Edwin Batsch, a ceramic and kinetic sculpture artist, made the slab roller for me and delivered it today. Ed is so creative; he can make something wonderful out of what others consider junk. He goes to garage sales and finds things people normally throw away or sell inexpensively, and then uses the stuff in creative ways. Take for instance the handles on the slab roller. Ed got a whole bucketful of acrylic grapes for $5 and attached them on the ends of the handles with epoxy - pretty nifty. So my slab roller has burgundy handles. Of course, it also helps that Ed works in a machine shop part time and has angle iron and welding equipment at his disposal too. I can't wait to use my new slab roller.
That is very impressive. What an awesome job he did. How do you adjust the slab thickness with it?
ReplyDeleteHi Deborah, I have 1/8 and 1/4 inch thick masonite boards (shims) which I can slip under the canvas covered bottom masonite board to raise or lower the height. The roller can also be adjusted up or down. I have been rolling my slabs with a rolling pin and even though I tried to make them even there's always a small portion of the slab a little thinner or thicker.
ReplyDeleteSo the roller traverses the clay instead of staying stationary. Kind of like a Brent slabroller, and Brent also uses shims. I have a slabroller in which the roller is stationary and the clay feeds through with the canvas, and I don't like it as much as the Brent we used in college. I never had issues with jams like I sometimes do now.Someday when I've got nothing better to do with 2,000 dollars, I'm getting a Brent. Awesome roller-you are lucky to have such a skilled friend!
ReplyDeleteYes the roller goes over the canvas. I got the canvases from Aardvark Clay and Ed made the roller to fit the canvases. He patterned the roller from ones he's seen like the Brent, got some used bearings, and had access to the steel. I couldn't afford the cost of a new one either and I knew he was handy, so I just asked him if he could build it and his prices was very reasonable. It all started when I saw a Brent for sale for $150 and the lady said to call her on Monday and when I did she said she sold it - I had offered to buy it sight unseen the day I called her and she wouldn't do it (said she would be out of town anyway) - so I was so-o-o disappointed I just asked Ed and he said yes. Mine is 21 x 42 inches.
ReplyDeleteOh, I added you to my blog roll.