Five centers, no pots
Center a one pound ball, cut it off the wheel, take the next one. Nothing gets opened.
The targetSixty seconds or less per lump, all five
30 drills, six levels
How to practice, not just throw more
Throw more is advice with no shape to it. A drill has one variable, one number and an end. Thirty of them here, in the order they get useful, with a timer that runs in this page.
0 of 30
Nothing ticked yet. The first five are all centering, and they are the five that change the most.
No drill running
Pick a drill below and its timer loads here.
15:00
The board
One variable, one number, every time
Every drill names the thing you are measuring. If a drill has no number in it, it is not a drill, it is just making pots. We are not against making pots. It is a different way to spend a session and it improves you more slowly.
Centering
Until the lump stops arguing.
Cone up and down
Three full cones up and back down on one lump without losing the center.
The targetStill centered after the third cone
Hands off the last ten seconds
Center normally, then take your hands away while the wheel keeps turning and watch the rim.
The targetNo visible wobble at the top edge
Climb the weights
Center two pounds, then three, then four, in one sitting, without changing how you brace.
The targetAll three centered in under two minutes each
Open and measure
Center, open, then push a needle tool through the floor and measure what is under it.
The targetA quarter inch, five times running
The cylinder
Every thrown form is a cylinder that changed its mind.
Three pulls to five inches
One pound, three pulls, five inches tall. Not four pulls.
The targetFive inches in three pulls
The same cylinder five times
Weighed ball, same height, same width, five in a row, measured with a ruler.
The targetAll five within a quarter inch of each other
The flat floor
Throw a cylinder, then lay a straightedge across the inside of the base.
The targetNo gap under the straightedge
Cut it in half
Throw a cylinder, wire it down the middle, and look at the wall in section.
The targetEven from base to rim, thicker only at the very bottom
Six inches from a pound
The same one pound ball, taken as tall as it will go without collapsing.
The targetSix inches with the wall still even
Control
Making the same thing on purpose, twice.
Collar to half
Throw a cylinder, then collar the top down to half the diameter of the base.
The targetNo thickening and no wobble at the neck
Ribbed smooth
Throw a cylinder and take every finger mark off the outside with a metal rib.
The targetNo throwing lines left anywhere
Hit the number
Decide the height and width before you start, write them down, then throw to them.
The targetWithin a quarter inch on both, three times
Same form, three weights
The same shape at one, two and three pounds, scaled rather than stretched.
The targetAll three recognisably the same form
Half speed all the way
Throw an entire pot with the wheel no faster than halfway, including centering.
The targetA finished cylinder without speeding up once
Curves
Bowls and plates, where there is nothing to hide behind.
One continuous curve
A bowl with no shelf where the floor meets the wall, checked by running a finger inside.
The targetNo step at the bottom of the curve
Measure the wall three times
Throw a bowl, then pinch the wall at the rim, the middle and just above the base.
The targetThe same thickness in all three places
Five bowls, thirty minutes
Speed with a shape that punishes it. Reclaim all five afterwards.
The targetFive finished bowls inside the half hour
The flared rim
Open the rim outward without thinning it or letting it go wavy.
The targetAn even flare with a compressed rim
An eight inch plate
Flat, wide, on a bat, with the floor compressed twice.
The targetFlat across the whole base with a straightedge
Leather hard
Trimming and handles, where a good pot becomes a finished one.
Weigh the trimmings
Trim five pots and weigh what came off against what the pot weighs.
The targetUnder a fifth of the piece weight
A foot ring to a number
Decide the foot ring width before you start trimming and cut to it.
The targetThe same width all the way round
Tap center five pots
No chuck and no clay coils. Tap the pot true while the wheel turns.
The targetAll five centered inside thirty seconds each
Five matching handles
Pull five handles from one carrot of clay and lay them side by side.
The targetThe same length, width and curve
Attach at matching moisture
Five mugs and five handles, all at the same stage, joined and wrapped.
The targetNo cracking at the join a week later
Speed and sets
Repetition, which is the only thing that makes any of it automatic.
Ten cylinders in an hour
One pound each, no measuring, no fixing. Throw, cut off, go again.
The targetTen finished cylinders inside the hour
A set of four
Four mugs that could go on a table together, thrown in one sitting.
The targetWithin a quarter inch of each other on height and width
Six cups off the hump
One large mound, six small cups taken off the top of it without re-centering the whole thing.
The targetSix cups and one mound left over
A lid that fits
Throw a jar with a gallery and a lid to match, both on the same day.
The targetThe lid sits without rocking
Throw it blindfolded
Sounds like a party trick. It is the fastest way to find out how much you were doing by eye.
The targetOne recognisable pot with no looking
Ticks are kept in this browser only. They do not leave the device and they do not follow you to your phone.
The honest part
Most of what comes off a practice session goes in the reclaim
That is the point rather than the cost. A drill you keep is a drill you were too careful with, and being careful is what you are practicing not to need.