New goblet page at Sondahl.com

Nice site, apple fritters made my mouth water. Mugs made me want to pick one up and have a cuppa. They look so useable. I haven't much time today but I will go back and take a longer look when I do. Annemarie

brad - we don't talk much aside from the rec.crafts.pottery newsgroup, meanwhile: i've got you beat on pottery tools! i operate a machine at work (my "real" job is an engineer).

it's a star trek replicator. at least for 2004 it's very star treky.

i design parts in Solidworks computer aided software.

the machine is a 3D System's Vanguard SLS "rapid prototype" machine. it takes the designed part & slices it up into .004 inch cross sections. the machine adds .004 inches of very fine powder, and a laser melts the tool crosssection by crosssection. in time, the machine can make parts up to 16 inches tall by

this process enables parts to be made that can not be made by any other methods known right now. i can make a ball inside a ball inside a ball, etc.

at work i figure as long as i'm making a "real" part for work, why not add some pottery tools to the build group? after 2 years i've sure collected some great tools!

if these machines were not so darn expensive i'd buy one to supply pottery tools to the world. meanwhile, potter's in general make their own tools so i'd likely not see any sales anyway...

see ya

steve graber

Subject: New goblet page at Sondahl.com From: Brad Sondahl snipped-for-privacy@earthlink.net Date: 4/23/2004 9:50 PM Pacific Daylight Time Message-id:

I've put up an illustrated step by step guide to how I make goblets, as well as reinstituted the pottery tools contest. Go to sondahl.com and they're at the bottom of the pottery section. Brad Sondahl

-- For original art, music, pottery, and literature, visit my homepage

To reply to me directly, don't forget to take out the "garbage" from my address.

steve graber

I have read about that replicator elsewhere--makes prototypes, not functional devices, correct? So you could make a prototype potter's tool, but it would be of plastic, right? Sounds very cool, though. Potters have their minds to do that... Sometimes I'll be doing a row of mugs, and think to myself, next I have to make candleholders, and next thing I know I've made a candleholder by mistake. Brad

-- For original art, music, pottery, and literature, visit my homepage

To reply to me directly, don't forget to take out the "garbage" from my address.

the machine i run makes more then just prototypes. it'll make durable plastic (very functional), wax for investment castings, aluminum, carbon steel, stainless steels. soon they expect to have figured out how to also make ceramic parts from the same process.

these machines have been around for 15 years but only recently became afordable for a business.

see ya

steve

steve graber