Does Your Pottery Studio Have a Clay Extruder?

Extruder - A tool used in pottery to squeeze out solid or hollow shapes of clay; such as square or round tubes, or mug handles.

Extruders come in many shapes and sizes. Polymer clay extruders are tiny and create tiny extrusions. On the other hand, many studio sets are large enough that they must be mounted to a wall. They can press out many pounds of pottery clay into coils and tubes several inches around.

Using Your Extruder

Use a clay wire to cut the clay at the desired length. Solid shapes can be used for coil pot building, handles, feet, or decorative elements.

For hollow shapes the die comes in two pieces, which are held together by a metal bracket. This creates a hole in center of the clay as it is pressed through. Press the hollow shape in the same way as the solid shape.

Hollow shapes can be used for creating almost any shape of vessel, although they are usually used for taller shapes like: pottery coffee mugs, wind chimes, unique vases, or even teapot spouts.

Buying an Extruder

However, if you are making pottery vessels with an extruder, or doing large volumes of shapes, such as handles, you will want a larger wall mounted version. These are built from sturdier materials, can handle large amounts of clay, and have long arms for better leverage.

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