Help! I can't center

[@ウワツラジジイ]

Hi, Timsee. I'm Hitoshi, a Japanese. I've shouted "Help! I can't center " for four months. Your video is the most exciting and useful. Thank you for helping me.

[@spaceforthesoul6286]

How is it going?

[@deenanthekemoni9821]

You need to re title this video: nearly 100 super awesome tips for beginners in less than 10 minutes. Nearly every single thing you say is useful, thanks Tim.

[@MichealWeinfurtner]

I was given a five days in a class to learn how to make a simple pot in pottery (one of the days was used for wedging.) I was given an introductory CD on how to make a pot, and no further guidance. I had all of the issues you showed here, yet my instructor never had any advice on how to fix it. You have taught me so much more in just 7 minutes. Thank you!

[@lolaa5645]

Honestly, I believe when a teacher can't offer enough guidance to help you grasp a task, it means they aren't confident enough with it themselves. Your teacher, and mine just don't feel confident enough about the wheel to teach it properly. I have learned more in the first few minutes of this video than in my two hour class this week!! That I frickin paid heaps for!! Hahaha And yeah, thanks video maker:)!

[@Cate7451]

gg lax I had to deal with that too. Definitely try to get a different teacher, a refund, file a complaint. Some people just want the money. You have to have done a lot of pottery before you can teach it. Sad.

[@triciac1019]

You should get your money back. You should easily have gotten that help if they are experienced. This is a great video.

[@KatThePuppy]

beginners will try to put it back on when no one is looking - exactly what I do in class haha

[@nightmaregalxywolf634]

KatThePuppy He puts to much water and the drops to on the wheel so it's slipping xD

[@jhalsteadable]

eunice queliza did you watch the video? It's a how-to-avoid these issues.

[@princepss8573]

& beginner's will freak out about all the clay on the wheel & wipe it off as well as wipe off or throw away the clay

[@marixcx]

KatThePuppy I do that 💀

[@TerriMcCaul]

This is the best instruction video series I've ever seen on pottery on the wheel. I have taken ceramics for three years and have learned so much from the "Help!" series because I get to see all of the mistakes I've made and how to correct them! Thanks so much for making me a much better student and less afraid to experiment.

[@boysandcars]

i started my wheel practice recently and your videos are very helpful. i train my skills every day for an hour or so and then in the evening watch your videos again and i'm like "aha! that's where i was doing it wrong!" and then try again the other day and my throwing goes better. now my percantage of successful tries increased from zero to 60%. thank you TimSee! keep doing what you're doing. with love, Inna

[@sarahw.4736]

SO HELPFUL. I was having good beginner's luck with centering until this week, when I kept getting "volcanoes"...it was a total mystery to me. Thanks for explaining! I'm having trouble keeping my right hand down by the wheel as the left hand cones down....have to keep working on that.

[@GardnSavvy]

I just learned more in that 7 min video than I did in a whole year with a pottery teacher. Mind you, it was more focused on hand building, but no matter how much I asked to learn the wheel, and was allowed to try, there was zero useful information. I was told centering just gets learned. And yet - 7 mins - I have a clear idea now. THANK YOU! :D

[@NicoleMonstah]

+Savannah Rozema soo lucky :o I really wanna do hand building but my teacher is making us on the wheel because its harder

[@gunjanluthra7815]

same!!!

[@davidv.3856]

Kneecoal we do both in our school and have the option if we want to do handbuilding or wheel because some people prefer the the wheel more

[@Cate7451]

Savannah Rozema nothing just gets learned. Sure practice is necessary but a demo is needed.

[@glondacourtney9816]

I completely agree his videos are by far the best

[@mightythor4927]

This is still one of the best videos I have seen. Whenever I start having trouble with my wheel, I come back to this video, reaffirm my foundation and that usually solves or helps me diagnose what I am doing wrong.

[@alyssaruberto7064]

Thank you! This video goes over a variety of common problems with centering and attacks them one by one. This is better than most centering tutorials because usually they just go, "hey, do this, and be stable and stuff." Very good, thanks.

[@craffte]

you. are awesome. If I sin too much in this life, Satan is gonna put me in front of a wheel and make me center. for eternity. this helped so much.

