388. How to Spiral & Ram’s Head Wedging/Kneading Clay 菊練り with Hsin-Chuen Lin 林新春 菊練/揉土全攻略

[@sammi-joreviews1135]

This video has tremendously helped me . When my girls were toddlers, I took a series of pottery classes primarily as refreshers. In addition, I took them to have access to various kiln options. The instructor taught how raptor wedge clay using the ram head method. It caused my pots to shatter due to air bubbles. I ran across a website that recommended the spiral wedging. My wedging improved. Albeit,finding your videos with in-depth info on spiral wedging has made the problems caused by bubbly clay a thing of the past. I do wish you had a video that is ‘up close & personal’ to help me with throwing a deeper pot, including compressing the bottom. I’ve been working on wedging better, pulling up the sides, cleaning the inside as well as the rim compression… yet somehow I can’t quite go deeper before pulling the sides. Also, I’m able to feel my clay center faster & better than ever! Thank you so much for the help & information on the plaster wedging/reclaiming my clay. Most of what I’m throwing now is being sliced in half to see where my weakness(es) reside.

[@hsinchuen]

You are welcome!

[@jesminerickson1741]

I liked when you made the eyes for the ram's head :) all your videos are so informative and helpful thank you so much!

[@hsinchuen]

You are welcome!

[@eungjoolee7032]

Thank you Mr. Lin. This video is so much helpful.

[@hsinchuen]

You are welcome!

[@stefanietam3391]

please stay healthy and safe during these times ! we are super grateful for your videos and your generosity, but want you to prioritize health during these scary times

[@robertcole1098]

Very nice demonstration, I’ve never seen the rams head cut in half and rejoined but it totally makes sense , thank you. Cheers Bob 🇬🇧

[@pooiabeik3042]

You are truly amazing~ During past few years, I've learned a lot from you. I admire you! And I feel really grateful to you. This one is just another marvelous lesson for anyone interested in ceramics+ Thank you so much!

[@elel1036]

Thank you Mr. Lin. I have been watching lots of your videos and they helped me a lot in my learning.

[@ZenTodoDia]

Muito grata pela partilha! Muito didático, o que faz toda a diferença! 🙏

[@PanEtRosa]

oh, great! thank you for the expanded update on this technique.

[@luizamore]

Awesome video! Thanks for the help, still struggling with spiral wedge

[@janicerochford]

Ok. I'm off to practise now!

[@roslyncaudwell7009]

Is there any difference when wedging porcelain clay? I find it stiffens up a lot when wedging, but then is really soft when throwing! Any tips?

[@hsinchuen]

You probably added too much water when throwing.

[@PanEtRosa]

Wait, doesn't cutting and flipping the halves of clay risk introducing more air bubbles? Especially around the edges, even if you're careful about making the halves meet cleanly in the center?

[@hsinchuen]

I don’t think so. You can try it yourself.

[@shaneboesen5545]

No, theres a form of wedging called stack wedging where you repeatedly cut the clay in half and stack it, then hit it against the wedging table. It's a technique I use, because i havent perfected spiral wedging yet

[@sophietakach5683]

When you use your right hand it looks more like what I see when I try to spiral wedge :P I need to practice more...

[@deemdoubleu]

Is this the optimal amount of clay to wedge in one go or do you normally do more? Thanks.

[@hsinchuen]

Depends on how strong you are, people can spiral wedge up to 20Lb at a time. For me, I’d probably wedge 7-8 Lb. If need more clay, I can always stack them up.

[@deemdoubleu]

@@hsinchuen many thanks

[@FFSS60]

Should I spiral wedge clockwise if I throw left handed on the wheel?

[@hsinchuen]

It doesn’t matter.

[@handmadepottery2135]

I throw clockwise but spiral kneed anticlockwise, will I have better pots if I learn to spiral knead the same way as I throw?

[@hsinchuen]

I don’t know about that!

[@davezad]

This question intrigued me so I looked into it. Japanese potters traditionally throw clockwise and wedge anti clockwise like you do. Evidently, the key is to have the trailing arms of your spiral going in the same direction as your throwing style. This is why they throw clockwise. Having the clay platelets oriented with the wheel direction makes it easier to center. That seems to be the sole benefit, though. Even if the spiral is put on the wheel in reverse, coning up and down will act as its own form of wedging and that puts the clay into the right direction. Supposedly you can feel the spiral more when it's reversed as it fights the centering process. In the discussion I was reading, the potter ultimately figured out that when this happens, rather than change how you wedge, you can simply flatten down the pointy part of the gumdrop formed by spiral wedging - make the shape into more of a ball - and put it on the wheel technically upside down. Since all that really matters is spiral direction.

[@handmadepottery2135]

@@davezad Thanks for that, it makes sense.

[@veroniquemaggiorotti625]

THANKS a lot ! Ad last I anderstand ! Oufffff