You can move this picture: drag it, press and hold then drag on a touch screen, or use the arrow keys.Printable guide 05.05

The Clay Hole University · The Pottery Wheel

Pulling Walls Without a CollapsePrintable pottery guide

One squeeze point, moving up. The offset that turns a pinch into a lift, four settings nobody mentions, the six ways a wall fails, and why three pulls beat seven.

$5.005 guides, 1 free
  • Skill level: Beginner
  • 15 printable pages
  • 3 video picks
  • 7-question quiz + answer key

Flip through the free sample
  • Instant download
  • Prints on any home printer
  • The full lesson stays free online
The printable, at a glance

What is the printable edition of Pulling Walls Without a Collapse?

It is the free lesson of the same name, rebuilt as a workbook. It starts with what a pull stands on: clay centered and checked with a fingertip, a floor about as thick as the base of the wall and compressed (a quarter inch more if you will trim a foot), and a chunky stump to lift from. Then the one move and its offset, four settings to change before you touch the clay, three videos including one made entirely of mistakes, the six ways a wall fails and what caused each one, and why three pulls beat seven. On paper it adds a pull log, a one-page card for beside the wheel, a quiz with a full answer key, and a glossary.

Prefer to read it online first? “Pulling Walls Without a Collapse” is free to read, and always will be.

  • 15printable pages, US Letter
  • 7quiz questions, with a full answer key
  • 3hand-picked videos, each with a QR code
  • 16glossary terms in plain language
  • 2workbook pages you fill in yourself
Why a printable, for this one

Fine, fine, fine, and then it folds

Centering is hard, but it is obviously hard. You can feel yourself losing. Pulling is sneakier. The wall climbs nicely for a few passes, then folds over on itself in about a quarter of a second, and you are looking at a wet ring of clay with no idea what you did.

The answer is almost always on a short list: level hands, a squeeze that started an inch up, a wheel still at centering speed, or clay that was finished two pulls ago. It is almost never the last pull that causes a collapse.

This guide keeps that list beside the wheel, with a log that counts your pulls, so the next cylinder gets its height in three passes and then gets left alone.

Look inside

Real pages, for beside the wheel

These are actual pages from the guide, shown here with the sample watermark. The full guide has none.

  • Page 4 of the “Pulling Walls Without a Collapse” printable guide: what a pull stands on, shown with the sample watermark
    What a pull stands onCentered, opened to the width you want, a compressed floor and a chunky stump, then the one move and the offset people miss.
  • Page 5 of the “Pulling Walls Without a Collapse” printable guide: the offset, drawn, shown with the sample watermark
    The offset, drawnThe diagram with its four numbered points, and the first three of the four settings to change before you touch the clay.
  • Page 8 of the “Pulling Walls Without a Collapse” printable guide: the pull log, shown with the sample watermark
    The pull logOne row a cylinder: what happened, the pulls, the height, and which of the four settings slipped.
  • Page 12 of the “Pulling Walls Without a Collapse” printable guide: the quiz, shown with the sample watermark
    The quizSeven questions, from where your outside hand rides to whether the fifth pull was really the mistake. The full guide explains every answer.
Flip through the free sampleEight pages, free, no email required.
Paper beats the screen here

Three pulls, counted on paper

A pull takes seconds and a collapse takes less. The page is for the moment between cylinders, while you still remember what your hands did.

  • The pull card

    What a pull stands on, the move, the four settings, the six failures and when to stop, on one page.

  • A pull log

    Count every pull and note the height, so you can see where your cylinders really stop growing.

  • Six failures, named

    A tear, a wobble, a thin floppy rim, a wall that will not get taller, a flare, and a collapse on the fourth or fifth pull, each with its cause.

  • The offset, drawn

    The inside fingers making a ledge, the outside hand riding lower, and the squeeze starting at the very bottom.

How the guide is built

Built for your first real cylinders

Every guide in the series is designed as a workbook first and a document second. For this one, that means:

  • A learning dashboard before page one

    What you will learn, what you need, the traps, and what success looks like.

