Beginnings on the Wheel Part 2: How to throw a cylinder

how to throw a cylinder

🌀 Throwing a Cylinder: 13 Steps to Success

Reminder! Before you even touch the clay, take a moment to ground yourself. A stable, still, and locked-in seating position is key. Make sure your elbows are anchored—rest them on your thighs or firmly against your body. If you are wobbling, your clay will wobble too, and you won’t be able to center properly. Stability starts with you.

1. Center & open the clay. Get your clay centered and open it up to begin forming your cylinder.

2. Skip the check—keep moving! No need to cut and check your walls yet. Trust your instincts and go forward.

3. Compress using “sliding doors” technique. Apply horizontal pressure like sliding doors to bring the walls to thumb thickness.

4. Fix a wonky rim with pinch compression. If your rim isn’t round, gently pinch at 6 o'clock with light pressure using your non dominate 👌🏻 and place your dominate pointer over your👌🏻 fingers while the wheel rotates to even it out.

5. Lift the clay with your ♥️ (AKA Spiderman) fingers. Use your middle and ring fingers—the “heart (AKA Spiderman) fingers”—to begin pulling up the walls.

6. Create a shelf from the inside. Push outward from the inside to form a slight ledge or shelf on the outer wall.

7. Lift the shelf with your ♥️ (AKA Spiderman) fingers. Support from the inside while lifting the shelf up with those same fingers.

8. Keep lifting until the walls are pinky-thick. Repeat your pulls, maintaining even pressure, until the wall is about the thickness of your pinky.

9. Use a rib to compress the wall. Smooth and strengthen the form by ribbing the outside surface.

10. Remove excess water from the inside & flatten the floor. Use a sponge or tool to dry the base inside your cylinder & gently press down to flatten the floor.

11. Smooth the rim. Compress the rim gently to finish the top edge cleanly.

12. Trim the bottom line with a wooden knife. Clean up the base of your form by defining the bottom edge.

13. Slice off with a wire tool at 12 o’clock. Add water at the top edge of your wheel, and pull your wire tool through at the 12 o'clock position to release the form.