a free hand and brush let the wax run off it making a design.
4) Apply the color using a spray, dipping, brushing or pouring.
5) When fired, the wax repels the color.
es: CUNA
Wedge: is a piece of hard material usually in the shape of a three dimensional triangle in which the two principal sides meet at a sharp angle. They are forced between two sections to keep them from moving. The most common one is made of wood and put between the floor and the bottom of a door to keep it open. In ceramics they can be made to the shapes and sizes required and fired.
es: ACUÑAR
Wedging is a way of preparing clay. Work with a large lump of clay, throw it down onto the work table and push it down to form a long, thick oblong block. Cut it through the center, separate the two halves, fold each half, then turn one 90º and ram it on top of the other. Repeat this until the clay is thoroughly mixed and has the right plasticity to work with. This is done to disperse the water uniformly and to remove air.
See: Clay (2) Wedging
es: AMASADO - Tablas
Wedging boards: are large, rectangular wooden boards used to prepare clay. You should have two of the same size because if the clay is very damp, the one that is dry can be put on top of the clay, they are then turned, like a sandwich and the top damp one taken off, this quickens the drying process. The boards are also useful for many other things. Have the wood cut to the sizes you need, about one 100 × 80cm is reasonable.
Weighing machines; is an instrument for measuring for determining the weight or mass of an object. There are many different types, methods, names and designs for both industrial and everyday use and they vary in relation to the quantity of what has to be weighed. In this dictionary there are three sections under the following headings:
Balance Scales compares the unknown weight to a standard weight using a horizontal lever.
Bean Scales are to weigh small quantities, from 0.01 grams to about 10 grams´
Spring Scale measures weight by the distance a spring deflects under its load.
es: PESAS
Weigths are metals which are usually made in two shapes, round flat disks and round vertical columns. The flat ones are designed so size-wise they fit one on top of the other and the vertical ones in blocks of wood made to hold each piece separately. Both are made so you can see if any piece is missing.
es: TORNO (a)
A wheel is a circular device that is capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement of another object which it carries by rotating. It applies to circular objects that rotate or turn vertically or horizontally, such as a ship’s wheel, steering wheel, flywheel and potter’s wheels.
es: TORNO (b)
A wheel in pottery is an instrument or machine used for shaping and decorating round ceramic wares. There are three types, classified by the kind of energy used to turn them on; hand, foot and electricity It is believed the wheel evolved from the coil technique, which consists of clay rolled into long, solid, narrow tubes that are formed into circles and placed one on top of another, gradually getting bigger to form the walls of a bowl. It is then pinched and beaten, to thin and integrate the tubes and form the shape of a vessel, this is known as coiling. See: Coiling – Coil Building
To begin with, the clay was placed on mats or large pieces of wood to work more conveniently, as this allowed the potter to turn the wood, to turn the vessel, rather than walk around it when adding rolls of clay and building up the shape. It is believed this was the earliest form of the potter’s wheel. The next step was the invention of rotating the wheel and it is thought this evaluated from cart wheels, two wheels with and axel turned vertically and made to the portions needed for pottery. This gradually evolved and the bottom wheel became the foot, the axel the leg with the wheel on top.
Then came the great invention of the flywheel which allowed the wheel to be kept rotating by kicking it with your foot, leaving both hands free for manipulating the clay and the last was the use of electricity. The force which is connected to the flywheel to turn the wheel and the speed of the wheel turning is controlled by the pressure of your foot.
Wheels are flat disks that revolve horizontally on a pivot; they are made with circular indented lines to help center the clay and are known as wheel heads.
Link to Wheels
Hand wheels are flat disks that revolve horizontally, are turned by hand and are used for decorating plates, jars, banding and sculpture. The wheel head and leg are joined, so to turn it you turn the leg, which pivots on the foot. This allows you to turn what you are decorating so you can work on all sides of the object without having to move. They can be brought in many heights and sizes for sitting and standing and are made with circular indented lines to help center the clay and this part is known as wheel head.
a) Whell head. b) Centering lines. c) Leg. d) Foot.
Note: Hand wheels are also known as banding wheels.
es: TORNO (d) Pie y Eléctrica.