[@Mariede425]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU - you are DA BEST teacher EVER!!! Your videos are the MOST iinformative of all. I cant say enough of how much I've learned from you, your description of what moves to do and NOT do, etc...I''ve never finished watching your videos without a smile! Thank you again and welcome back! and (as also with me) whatever issues you were facing, may you have learned something or forgotten something from them. GB

[@katieabrams6853]

Ohhh Tim, Beginner wheeler here, taking lessons from a very good artist and production potter, Walked into this about 1 1/2 months ago, already bought a wheel to have at home, I am soooo Hooked on Clay! Challenging yet relaxing, well it will be when I start breathing while I'm pulling up LOL ... You speak my language, Awesome beginner teacher!!!!! THANK YOU FOR THESE VIDEOS!!!!!! many Hugs Katie OH PS: One way I've found to get closer to center, (yeah this is for total I can't see center'ers like me) Before I whack the clay down, I set it dead center and kinda push it enough so that it makes a little mark showing where the clay is sitting, THEN and only then can I whack it close to center.... and for your entertainment the First teacher I had told me you have to THROW the clay on the wheel... soooo beginner brain, literally I stood up and from ohhh 3 ft or so THREW the ball of clay at the wheel.... ya know letting go of the ball, dang thing never hit center LOL Some of us ahemm, me, take things wayyyy to literally ....

[@davidmitchell4792]

I am a first year art teacher in a small school. They haven't had a ceramics program in years. Even though I took ceramics in college it has been years since I have been on the wheel. I mainly wanted to say that your videos are more than just a refresher, they are inspirational. I hope to inspire my H.S. students like you have inspired me. Your videos are so greatly appreciated!

[@thebackwardpointinggodwit8080]

Thank you. I was dealing with ramps, volcanoes and mushrooms today and wondering how to fix them, or if they even mattered. You are the only KZbinr I’ve seen who really deals with these faults.

[@jacquipullen843]

I am just starting out on the road to pottery and find these vids or films a great help, here in sussex I have only found one course on pottery. a one day course in the whole of the county through the council. So I am trying to teach myself instead.

[@MsSkyEmpress]

Thank you thank you thank you. I learnt to centre on a standing wheel and the technique was just not transferable to a sitting wheel. After watching your technique and after many attempts I have now thrown 6 (you count them) 6 cylinders. I can't wait to get back to the studio again.

[@multipletanksyndrome]

I just got home from my first time using a wheel since I was a kid. I watched a couple of your videos about centering before I went, and I was centering like a pro, right from the get go. At least I thought so. I didn't keep anything, like you said throw it till it breaks. I did that maybe half a dozen times. Next time, maybe I'll have a keeper. Fingers crossed. Thanks for the great lessons.

[@timseepots]

Adam Brabant glad it helped! Thanks for taking the time to thank me.

[@multipletanksyndrome]

@@timseepots I ran into several of the issues you talked about in this, and your other one. Your video saved me a lot of frustration I saw other people experiencing. I think my issue with throwing, is not keeping my elbow in my hip, and trying to use my whole hand, not just a couple fingers.

[@ELEKTRIKELLENA]

10 years later and this video continues to help people :) thank you for this!

[@tiffannyyyy]

Haha your reactions mirrored mine when I screwed up trying to center for the first time. I wish it was as easy to do as it is easy to watch...

[@waterdeer_workshop]

This....this how I learned to center. I do every technique in this video and now i can small cylinders and bowls in a heart beat all because I learned how to center

[@3DJapan]

2:10 In school i was taught to push from one direction, wedging my elbows into my stomach or hips to push with my whole torso. I never had it slip off.

[@timseepots]

Then ok

[@timseepots]

See if you had the issue of your clay sliding off that would be the fix.

[@deborahpaine3443]

Fantastic, I now understand what has been going wrong for years and why sometimes my centering has worked perfectly and sometimes it has failed massively. Thank you!

[@novanettle7497]

This was extremly helpful! There are plenty of videos showing "ah, you just do this and ta-daa now it's a bowl". I'm a beginner, I am bound to make plenty of mistakes and knowing what not to do or how to fix your mistakes is way more helpful to me.

[@mikemorris4548]

I've been throwing for just a couple of days now, mastered centering just by watching a few other vids and have produced a pretty good piece in an hr and a half. IMPORTANT:- always use a not really a locked but stiff, supporting hand, otherwise it goes off center/centre and it's buggered. Obviously it's good to start with a volcano when you're making any kind of pot, vase, bowl etc.

