Introduction: The Country Pottery- Build a Extruder Gun
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About: I am currently single, and have been a maker all my life. I currently work as a technician for a comercial Laundromat company. I and my friends have built a nascar simulator, and lot of other stuff, and I hav…
A extruder is useful for making fast coils of clay, handles, and decorative parts. most extruders come in two types, a wall mount (instructable in progress) and todays project, a easy and simple Clay Gun.
insers the prepared tube, fill with soft clay, and crank the handle.... just like a plydough machine.... on;ly more useful.....
this clay gun cost under 10$ and makes enough tubes for 3 diffrent die heads, though the parts are cheap enohugh to make a bunch.
insers the prepared tube, fill with soft clay, and crank the handle.... just like a plydough machine.... on;ly more useful.....
this clay gun cost under 10$ and makes enough tubes for 3 diffrent die heads, though the parts are cheap enohugh to make a bunch.
Step 1:
the parts:
you will need:
a caulk gun frame- I picked up this one for 4.95 at the local hardware store- this is a 13 inch gun, designed to use the "regular" sized tubes of glue and caulk
a length of 1 1/2 inch schedule 40 PVC Pipe, this peice is 5 foot long and cost $2.30
1 1/2 inch caps to use as die heads i bout 4 at 70 cents a peice
1 1/2 inch test cap this was 35 cents for 2.
you will also need a marker, a hacksaw with a sharp blade and a mesuring device.
you will need:
a caulk gun frame- I picked up this one for 4.95 at the local hardware store- this is a 13 inch gun, designed to use the "regular" sized tubes of glue and caulk
a length of 1 1/2 inch schedule 40 PVC Pipe, this peice is 5 foot long and cost $2.30
1 1/2 inch caps to use as die heads i bout 4 at 70 cents a peice
1 1/2 inch test cap this was 35 cents for 2.
you will also need a marker, a hacksaw with a sharp blade and a mesuring device.
Step 2: Measuring the Tube
measure the pipe from one end and cut off a 8 inch peice
Step 3: Fit the Die Cap
drive one of the caps onto the pipe. this one ive cut 3 holes in the cap with a knife. I could have gotten cleaner results with a drill bit.
keep the holes smaller than about 1 inch in diameter, (YMMV). this pattern makes a rope if you twist the clay as it extrudes...
keep the holes smaller than about 1 inch in diameter, (YMMV). this pattern makes a rope if you twist the clay as it extrudes...
Step 4: Test Cap Plunger Seal
the test cap will be the back seal for the gun piston. trim off the outer flange so you only have a cup shaped peice.
add a glob of glue (liquid nails) and glue to the piston head of the caulk frame.
let dry for a hour or so.
add a glob of glue (liquid nails) and glue to the piston head of the caulk frame.
let dry for a hour or so.
Step 5: Finished!
you make have to trim the caps or pipe to make fit.. a sanding block or a rasp works well for this.
Finished- to load the gun, roll a ball of clay between your hand to make a 1 inch rope. insert the rope into the sylinder, and load 'er up!
start sqeezin!
this gun is also useful if you want to extrude materials you cant get in tubes- like stucco or plaster of paris.. the gun tubes are cheap enough to be disposable....
to clean, just pop off the caps and wash out, or just chuck it into a bucket of water until its ready to be used again...
See my other Instrucatables,
Build a country Kickwheel,
and
Build a country Wedging table
