November, 1910 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



429 



every part Is covered and free from lumps. I have found 

 that Castile soap boiled to a jelly and with a little kerosene 

 oil added is the best medium to use. Stir the plaster vig- 

 orously with the hand until it is brought to a smooth cream 

 and begins to thicken, and the hand on being withdrawn 

 shows a good thick coating. Pour this mixture into your 

 mold and in a few minutes the plaster becomes dry and 

 in a few more the heat of combination sets in and the bat 

 will part company from the mold if gently tapped. The 

 edges can then be trimmed with a knife. As soon as 

 the plaster is poured, wash 

 out the vessel and your 

 hands. The trimming 

 knife is an ordinary ten- 

 cent kitchen knife. The 

 wire must be brass and any 

 piece of wood will do for 

 the handles. Those of par- 

 cel carriers do very well. 

 Cones indicate the degree 

 of heat in the kiln, first 

 bending and then com- 

 pletely melting at the heat 

 they indicate. Just before 

 the end of firing for cone 

 I, 04 would be melted, 01 

 a little bent and i still up- 

 right. 04, 1070 C, is put 

 in so that you may know 

 the heat is even, or other- 

 wise at back and front of 



kiln; 01, 1130 C, to warn you of the approach of the end, 

 and No. i, 1150 C, the heat desired. 



Indian women made their pottery by building it up with 

 coils of clay and this seems the principal method adopted 

 by teachers and even art schools of to-day. There is abso- 

 lutely nothing to recommend it from a potter's point of view 

 except that it gives the tyro a certain familiarity with clay 

 in its various degrees of consistency. A piece of good pot- 

 tery is of even thickness throughout and correct in line. 

 It is almost impossible to attain either conditions by coil- 

 ing. It is waste of time and material and would be useless 

 for you to follow these lessons unless you are thoroughly de- 

 cided to make the best pottery you are capable of and are 

 determined to use all the skill and intelligence you possess 



Building up a piece with coils of clay 



to attain this end. It is comparatively easy to make good 

 ware by both casting and throwing, which we shall deal 

 with later, but while we have seen many interesting coiled 

 pieces, we have yet to see a good one. Your first attempt at 

 coiling should be an extremely simple shape. Make a full 

 size drawing of this and do not let the fancy, born of a 

 moment, tempt you to depart from it. The bottom of the 

 piece should not be flat but concave. A turner would make 

 you a few different-sized blocks for a trifling sum or you 

 can take cardboard and cut out a number of discs, each 



one a trifle smaller than 

 the other and fasten to- 

 gether with a tack. Take 

 a handful of clay and on a 

 flat surface roll it out into 

 a coil proportionate in 

 thickness to the size of the 

 piece you wish to make, from 

 i/^-inch to ^'g-inch diame- 

 ter. A little practice will 

 enable you to make these 

 coils with some regularity. 

 Having placed the base 

 on a plaster bat, cover it 

 with coils, and then com- 

 mence to build the walls, 

 breaking oft the coil for 

 each circle until the de- 

 sired height is raised. 

 Slightly dampen the under 

 coil before adding another. 

 Put aside until it has set firmly and then proceed to fill 

 up the spaces between the coils with soft clay. Press this 

 in with your fingers, moistening the coils as you proceed until 

 the interstices both inside and out are filled up. Again 

 let it harden and see if any cracks develop, and if 

 so fill them up with the moist clay. It is now ready for 

 finishing. 



This can be done with a piece of flexible steel, which 

 with a little practice adapts itself to the line of the piece, 

 or a sharp knife can be used though not so effectively. A 

 whirler facilitates very largely this finishing process. 

 A cardboard template made from your drawing enables 

 you to preserve the correct shape during both the coiling 

 and finishing. 



Glue for Model-Making 



► HERE are several grades of glue, the best 

 of which is made from scraps of hides, 

 and is translucent, of an amber color. As 

 glue is indispensable to the amateur who 

 makes models of paper, or of wood, or 

 builds wooden furniture, it may be inter- 

 esting to learn how to prepare it. Glue 

 may be melted in a pot, set within a larger pot, water 

 separating the two to prevent over-heating. Melting glue 

 in this way about the house is objectionable, owing to its 

 disagreeable odor. A liquid glue, however, may be made 

 by adding acetic acid (strong vinegar will do), or a very 

 small quantity of nitric acid, to its solution. Its property 

 of adhesion is in nowise destroyed by this action. If vine- 

 gar is used, the glue may be dissolved in it for a fluid, in- 

 stead of water. 



A strong glue that is liquid, or gelatinous at will, may 

 be made in small quantities, liquified and kept in an ordi- 

 nary bottle. Take of good quality commercial glue, broken 

 into small pieces, sufficient to fill a wide-mouthed bottle. 

 Pour over the glue dilute carbolic acid, of the strength 



recommended and sold for household purposes. The 

 bottle may be heated by setting it on the back of a stove; 

 or (and this is the writer's method) it may be laid slanting 

 in the top of a lamp chimney, the wick first being lit and 

 turned down. The glue will soon commence to bubble, or 

 boil, and it is advisable to turn the bottle occasionally. 



The thickness and fluidity of the glue is maintained at 

 any degree sought, by adding glue or carbolated water, as 

 indicated. The quickest drying glue is that which is rather 

 stiff at normal temperatures; this may have to be heated 

 a minute on a lamp before it will flow freely. If made 

 thin, it far "out-sticks" most mucilages. The glue does 

 not smell offensive, as it would were it melted in the well- 

 known glue-pot. It is spread with a mucilage brush, and, 

 as used, a supply of glue and diluted acid are added from 

 time to time to replenish the stock. 



A special glue may be made by dissolving purified glue 

 in nitric ether, when there will be obtained a free-flowing 

 ether glue. A few pellets of india rubber added to the 

 solution will give it the quality, after hardening, of resist- 

 ing moisture. 



