Handbuild a Teapot Spout
Summary
TLDRIn this instructional video, the focus is on crafting the spout of a teapot. The presenter emphasizes the importance of creating a spout that transitions from wide to narrow and angles upwards for proper water flow. Two techniques are demonstrated: one using a spout maker and another with a barbecue skewer. The process involves rolling clay, wrapping it around the tool, and trimming excess. The presenter advises letting the clay stiffen before attaching the spout to the teapot body, ensuring it angles up to prevent water from pouring out when the lid is on. Attention to detail, such as the spout's position relative to the lid, is crucial for functionality.
Takeaways
- 🍵 Spouts should transition from wide to narrow to ensure proper water flow.
- 📏 Spouts need to be angled upwards to function correctly; a straight angle can cause pouring issues.
- 🛠️ Two tools are demonstrated for shaping spouts: a spout maker and a barbecue skewer.
- 🎨 The spout should be made from a clay slab rolled to about a quarter of an inch thickness.
- 🔄 It's crucial to keep the clay moving while wrapping it around the spout maker to prevent sticking.
- ✂️ Excess clay should be trimmed and smoothed to achieve the desired spout shape.
- 🔧 A rubber rib tool is used to blend and smooth the clay around the spout maker.
- 🌀 The process involves squeezing and spinning the clay to prevent it from sticking to the tool.
- 🔪 A knife is used to cut and refine the spout, ensuring a clean separation from the clay slab.
- 🌱 It's recommended to let the spout stiffen for a day before attaching it to the teapot body for easier handling.
- 📐 The spout should be attached at an angle that allows it to pour upwards, close to the middle of the teapot.
Q & A
What is the primary characteristic of a teapot spout according to the script?
-The primary characteristic of a teapot spout is that it should go from wide to narrow and be angled upwards to ensure proper water flow.
Why should a teapot spout not angle straight down?
-A teapot spout should not angle straight down because it would cause the water to pour out immediately without control, which is undesirable.
What are the two tools mentioned in the script for making teapot spouts?
-The two tools mentioned for making teapot spouts are a spout maker and a barbecue skewer stick.
How does the script suggest controlling the water flow in a teapot spout?
-The script suggests controlling the water flow by ensuring the spout is wide at the top and narrows down towards the end, and by angling the spout upwards.
What is the recommended thickness for the clay slab when making a spout using the spout maker?
-The recommended thickness for the clay slab when making a spout using the spout maker is about a quarter of an inch.
Why is it important to keep the clay moving when wrapping it around the spout maker?
-It is important to keep the clay moving when wrapping it around the spout maker to prevent it from sticking to the tool, which would require cutting off and starting over.
How does the script describe the process of attaching the spout to the teapot body?
-The script describes the process of attaching the spout by cutting a hole in the teapot body that is as wide as the spout, then scoring and slipping the spout onto the hole.
What is the purpose of making a small coil of clay and adding it to the top of the spout?
-The purpose of making a small coil of clay and adding it to the top of the spout is to round off the top, giving it a nice rounded look and finishing off the spout.
Why does the script recommend making the spout a day before attaching it to the teapot?
-The script recommends making the spout a day before attaching it to the teapot to allow it to stiffen up, which makes it easier to cut and shape later.
How should the angle of the spout be in relation to the teapot body?
-The spout should angle down a little from the teapot body so that it angles up, ensuring that water pours out properly without the lid falling off.
What is the significance of the spout's position in relation to the teapot lid?
-The spout's position should be such that it goes above where the lid is, allowing for the teapot to be filled with water up to the lid without the lid falling off during pouring.
Outlines
🍵 Crafting the Teapot Spout
The paragraph introduces the process of making a teapot spout, emphasizing the importance of the spout's shape transitioning from wide to narrow and angling upwards for proper water flow. The speaker demonstrates two methods for creating spouts using different tools: a spout maker and a barbecue skewer. The first method involves rolling out clay to wrap around a spout maker, ensuring it doesn't stick by continuously moving it. The clay is then shaped and smoothed using a rubber rib tool. The second method uses a skewer to create a spout, focusing on maintaining a wide to narrow form. The speaker advises letting the clay stiffen for a day before attaching the spout to the teapot body for easier cutting and shaping.
🔪 Attaching the Spout with Precision
This paragraph details the technique for attaching the spout to the teapot body using a slip bottle as a stand-in for the teapot. The speaker explains the necessity of angling the spout upwards for proper water flow and demonstrates how to cut the spout at an angle to achieve this. The process involves drawing a line to mark the cutting point, cutting the spout to fit, and then attaching it to the teapot body using a slip. The speaker also discusses the importance of allowing the clay to stiffen before attaching the spout and provides tips for adjusting the spout's angle and shape after attachment. The paragraph concludes with a reminder to cut a hole in the teapot body that is slightly larger than the spout to facilitate attachment.
