Salt pig/Salt cellar

A quick and fun project that doesn’t require a big investment in clay or time. Rob shows you how to throw a cylinder based form, trim the excess from the base with the wood knife and stiffen the form with a propane torch. He then alters the rim into a D-shape and taps the whole piece on a diagonal to lake the form pitch forward for easy salt dispensing.

[@AllanRisk]

I really like the look of this and how easy it appeared to be to make. I tried making one yesterday on my wheel, but I made the base too thick, forgetting that it wouldn't be trimmed. Then when I tapped it like you do around 6:32, I ended up with a weird, very thick blob of clay on the bottom. I'm going to try it again, but heed your advice to get to a finished thickness on the bottom before continuing.

[@amberlyrivera-morrell8260]

Great tutorial!!!

[@heidijomafi7928]

Great little demo, I was wondering how to finish the bottoms of these. A big thumbs up to the torch idea:)

[@gooddirtclasses8933]

I don't do much at all. The wood knife leaves it pretty clean and I just thumb the transition between the bottom plane and the trimmed (with wood knife) side so that there's not a super distinct line or ridge.

[@merlehuntley205]

Just interested to know if you glaze your salt pig? Or do you find it keeps the salt drier in an unglazed pot? Same question for French butter crocs? Lovely idea - I’ll definitely be making one for my own kitchen as a try-out. Thanks for he very clear demo.

[@krissysandvigen3676]

Love this and thank you for sharing. The torch doesn’t hurt the wheel head? A little wooden spoon would be a great added touch. How much would you sell this for ?

[@liuolivia6078]

thats looks so good, just wondering, after that you dont have to trim it, isnt it?

[@gooddirtclasses8933]

Thanks so much. I don’t trim these aside from what I do with the wood knife while it’s still on the wheel. I go around the base with my thumb before altering the form to make sure there are no sharp edges, but that’s all. I hope yours come out well.

[@SallyRoperPottery]

When I tried this, after altering the base, while drying, it warped a little due to its memory and rocked a little. How do you stop that?

[@gooddirtclasses8933]

I definitely check on them as they dry and tap them gently on a nice flat surface to keep them from bowing up. I also tend to throw pretty thinly, so they probably flatten back down a little in the final glaze firing when they get a little pyroplastic. If you still have trouble with warping, try flattening the bottom with a sur-form rasp. Stanley makes a long flat one that looks like a handplane that works great for truing up flat surfaces.

[@erinwaugh4544]

Very helpful! How much clay have you used here? in grams preferably!

[@gooddirtclasses8933]

I usually use about 300g. Glad you liked the video!