Making your own plaster bats is easier than you might think

Wednesday 9th October 2013

The cost of plaster bats prevents many from buying them. Using this rubber mold I have just made 8 - 12" bats and I still have 20 lbs of plaster left in the bag! The first rule for a good result: Lay it on a level level table (so the bat does not come out thicker on one side than the other). I just weigh 1600 grams of plaster, dump it in 1120 grams of water, wait 4 minutes, mix 4 minutes and pour. As soon as the water at the top disappears I dump the next batch of plaster in the water and repeat (by the time it is ready to pour I can remove the last bat from the mold). You can buy one of these rubber molds at Plainsman Clays for $75 plus shipping. Or, if you are more flexible on the size, search "round silicone cake pan" at Amazon (some of them even have glass bottoms).

Pages that reference this post in the Digitalfire Reference Library:

Why throw on a plaster bat when making larger pieces?, BatMate plaster bat gripper, Plaster bats are indispensable to the potter, Plaster Bat

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