How to throw on a pottery wheel: centring, opening and pulling up walls

TUREFF• •0

Throwing on the wheel is the part of pottery that looks effortless on video and feels impossible the first time. The good news is that every potter goes through the same stages and the same mistakes. This guide explains the basic sequence and the problems almost every beginner meets.

Before you start

Wedge the clay: knead it to remove air bubbles and make it even. Trapped air causes lumps on the wheel and can damage pieces in the kiln. Your teacher will show you a wedging method.
Start small: a lump that fits comfortably in your hands is easier to control than a big one.
Set up: sit close, with the wheel head between your knees if possible, elbows braced against your thighs. A steady body makes steady hands.
Water: keep a bowl nearby. Use enough water to let your hands glide, but not so much that the clay turns to mush.

Centring

Centring means forcing the spinning clay into a perfectly balanced mound in the middle of the wheel. Everything after this depends on it.

Slap the clay down as near the centre as you can and press the edges to stick it to the wheel head.
Run the wheel fairly fast.
With wet hands, brace your arms and push in from the side while pressing down from the top, letting the clay rise into a cone and pushing it back down.
When your hands stay still and the clay runs smooth beneath them without wobbling, it is centred.

The key is to keep your hands still and let the wheel do the work. Moving your hands with the wobble keeps it off-centre.

Opening

Slow the wheel slightly.
Find the centre with your thumbs or fingers and press straight down, leaving a base of about a finger's width or so. Your teacher may show you how to check the depth with a needle tool.
Pull the opening outwards to the width you want for the base, keeping the floor flat.
Compress the floor by running your fingers across it a few times; this helps prevent cracks in the base.

Pulling up walls

Slow the wheel further.
Place one hand inside and one outside, fingertips opposite each other.
Squeeze gently and draw your hands upwards at a steady pace, thinning the wall and raising it.
Repeat with several slow pulls rather than one heavy one.

Keep the wall a little thicker at the bottom than the top so it can carry the weight. Finish by smoothing the rim with a damp sponge or a piece of chamois.

Shaping, cutting off and trimming

Once the walls are up, you can push outwards from inside to make a bowl, or gently collar the top inwards. Cut the piece off the wheel with a wire, lift it carefully and let it dry to leather-hard. Later, put it upside down back on the wheel to trim the base and make a foot ring.

Common beginner problems

It wobbles off-centre: the clay was not truly centred, or your hands moved. Go back and centre again.
The walls collapse: too much water, too fast a wheel, walls too thin at the bottom or too many pulls. Sponge water out of the bottom often.
The rim tears or goes wavy: uneven walls or a rim that dried out. Trim the uneven top with a needle tool while it spins.
The pot twists: the wheel speed is too slow for the pressure, or your hands rose too fast.
Cracks in the base later: the floor was not compressed, or water was left sitting in the bottom.

How to improve

Practise centring on its own until it feels predictable.
Throw several small cylinders a session, then cut one in half vertically with a wire to see how even your walls are.
Do not be precious: reclaiming failed pieces is part of the routine.

What part of throwing is giving you the most trouble? Share your progress and questions in the comments below.