💧 Ensuring Proper Water Flow
The final paragraph reiterates the importance of the spout's design for the teapot's functionality, specifically the need for the spout to angle upwards to allow water to pour out smoothly without the lid falling off. The speaker highlights the significance of the spout's position relative to the teapot's lid, ensuring that water can be filled up to the lid's edge and poured out effectively. This paragraph serves as a conclusion, reinforcing the key points discussed in the previous sections about the spout's design and attachment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Spout
💡Teapot
💡Wide to Narrow
💡Angle
💡Barbecue Skewer
💡Slab of Clay
💡Spout Maker
💡Squeeze and Spin
💡Rubber Rib Tool
💡Score and Slip
💡Clay Stiffness
Highlights
The spout of a teapot should transition from wide to narrow.
Spouts should angle upwards for proper pouring.
A pre-made spout can be tested by inserting it into a teapot to check for proper pouring.
Two different tools are demonstrated for making spouts: a spout maker and a barbecue skewer.
The spout maker showcases the wide to narrow look effectively.
Clay should be rolled out to about a quarter of an inch thickness for spout making.
When wrapping clay around the spout maker, keep it moving to prevent sticking.
Pinch and spin the clay to ensure it doesn't stick to the spout maker.
Use a knife to trim excess clay and refine the spout shape.
A rubber rib tool is used to blend and smooth the clay around the spout.
The spout should be cut at an angle to ensure proper water flow.
Allow the spout to stiffen for a day before attaching for easier cutting and shaping.
A small coil of clay can be added to the top of the spout for a rounded finish.
The barbecue skewer is a simple tool for making wider spouts.
Roll clay into a carrot shape, thick in the middle and thin at the ends, for the skewer method.
When using the skewer, roll the clay onto the skewer to maintain its center position.
Roll the clay in one direction to create a wide to narrow shape on the spout.
Cut the spout at an angle to ensure it angles upwards when attached to the teapot.
Before attaching the spout, cut a hole in the teapot body to match the spout's width.
The spout should be positioned close to the middle of the teapot for optimal pouring.
The spout's top should align with where the teapot lid will be, allowing water to fill up to the lid.
Transcripts
all right today we're going to talk
about making the spout of a teapot
here's some teapots we have here's
examples here's one made by a guest
artist there's a spout here and there's
a one made by a past students teapot
spout one thing about spouts you really
should need to know about is spouts go
from wide to narrow from wide narrow is
what they go from and they got to angle
up if they angle straight it's not going
to work very well and it it doesn't work
if I stuck a spout like this one
pre-made one year right inside of a
teapot it would just pour right out
which you don't want to have happen so
you got to kind of angle your spouts a
little bit so they pour up now I have
examples of two spouts here you can make
using two different tools the narrow one
here is made using this barbecue skewer
here and this one here is made using a
spout maker again it really shows off
the wide to narrow look and that's how
you make a good proper spout say you
control the water flow everything else
I'm going to first show you to make one
using the this one here then I'll show
you how to make one using the barbecue
sko they're both very simple and easy to
use and it gives you kind of idea of
what to make all right so first we're
going to use this tool right here going
to roll out a slab of
clay about a um qu of an inch thickness
is what you want to use want to make
sure it's big enough to wrap around your
uh your spout maker here so you're able
to make the spout the key thing is when
you wrap it around you got to keep
moving it if not it will stick to this
piece and you have to cut off and start
over which is not good so you want to
make sure you do that you can't move it
around cover things with newspaper but
this long as you keep moving it it
should be fine so I take some clay I
figure out the width I need to
be and I'm just going to take it and cut
it
off so I have it like that I'm begin to
kind of piece Mill it together doesn't
that look really good right off the bat
so I'm going to trim some of this excess
clay off when I first get started I'm
kind of pinching it on there and I give
a little bit of a spin so it doesn't
stick now I can take my knife I'm going
to cut off some of that excess clay that
I do not need right right
now I'm going to be a perfect cut right
away because like I said going to
be smoo some of it off a little bit and
again same thing off the top just kind
of get rid of that excess off the top so
I have it wrapped around my piece a
little bit better now what I do is I
kind of squeeze it on there and give it
a little bit of a spin and squeeze it on
there is what I'm
doing every time I squeeze I spin and I
squeeze the spin that way it doesn't
stick then I take a rubber rib tool and
I'm going to blend and smooth it around
first I'm going to go up towards the uh
the small spot I'm going go around one
time this helps kind of thin out my clay
and even it up and I spin
it do the same thing the opposite
direction on this
way again spin it again
now I'm going to do is I'm going to take
my knife you got FYE this one this is my
old one and I'm going to cut it off the
top again and I'm going to clean up the
bottom half of my piece as well with the
knife then one more time
through again I'm going to go down into
