Clay and pottery tools don't have to cost a fortune.

POTTERY TOOLSI am like most clay lovers a tool junkie, I have a tool box full of clay tools and use them all. Some cost lots of money while others were almost free.Here are a couple of ideas for "found" items put to good use as pottery tools. A hand held cheese slicer works great as a clay trimmer or for cutting facets in pots, remove the roller guide for deeper cuts. I use these a lot for trimming tops of unevenly thrown pots and cutting away excess clay from slump molds. You can't find a better trim tool and usually only 25 cents in thrift shops.I have found some wonderful ball bearing rolling pins, great for slab work, the most expensive one was $5 but it was made from hardwood and heavy.Don't buy the very light weight ones for rolling slabs, too much work. Wait until a good one gees along. You can carve a design on the lightweight ones and use it as a rolling clay stamp for decorating a whole slab of clay.Be sure to check out the knife bin, long thin stainless steel ones are great as fettling knives and the shorter ones are great for scraping and trimming.I keep an eye open for wooden items in nice shapes that would make nice slump or hump molds, I prefer square shapes which are harder to findbut there are plenty of round and ovals.Some of the nice things for studio use I've picked up at thrift stores include, new heavy canvas fabric, unusual canape and cookie cutters, awls, wooden mallets, large wooden cutting boards, turntables, plastic storage containers , cafeteria style trays, all sizes of wire mesh strainers, quilters rules (the large ones make great tile cutting guides) and don't forget nice pizza cutting wheels. With that gebination I can cut my tiles as quickly and accurately as a quilter cuts fabric.A popular home made clay tool is the hole cutter made from an ink pen nib and a wooden stick, the nib is attached to the stick handle in reverse so that the half round end begees the cutter.Here is a photo of one I made from a section of bamboo, works really well because it is naturally hollow and makes it easy to attach the nib. But you can use a small dowel rod or even a pencil to glue or bind the nib onto. Pushed into clay that has dried a bit and given a turn it will cut a very neat hole and remove the plug of clay gepletely. Very useful for making hanging holes for ornaments and tiles or drain holes for berry bowls. You can even find nibs in different sizes for different sized holes.Bamboo has traditionally been used extensively by Asian potters for tools. Sections of the cane are cut for knives, ribs and carving tools, thicker sections are cross cut to make glaze pouring ladles and trailers. I enjoy using a small diameter cane cut to resemble an ink pen to mark on clay, just give the clay a chance to set up and it "writes" beautifully.Keep a clay eye open at all times and you'll find lots of free or cheap tools all around you."Have joy in every thing you make." Shoji Hamada If you find this guide interesting or helpful, please vote below. Thanks and keep watching for new things.