The wheel went through two great changes. The first was the invention of the flywheel, which allows the wheel to be kept rotating by pressing it with your foot, leaving both hands free for manipulating the clay. The second came later, defining the use of electricity as the force to turn the wheel. The speed can be controlled mechanically or by pressure of your foot.
They are both used to create round objects in soft clay, bowls, jars, plates and lids. A ball of clay is thrown onto the center of the wheel, then the movement of the wheel is started and as it rotates, by using pressure from both hands, the clay is centered and then the shape required is formed.
The wheels are usually in a metal with a plastic basin or have a wall to save all of the thrown off clay and the basin has a drain that goes into a bucket so the clay can be used again. There are many styles of wheels and can be with the footrest or seat separate or joined to the wheel. The seats are made to use standing or with a stool or chair to sit on.
With a foot wheel, the speed of it going round is controlled by the movement of the leg and one that is electric has a switch that can grade the speed and also a footrest that controls it.
Foot wheels; by pressing with your foot the footrest you turn the wheel and control its speed, the speed is related to the pressure.
Electric wheel; the use of the motor-driven wheel has become common. They are designed so that the speed of the wheel turning can be set and also have a footrest to control it.
Note: Small electric wheel to use for banding have been made but I have never been able to find one!
See: Coiling – Coil Building
es: TORNO - Cabeza
Wheel head is part of a potter’s wheel, the flat disk that revolves horizontally on a pivot and is made with circular indented lines to help to center the clay.
Note: Sometimes a bat is called a wheel-head. A bat is an accessory added to the wheel to make the wheel-head bigger, this allows what is being made to be lifted and moved, like a traThe following three sections explain the Wheel Bat..
ca: DISCOS DE FUSTA PER A TORNEJAR
es: DISCOS DE MADERA PARA TORNEAR
Click on the title to see more images
Hand-made wheel bats may be of different materials; wood, clay, bisque and the ones that are easiest, cheapest and last longer are made with conglomerated wood. When using them with a wheel, clay is put onto the wheel head and on one side of the bat, they are then pressed together which holds the bat in place while turning.
For turning, round ones are needed but when using the hand wheel to construct other objects they can be any shape you want. The wood should be 2 cm thick and after being used must be washed on both side and kept standing vertically; this is stop warping.
I have not found them in shops, so get a nice carpenter to cut them for you. The first two photos show bats at different angles, from above and from the side and the last one how they are kept.
Bats are made of different shape which are not used on the wheel.
ca: DISC - Potàtil per a tornejar
es: DISCO - potátil para tornear
Bat: It is a disk which can be attached to a potter’s wheel; there are many types industrially made or you can make them yourself. Plates and bowls are put on top of a bat and shaped and when finished they are moved together. The bat serves as a tray to lift the work up directly from the wheel head so as not to distort it. They are left on the bat until they are dry enough to move; as the clay shrinks it separates from the bat otherwise it has to be cut with a wire cutter.
They are made with different sizes and products; clay, plaster, wood, plastic or bisque. Usually round, some are made with a wall round the bottom edge; this allows the bat to fit exactly on top of a wheel and most of them are drilled with holes for bat pins.
a) Bat with a jar and holes for bat pins. b) Bat with bat pins and holes for screws. c) Wheel head with holes for screws, d) Screw
Attaching a bat, that has not got holes, onto the wheel: A ball of clay is centred and as the wheel turns, you push it with your fingers over the wheel head, leaving a thin lair of clay with slightly indented circles, which will help the bat to adhere. The bottom part of the bat is then dampened, laid on top and pushed tightly together, which allows you to start the process of throwing.
Bat pins: are small protruding polls attached to the bat which slips into the holes of a bat that is put on top to hold it place.
Wheel thrown implies that the work has been made using a wheel.
Metal wire is a slender, long or circular that can be rigid or flexible and is manufactured in different diameters.
es: MADERA
Wood: Trees cut down to use for many purposes, furniture, architectural structures and many other purposes. In the past it was the usual product to burn for heating houses and kilns.
It is called firewood as it was used for centuries for firing ceramics. This method is called wood-firing and it is still used today and has become a specialty.
Warping is the deformation of a shape. If applies to many products, wood, clay, bisque, etc. In ceramics it can have many different causes and take place during many stages: bad wedging, different consistencies in the clay, drying unevenly, over firing and many more.