[@timseepots]

I’m sure you went and watched the video, the help I can’t series is for people that are struggling with parts of throwing or pottery and I show what can go wrong and how to fix them.

[@annagray6491]

I’m so glad I saw this! I am a beginner of 3-4 months and have done all of these at some point or other! This video is invaluable! Thank you!

[@bethbarbee7222]

this video has more information on centering, and the various problems, than any other video I've watched. I had no idea why I was having difficulties and this went beyond showing me how to do it, but how to avoid making the mistakes to begin with.

[@anitius101]

Thanks so much!, I'm so glad I saw your videos before heading up to my ceramics class this morning. I was getting so frustrated with the centerng of the clay and making a cilinder, yesterday I felt like I would never learn to throw and about to quit classes. Thanks to you I have made 1 very decent cilinder. I'm sooo happy!!

[@Saresbear]

This is so helpful! I've been having trouble centering all week and I think this solved the problem. Thank you!!

[@MsSkyEmpress]

Thank you, I have been fighting with my clay for a while now. I learnt to center on a standing wheel and am now sitting so I will give your methods a try.

[@dse31601]

You are a great teacher. Watching your videos has helped me so much. Thank you

[@bajmuninder]

Its a great video.Few insights can help you so much for a beginner to move on.I attend classes but no one was competent enough to put it the way you did.They kept on finding faults with the positioning of my hands.Thanks a ton.

[@jademckay-robinson8447]

Great explanation! So easy to grasp! Thanks 🙏🏽✨ And your personality shines too! 😉

[@blobster1113]

WHAT A GOD, all these videos just showing how to center and not actually how to fix mistakes and i find this masterpiece. I SEE YOU HAVE OTHER HELP VIDEOS TOO, i love u ,

[@merittthomas]

Best centering tutorial on KZbin. "Mr. Tim" is hilarious, haha! No junior mints, volcanoes, or elephant butts!! xD

[@Mariede425]

Hi Tim, glad to see you answering some posts recently. I'm (still) having a little trouble centering and I'm thinking that the clay just might be too hard! When I watch your videos (and all the rest out there) I notice the clay looks a heck of a lot softer than what I'm using. Any tips on making the clay just a LITTLE bit softer..and actually, how soft should it be? Could you say poke a finger into it easily? Appreciate any tips you could give. Thanks!

[@Holistic3d]

Thank-you thank-you thank-you thank-you. This analytical look at centring was exactly what I needed. I finally was able to centre!!

[@anetteth]

Every bad example of centering you showed here, I have done! I am totally horrible at this! Thanks for a good laugh (at myself)!

[@sk8fux1]

Subscribed.....I'm new at this...."wife is teaching me" but she is refreshing also ....just got a wheel/kiln .....this video helps alot ... keep up the good work

[@mytub3ful]

Great to see you know the correct way to attach splash pans. Large section in front.

[@sharoncastellanos2408]

This was a great tutorial in my opinion! I like how you mentioned the mistakes made when centering. Looking forward now to using the wheel!

[@javorst]

I use an elephant ear sponge to get slip off the bat. It's probably my favorite tool! works great for lots of things!

[@CeeJayKay]

Thanks! I needed that!!! I am saving this video for sure so I can watch it as many times as it takes til I do it right!! : )

[@ladyofthemasque]

I took pottery in college in 1994 and again in 2001; after a 7 year hiatus, a lot of it came right back to me. Now I have a chance to do pottery again after the start of the new year (16+ year hiatus, yeek!), so I'm boning up on all the things I've forgotten or can only half-remember. I vaguely remembered a few tips about centering (specifically the feel of the clay slipping and bulging and mushrooming, lol...whee...), but while my instructor (same guy both times in college) gave tips on how TO center, he didn't exactly give tips on how NOT to center. His tips on fixing bad centering was "cone it 3 times, and if that doesn't work, scrape it off, re-wedge it, and try it again." Your tips, on the other hand, show how things go wrong, and how to fix them. That is exactly the information I was looking for. I know how to center. I remember the feel and the pressure. I did not remember being taught how to fix problems, and that was exactly what I went looking on KZbin to find. Thank you very much! So, whatever the naysayers below might have snarked, ignore 'em. You have my gratitude for this easy to understand demonstration. People can learn as much--or more!--from learning about mistakes (yours & others) as can be learned from being told how to do things "the right way the first time." You and I both know it's never going to be 100% perfectly right every single time. So I'm putting this video in my learning playlist and rewatching it several times over between now and my upcoming apprenticeship, because I know that GOOD centering means knowing what mistakes to avoid, how to fix them when they inevitably happen, and how to move on. Thank you for demonstrating & sharing!

