Clay Slab Rollers
What is a clay "Slab Roller" and why do I want one?
A Slab Roller is a piece of studio equipment that rolls out perfect slabs of clay for hand-building pottery and ceramics.
The slab building technique offers the ability to make forms that would be impossible on a potters wheel. With slabs of clay you can build geometric objects by letting the slab stiffen up a bit and then joining with scratch and score method. Slabs of clay can be laid over hump and slump mold for easy and consistent plates, servers and more.
Slab building is great in the classrooms as kids can easily make viable work without the huge learning curve of throwing on the wheel!
Texturing your clay in a slab roller adds another layer of creativity. Try leaves and textural fabrics between the clay and the canvas to create unique textures!
What are the different Types of Slab Roller?
Slab rollers range in size from table top models to full table models even including electric powered rollers. There are small table-top slab roller for those of us who don't have a lot of space or for the casual user. There are medium and large ones that are permanently mounted to a dedicated table. And for heavy use with out taking up a lot of space there is the Hi-Roller Vertical Slab Roller!
What is the Canvas for? Do I need that?
When you roll out your slabs you will sandwich the clay between two pieces of canvass or "Slab Mat". (Slab Mats are neat because the have a smooth side and a texture side.)You need to use canvas or Slab Mat so that the clay does not stick to the roller mechanism.
New slab rollers generally all include one set of canvas. If you use a light and a dark clay you should get an extra set as to not get dark clay in your light clay and vice versa.
What brand should I get?
Luckily there is no bad answer here! Brent, Shimpo , North Star, Hi-Roller, and Bailey rollers are all excellent quality and you should expect years of enjoyment from any of these machines.
Some of these are pretty big, how much will shipping cost?
If you are in the lower 48 states almost all are free shipping ! (there are occasional exceptions for the larger ones going to hard to reach or limited access locations)
Will it arrive assembled?
All Slab rollers require some assembly but all include excellent directions to make it a breeze!
Save time and energy in your studio or classroom with one of the many great slab rollers offered by Sheffield Pottery.
And to make it better, all Slab Rollers at Sheffield Pottery are on sale with free shipping to the lower 48!
OUR PROCESS
Natural Sheffield Clay is mined on our property from as seen at one of the open clay pits. The Sheffield Clay deposit is located in Sheffield, Massachusetts, on U.S. Route 7 in the Southwest corner of Berkshire County.