  • The base first

    Why a pull is only as good as what is underneath it, and the floor to leave: about as thick as the base of the wall, a quarter inch more if you will trim a foot.

  • One move, one offset

    A narrow gap between two hands, moving up, with the outside hand riding slightly lower. Level hands pinch. Offset hands lift.

  • Four settings nobody mentions

    A slower wheel, elbows anchored on your thighs or the splash pan rim, a sponge in the outside hand, and a squeeze that starts at the very bottom.

  • Three videos, one of pure mistakes

    Two walkthroughs from two very different teachers, and one made entirely of failures, each with a code that goes straight to it.

  • Codes that keep working

    Every QR code points at a short Clay Hole address, so a printed copy keeps working when a video moves.

Why the University is free

The lesson is free. It always will be.

All of the teaching in this guide comes from the free “Pulling Walls Without a Collapse” lesson at The Clay Hole University. No paywall, no sign-up, no catch.

Pulling is the one that makes people quit. Finding out why your wall folded should not cost anybody a thing, so the lesson stays free.

The University is free and stays free. The guides are the version rebuilt for paper with an unreasonable amount of care, and buying one keeps the free side going.

Thank you. Genuinely.

Dan Pearce, founder of The Clay Hole
Collect them

Build a little pottery library

Every guide carries a permanent number. This one is 05.05, the fifth guide in The Pottery Wheel. The series is designed to live together in a binder, section by section, so the craft ends up on your shelf in the order you learn it.

Put any five printable guides in your cart and the cheapest one is on us. Put in nine and the two cheapest are on us. It happens automatically at checkout, no code to remember.

See every printable guide

  • 5guides in your cart1 on us
  • 9guides in your cart2 on us
Where this leads

What the wall needs next

These lessons pick up where this one leaves off. Each one is free to read now.

Good questions

Before you buy

Is this different from the free lesson?
The teaching is the same, and the free lesson is complete. The printable adds a pull log, a one-page pull card, a printed quiz with an answer key, and a glossary, all laid out to print cleanly.
How many pulls should a pot take?
Three, maybe four. Every pass adds water and takes strength out of the clay, so the aim is your height in as few trips as you can, then leave it alone. Lots of careful little pulls chase a wall that is already as thin as that lump will give.
Why won’t my walls get taller?
Almost always a lost offset. With your hands level you are pinching the wall thinner in place. Drop the outside hand slightly below the inside one, get under the clay, and lift it over the ledge your inside fingers make.
How thick should the floor be before I pull?
About as thick as the base of the wall, pressed flat and compressed, with about a quarter inch more if you will trim a foot ring into it. The guide has a code to our lesson on opening and the floor if you want to go further.
Should I slow the wheel down to pull?
Yes. Pulling wants about half your centering speed. Too fast and the wall goes whippy and starts to flare before you reach the top.
I am not at The Clay Hole. Is it still useful?
Yes. Nothing in it depends on our studio. It is about clay, a wheel and the gap between your two hands.
Do I need a fancy printer?
No. It is designed for an ordinary home or office printer on regular US Letter paper, with nothing important near the edges, so normal printer margins cut nothing off.
Can I print it in black and white?
Yes. Nothing depends on color, and every QR code is checked to still scan from a soft grayscale home print.
Can I use it on an iPad or laptop instead?
Yes. Every QR code in the guide is also a tappable link, so on a screen you just tap instead of scanning.
How do I get it after I buy?
Right after checkout you get a download link by email and on your order confirmation page. Each link works up to seven times.
What if the guide gets updated?
Every edition carries a version number. When we correct or improve a guide, everyone who bought it gets an email with the new edition at no charge.
Can I share it with my class or studio?
Please don’t. It is licensed for your own personal use. Anyone can read the full lesson free online, and the printable is here if they want their own copy.

Three pulls. Then leave it alone.

Print it, keep the card by the wheel, and count every pull on the log.

Get the printable · $5.00

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