[@timseepots]

When a pottery video gets attention and almost 3/4 of a million views, people are going to want to knock it down. I teach throwing weekly and have figured out what helps and what is just taking the paycheck.

[@metal0artist0kyle]

glad you're back!! excited to learn some new stuff! do you think you could do a tutorial on throwing big things and knuckle lifts and such, I seem to REALLY get uneven walls when throwing big and I think its because of my lifting technique, what technique do you use?

[@junebakerUK]

Hello, I have done all these things and been very disappointed, now I can see how to correct them I am excited to start again. Thank you so much for sharing. June

[@catherineobrien6357]

Thank you so much for this video! I've been trying to teach myself how to throw from home for the past few weeks and your video perfectly explained exactly what I was doing wrong!

[@Lol-mo7bl]

Thank you so much! Im in 7th grade and ceramics is my elective for this term. This helped so much because my teacher only gave us a brief explanatio.

[@natjays1075]

Thank you - that is the best no nonsense video I've found- great tips!

[@Glassfox9]

Welcome back Tim! Great to see this informative and helpful video.

[@ubiglug]

I JUST went to your Facebook page today to see what the heck happened to you. You've been missed here on You Tube. You're so talenented, both as a potter and as a clear and engaging teacher. I always pick up something useful from your videos. Thanks again. Rick

[@timseepots]

@bobbutnot These are example of common mistakes people make when centering. For a viedo without mistakes there is "centering and posture explained" and "First day or class"

[@anjelash499]

“volcanoes don’t work”. Simple, clear, I’ll remember it. Thank you so much!

[@tabeajo6015]

Omg I’m suuuch a beginner! Wish I could center it even half as good as you do! And btw i use 1/5th of your speed

[@dentonDhart]

Your centering looks so perfect... Btw how much does a standard wheel cost?

[@emeraldile]

Just went back to see a few of your videos again. I am really happy to see this particular one, as I continue be become baffled by some of the common throwing errors that still come up. I know I will come back to it again and again, until I get it right.

[@hobbypotter]

So glad to see you back, thanks for the new video!!! I'll be watching :) !!!

[@danielle0mickey]

Awesome tips Thank you for this useful video! I am going to take this into the studio next time because I know I've seen a couple of these.

[@gi10]

You would be a great teacher. May I ask what kind of clay you are using? Thanks for sharing your great tips.

[@timseepots]

Im not sure on this video, likely wood fire b-mix. im now using blend of raku, woodfire and porcelain.

[@waloam7]

Wonderful presentation! I don't know though if it will help me on my next lesson, but I will try.

[@ELAdams-ERIN]

This is the most entertaining one i've seen yet , i dig your sense of humor 😄

[@zuhu9222]

I just love playing with soil, clay and the smell is heavenly!! ❤️❤️🤗🤗

[@evewingful]

I just got one. The video really helped! Thank you for covering the basics for us! :)

[@kbb22233]

This is so helpful. Thank you, Tim.

[@mrshernandez07]

Omg this is exactly what I was looking for! Im excited to go to class tomorrow and use what you showed. Thank you sooooo much

[@grafkimber]

I love your references, gum drop, junior mint......

[@richardmorris8600]

Great Video. May also help to comment that you are using the wheeel at high speed. Discovering this helped me a lot.

[@helenradford9516]

Hi love your vid. I use Scola air dry clay cos don't have a kiln . Have you ever tried it if so any tips

[@spunkysk8er1997]

where do you get pottery makers like that mine is slow and it is plastic and when i try to take my pots of they break

[@CB-ys8jl]

From now on I'll be saying in my head "No Junior Mints!!"

[@mversantvoort]

So much useful information in this to the point video, awesome, thanks!

[@MmdLover97]

what we do when were throwing the clay on the wheel is we kinda sew it to the bottom by pushing parts of the clay to the wheel. (if that makes sense)

[@hiba]

Hey nice video! i haven't started working with wheel yet.. but want to start.. This will help for sure.. and could you please suggest an electrical wheel like this in cheap? we don't have these in our country.. so have to order online..

