Home  Sinks  Planters   Dinnerware   Vases   Fountains   One of a Kind Items   Classes

Price list  Wedding Registries   Logos and souvenirs

    Sale items   Services    Map to shop 

News and Events Page

Services

Custom production work for other potters by way of hydraulic pressing, and mold making for hydraulic pressing.

    Bruning Pottery owns a 90 ton hydraulic press.  That gives us the capability to make many pots quickly, if a item has been adapted to the press.  I also make the dies (molds) for use on the hydraulic press.  This is an ideal method for making ovals, rectangles and other non-round shapes.

    We can do runs for other potters, or companies, as our scheduling permits. 

    You can bring me a model (or E-mail/Fax an image of the model), of an item you would like to see in production, and I can tell you at a glance if it pressable.  I can also help you make a model that will press if you need it.   (Round preferred.) 

     If you chose to proceed,    I make a plaster, "master mold" of the model.  From the Master, I then make a Master Impression mold (which you own), and from the Master Impression mold, I then make a Working Die in a steel casing (which I own), that goes on the press, to manufacture the item. (see photos below)  (Don't forget the pressed item is then subject to all the shrinkage associated with that clay body, so the model has to be calculated larger by the correct percentage). 

    A typical price for the mold making process is $700 for a simple small bowl type item, and up to $3000 for complex,  multiple cavity molds.

Size of run?

    A typical run should be in the 500 pieces range, but I will consider smaller runs depending on the schedule of the press.  (*Small runs are subject to set-up fees to get your mold up and down from the press).  Some working dies can be expected to reach 1000 items before it is worn to the point we (includes you) consider it is worth the $150 to $200 to pour a new Working die from the Master Impression. 

Price per item?

    The price per item can vary greatly in the following ways:    If you supply the clay;  if you are doing the fettling (finishing of the mold line on each piece);  the size of item;  the degree of difficulty of pressing the item;  the workability of the clay; and on and on...   Therefore, it is usually decided after a 100 or so of your items are produced, what the price per piece will be.   Usually it is under a dollar for a simple bowl that you supplied the clay for and did the fettling on... up to 5 dollars per cycle/piece for multiple cavity molds, and large pieces.  The more steps or actions we do the higher the price we charge. We reserve the right to adjust the price per piece to make sure we are not operating at a loss.  The press time is a minim of $80.00 per hour.   However, in that hour we could be manufacturing $1000.00 worth of your wares.

Click thumbnail for larger image of items that are fresh off the press and still need fettling.  The item is called a "square oval".

At this time I don't have enough room in my shop to inventory your run of wares longer than a week.  In other words you have to plan how you are going to get your run off my ware boards as soon as possible.  Usually, an item can be moved within 2 days, even in the winter.  If you have me bisque your run,  additional charges are made not only for the kiln time, but for the handling of your wares in and out of the Bisque kilns, and drying time (ware rack use).    I encourage you to move your wares green (un-bisqued).  We can help box them, or palletize them, and load your vehicle with our small fork lift.

Why Pressing instead of throwing

    The advantages of using a hydraulic press mold system of production include a consistency of line the public expects;  in other words your dinner plates match. (even 10 years later when they want to replace broken items).   Even though the public says they want a hand made set of dinnerware, it's a rare customer who doesn't expect them to be the same size and shape.  Your glazing is usually enough individuality for most folks.  Remember, most are being seduced away from buying their dinnerware sets from the "major retailers," where each item is identical. 

      Pressing also saves your body from the difficulties of years of production throwing.   Many potters have reached a limit to what they can expect from their wrists and backs as they grow older.    Designing your line, and pressing part of it, is a good solution to staying in business rather than changing careers late in life.

    The pressed pots look similar to your thrown pots.     Pressed wares can have the same rim and tapered wall thickness as thrown pieces.  Slip cast objects are obviously different than thrown in that they have a uniform wall thickness, which in my opinion,  makes them feel top heavy.  Many customers can't tell the difference between thrown and pressed, and I encourage you to stay honest and promote the pressed wares as what they are:    in other words, differentiate for your customers between pressed and thrown.   The customer may not care but you stay completely honest that way, and can never be accused, some day, of deception. 

A Down side of Pressed wares?

    I have about a 1% phantom cracking occurrence with thrown wares and 2 to 3% phantom cracking from pressed wares.  Who knows why they crack sometimes, but they do.  It is a small problem, and we just reclaim the clay.  The main problem with pressing is, it only works on open forms (plates, tiles and bowls type items).  Closed forms (that come back in at the top) have to be thrown or slip cast.

  Sample projects

Additional data regarding how the press works.

    The steel casing around the working die is what makes it possible to subject plaster to tons of pressure without it shattering into powder.  The steel casing is seen in the photos of the press above.  The casing has to be precisely placed, with top and bottom aligned on the press.

    The press operator places "throwable" clay into the mold and the two halves come together and press the excess clay  from between the top and bottom molds.   The blank space between the two halves of the molds is the negative space left by the model, and is now filled with wet clay.  Air pressure forced through the plaster molds releases the item from the plaster.  That enables the press to be cycled as often as 5 times per minute, and the molds never become water logged.   That enables runs of 500 or more in one working day.

    The press operator is highly skilled, in that tuning the press has been equated to playing a musical instrument.  The tuning of all the variables is an art.  You are invited to watch your run being produced.

    Call Larry at 1-360-568-2614, or E-mail larry@bruningpottery.com for more information or to schedule your project. 

Home  Sinks  Planters   Dinnerware   Vases   Fountains   One of a Kind Items   Classes

Price list  Wedding Registries   Logos and souvenirs

    Sale items   Services    Map to shop 

News and Events Page

©1997 - 2008.  Larry Bruning.  All rights reserved.  All photographs are the property of Larry Bruning and Bruning Pottery Inc.  No duplication and or distribution of any written material,  photograph, or graphic  is permitted without permission in writing from me.   Educational institutions are invited to submit requests at address above.