Getting timber for the rotor
For a clean cut score around the stem with a stone blade before breaking
25 cm long
Shave off bark
Fire sharpen tip
Wood for frame
Split timber with stone chisel
The frame
Fire sharpen stakes
Stone bearing block for rotor
Cast iron knife used as an awl
How the frame is to be formed
Clay from sedimentation pit
Grog for clay (old broken pottery)
Crushing grog
Mix grog into clay
Just add enough grog to stop the clay cracking as it dries, too much makes the clay weaker and harder to shape
A flat clay table to form clay on.
Forming the turn table for the pottery
Forming a socket for the rotor to fit into.
Assembling the frame
Cordage to lash the frame together
Digging a pit for the bearing block
A strip of cane
Bending the strip and attaching it to the frame
Sliding rotor between the cane and wooden frame
Now the table has turned
Wood ash to stop the clay sticking
Clay on table forming a pinch pot
Being able to turn the pot makes it easier to shape the sides without shifting positions. The pot turns about a central point making this a true potters wheel (as opposed to a batter plate turned on the ground)
The walls are built up with a coiling technique.
Adding a lip
Finished pot
The whole pot and table can be lifted to dry inside the hut (out of the rain)
The pot is further dried next to the fire
A small kiln is built from bricks
The 1st layer is the air entry, 2nd layer is for wood and other layers are for the ware chamber
Putting in the turn table for firing, then the pot, then a dish on top to keep the heat in
Fire by friction
Fire is pushed into air entry to begin the firing
Then fire wood is inserted through the perpendicular openings above once the fire is going (wood on a grate burns hotter than wood on the ground as the air comes up through it better)
Tiles used to cover the kiln to help keep the heat in
The pot must glow at least red hot to be properly fired other wise it may dissolve in water
The fired pot
Water test
The turn table has cracks in it due to it's proximity to the firebox but might still work
It's now stored in the hut along with the wooden frame for later use