[@JackvanHouwelingen]

+Hiba Sharafuddin DIY is the best :D

[@drspod801]

I've been throwing for 25+ years and this is the first time I've heard the term "Elephant But". I learned something today!

[@pandaacakes]

haha you have super funny commentary! i love your videos!

[@judefitzsimons6219]

This is a great video for beginners. Wish I had seen it when I started...although it will help me no matter what! Thanks

[@WBHkungfu]

Throwing is a lot harder than it looks! I kept making "mushrooms" today so thanks for the helpful video!

[@alegria101]

Welcome back! Great video and a huge help!

[@bluebelle2682]

No one teaches like this online.

[@danaishabernard9404]

DONT Go Online

[@dillanbarlow736]

This is online

[@kasprrrdelaney6091]

Earth Nation Ceramics

[@iel982]

hey Tim, if you ever be in Bali, let's do throwing clay session together, would be greaaaattt

[@Hrdrkinmama]

Best video ive seen so far ! Thank you !!!

[@zukichik006]

This is me! Just started about a month ago and I'm so bad at centering, its aggravating!

[@JosephDR]

Thanks, Tim. This is just what I needed to see.

[@KozukiOden619]

I am a beginner is it good to start off with a slower spin on the wheel?

[@timseepots]

rather than scrapping your hands off or cleaning them get into a routine of pulling the slip off your hands and getting it back onto the surface of the pot. less water will be sucked up by the pot.

[@Ramarielana]

When you pull it up, what do you do? My teacher told me that I'm supposed to put my left hand on my right and only pull it with my pinkie and ring finger of my right hand, but I find doing that rather difficult.

[@laurnamunro8251]

Soooo I used the techniques I learnt here and wow centering has got so much easier! But I got quite a friction burn on my medial part of my hand. Should I be making contact?

[@timseepots]

Couple things could cause that, a groggy clay, when you are learning you spend more time against the wheel and that can start to sand away your hand. Try a smoother clay to learn with. The next thing would be what you are throwing on. The wheel head seems to be he harshest and the nicest for your hands is likely a newish Masonite bat.

[@laurnamunro8251]

@@timseepots thank you for your reply. 😁 I will look into both of those. Ps your videos are awesome. The way you demo and choice of words is superb

[@654paloma456]

before you throw it on the wheel do u wedge it a bit?

[@tuwlaets]

thank you for your humor and your skill.

[@pirti1008]

Thank you 😁 great instructions ❤

[@marsofficial3798]

threw clay for the first time yesterday in my ceramics class. let me tell you, THAT IS SO DIFFICULT!!!!!! i definitely tried to put the clay back on and it rlly just doesn’t work 😂 i ended up just taking a walk after a while because literally everything that could go wrong, went wrong OVER AND OVER. i appreciate the way you actually showed the centering process because my professor didn’t show it open handed that way. we have to make two cylinders and i’m still having issues keeping the clay on the black thingie. don’t even wanna think about opening up or pulling yet 😭

[@timseepots]

There are a few newer videos that go over the centering really way. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYjVmp2DnLqMY5o

[@ItsKamkam]

I think this might just make my next time on the wheel loads easier, I've been avoiding it even though my teacher wanted 3 wheel works & I did one & another project xD

[@MamereClaire]

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again! As always you showed me the cause of a problem I have with throwing. Claire

[@Alyzabeth01]

Cool:) It's very nice to see a new video from you.

[@AffordBindEquipment]

I am in the process of building a potter's wheel and I need to know the height of the turning surface to the floor. I don't know if there is a standard or it's specific to the potter. From what I have seen, it's about sitting mid crotch height, lower than the knees. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[@timseepots]

yep its about knee high, but making adjustable would be ideal

[@annverawaye6035]

You’re such an entertaining pottery teacher 😂😂😂

[@tammyemanuel5036]

Thank you! You've given such useful information! Thank you so much!

[@rubian77]

Hey, quit spying on me!! ;) Just kidding. Thanks soooo much for this video -- it should help me out a LOT since these are all things that I end up doing every time I sit down to the wheel.

[@蒋某人-c8c]

That's a great video for me. Why my clay will be sliding when my cone up? And sometimes, the clay will be pulled out from the wheel when my cone up. Is there something wrong with me?

[@yvonnewesthaver7237]

I love these, lol! But keep getting mixed up with my right and left, as the camera faces you. Wonder if a head camera woul make me feel more like I'm actually sitting at the wheel???