The Country Potter - a DIY Clay Cutting Wire

ok, so im cheap,  you can get a hand helf cutting wire for about 10$, but they kink,  rust, and worse, they get lost.

here is a quick and dirty method to make your own, for nearly no money and better yet, fully customizable.

Step 1: Making the Handles

the clay cutter consists of two parts, the handles  and the line.

I use 50lb test deep sea monofiliment line, you can get  500 feet for about 10$, thats enough for 200 cutting tools.

you can use wood for handels, though it you use clay, you can make a bunch for nearly nothihg-- I use trim scrap and end bits..

a 4 inch cylinder, with two holes in the side.


the beauty of these is you can carve stamps in the ends, I have several sets that have my pot stamp so I never have to go looking for one...

Step 2: Assembling the Cutter

highif your using clay, fire the hadles to at least cone 04- though high fire is better

attach the two handles with about 18-24 inches of fish line with a surgeon's knot.

(loop though, make a granny knot with 3 wraps instead of two and finish with a standard square knot.

this cutter has a loop in one end for haning on a nail by my plaster wedging table  (see my instructable "country potter- Plaster wedge table), and the other handle has a shape that creates a "seam" shape.  becasue the fish line is water proof, if you want to clean them you can just chuck tham into a bucket of water, and not to mention, if the line breaks, or wears out, you can just fix it...

Step 3: Using the Clay Cutter

take one handle in each hand, draw the line towards you though the clay, if the clay is two hard to cut with a line, it will be two hard to throw.


use the same  motion to cut pots off bats, and add a little water to the bat and repeat the draw thoiugh so the pot will slide off..


thats it,...  Ive made a couple hundred,by now...

Comments

[Potter John]

Although the monofilament line is undoubtedly more frugal, if you go to the deep sea fishing department and get stainless steel leaders (they come in various lengths) the twisted wire seems to work better for cutting for me. The monofilament lines I tried sometimes "healed" back together and needed to be cut more than once. The stainless steel doesn't seem to mind getting wet either.