Using a Pottery Wheel & the Bat

Video Transcript

"My name is Mark Coy and we are sitting down here getting ready to prepare the wheel for throwing a pot. This is what we call a bat. This is a synthetic bat. Some are made out of wood and some are made out of a type of plaster. This is a plastic resin and in this case, this one is just a little bit loose and so what I do instead of just going out and buying another bat, right off because it is a good vat but it is just a little bit loose on the pins on the wheel head here and so I just put a little bit of paper over those pins which tightens everything up. Then I am going to take and snap those holes right over those and make sure it is down tight because when you start pulling up you don't want to pull the thing off and have it fly and hit you or break something or make a mess and ruin your pot. Then I take a damp sponge, not a soaking wet sponge and moisten the vat. This helps with getting the clay to stick because the only thing that is really holding this thing on is the moisture suction of the ball of clay."