the bottom of the piece
give it a
spin and do the same thing coming up
this
way nice tiet pop it off and there is my
spout now one thing I'll do to help
finish this off a little bit I'll take a
little bit of playay and I'll make a
small tiny
coil
I'll kind of just add it to the top of
my spout here it kind of just rounds it
off gives a nice round look to it and I
kind of blend it in
there and shape a little bit more so it
kind of just finishes it off the spout
itself
spot maker I can put it back on there to
make sure it fits really
well crush
it I said you use a finger a wooden tool
it doesn't matter just going to blend
this stuff
on usually I tell people I recommend
making your spout a day before and
letting it stiffen up a bit we try to
some of you might have to put on right
away and that happens it happens but if
you let sit a little bit it makes it a
little bit easier to cut and shape later
and I'll demonstrate that a little bit
let how you make the wider spout using
the spout maker the next one I'm going
show to use is this wonderful thing
called a barbecue skewer stick very
simple very easy to use this time I'm
going to take some
clay I'm going to roll it into a shape
of a carrot thick to
th so I can roll it in my hands and
start rolling it out
out make sure it has that shape and then
I roll it on my
table so again it goes from thick to
thin see it kind of looks thick to thin
already and then I'll just cut off some
of this excess off the
end I'll take my skewer I'm going to put
it in the middle here now here's a crial
part people mess up on as I'm pushing
the skewer in I'm rolling my coil and
what this does it allows me to keep kind
of keeping as close to Cent as possible
if I try to hold it up and push it I'm
not going to be able to keep it in the
center by Rolling and pushing at the
same time allows to keep it somewhat in
the
middle close enough now when I have it
in there I'm then going to take it and
roll it One Direction I don't roll it
back and forth Just One Direction what
happens is it begins to widen
up the uh the back side
of the spout and leave the front spot
very narrow so that's what you want you
want a wide to narrow
spout so again I have that wide to
narrow spout I'll then take the in here
and get rid of that excess stuff that
came off there and I'll take the back in
my barbecue skewer kind of come in here
and push down a little bit on that
bottom part of that tool the ne of these
spouts I cut them at an
angle
I have a spout using the barbecue
skewer right now I'm use the ones I let
sit for a little bit cuz they're a
little bit stiffer and show you how to
attach them we'll take this wonderful
slip bottle and pretend it's the body of
my
teapot if I took a spout and just stick
it straight on there get to properly
work I almost have to put it all the way
at the top but I want to angle down a
little bit so it angles up so what I do
is I'll put it behind use my other C
here put it behind the tool
here angle I want to and then I'm going
to draw a line it's right down the side
of my
piece it gives me an idea of where I
want my line to be to cut my spout so
then what I do is I'll take my knife
I'll just cut that angle
down and if you look closely I attach it
onto it it then has that angle I want my
spout to be now angles up is very
critical about that it angles it up
instead of being straight in there and
then all I do is I'll take my body I'll
cut a hole score and slip it on attach
it you got to cut a hole that's going to
be just as wide as this piece to
attach now it's kind of hard to see in
here but if you look inside the teapot
here you can see the hole that's in
there you need to cut a hole before you
attach
it so have angle there and the same
thing with these again same idea again
I'll put it this way so you can see I'll
put it this way you look at it first
your side and I'm going to draw a line
so I kind of know where to cut it it
tells me where I have to cut it and then
I take my knife P that line cut it down
again score and slip it on I have that
nice angled spout I want and the clay
stiffens up a bit Le sat for a day or so
stiffens up a bit it makes easier I can
also come in here if I don't want that
angle to be that way and come in here I
can cut this off shape it a bit more go
back in there with my stick and get more
of that pour I want to make it that
angle I want to and then I can even bend
it if I want to like it's a little too
high for me I want to have a nice little
slope I can do that with it as well all
kind of things you do it to it but
you're better off building it letting it
sit for a day and then then working on
it a lot of kids struggle with it when
they try to put all in one day it
doesn't really work that way that's how
you make your spout just remember wide
to narrow wide to narrow have it angle
up somewhere a little bit close to the
middle of your teapot that's where you
want the spout to be the spout top
should go right where your lid's going
to be as you can see from here this
example here it goes above where the lid
is so I can fill away water all the way
up to the lid itself and then I got to
be able take it and be able to pour it
or water will come out of it without the
lid falling off if it pulls too far so
you got to be aware of that as well you
make your angle of your spout and that's
how it works and don't forget about
cutting a hole before you attach it
makes it very easy as well think your H
should be always a little bit bigger
than you think it should be so how way
water can actually pour in there and
that's how you make a spout for your
teapot
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