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K.X. STUDIOS,Inc.

Post Office 404

Tarpon Springs,Florida 34688

USA

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presents:

An ILLUSTRATED TUTORIAL

CERAMIC BOTTOM FINDER

The Bottom Finder measures the thickness of the bottom of a pot on the potter's wheel.

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Not long ago, and for too many years, it was my habit to close or “collar” the neck of a jug or vase too small to get my hand inside. Although, they looked great; how thick was the bottom again ? AND; how much can be trimmed off the bottom? OOPS! There was no way to reach down and test it.
SO; in February,1999, THE BOTTOM FINDER was created to meet the need.

VOILA ! The bottom finder. First, determine the distance from the cross bar to the wheel head. [ not shown here. ] A yard stick [ meter stick ] slips between the two thin oak boards of the cross bar. Retract the measure and place it over the pot. Slip the measure down into the pot until it hits the bottom. You now have two numbers. The distance to the wheel head [ A ] and the distance to the bottom [ B ]. A simple equation emerges:
[ A - B ] = C.
The thickness of the bottom [ C ] is the difference between the two.

AND ! That's not all!
It is collapsable, too. Here we see it ready to hang.
Ya know,
that equation [ A - B ] = C
reminds me of the time...

WAIT ! THERE'S MORE

BOTTOM FINDER #2

AH HA !
There is a better way.

This is a close up of the tip of a 36 inch [ 91 cm ] long PIN TOOL piercing a small piece of paper. It is directly over the top of a pot with a hole too small to reach through to determine the thickness of the bottom.

Carefully, extend the pin tool down into the pot. Pierce the bottom with the pin, until it hits the wheel head. Gently, pull the pin tool back. The distance from the tip of the pin to the paper is the thickness of the bottom. Sometimes, the first piece of paper sticks to the wet bottom of the pot. If this happens, just do it again. The first piece of paper will prevent the second piece of paper from sticking.
[ Any paper left inside will easily burn off ]
IT REALLY WORKS !!!

Here we see a cut away pot.
You can see the first and second piece of paper. Look at the pin. It demonstrates the thickness of the bottom.
The distance from the wooden bat to the paper is the thickness of the bottom. Now, you have an idea of how much can be trimmed from the bottom.

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