How to Handbuild a Hexagonal Jar Using a Template Don Hall

Throwing is great, but if you are interested in exploring more angular shapes, handbuilding is a good way to go. If you want to be able to repeat those forms consistently, using a template will save you time and hassle.

In today’s post, an excerpt from Handbuilding Techniques, Don Hall shares how to make a hexagonal box using a simple template. - Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

Like many potters, I began learning pottery by throwing. After many years, I began handbuilding, and many contented hours followed. This project on building a six-sided box requires no throwing skills. The angles involved can be used for any six-sided form, so by adjusting the measurements, you can make a piece of any height or width.

To begin, make a template for the piece you’re making. Include foot and lid pieces as needed. The box here will be 5 inches wide (figure 1). Roll out a ¼- to ⁵⁄₈-inch-thick slab and allow it to dry for a bit. Make a stencil from the pattern, mark the slab and cut out. Pieces should match (figure 2).

A six-sided form needs edges trimmed at a 30° angle. You can make a wire cutter from a 2×3 inch piece of wood with a ¾×1½-inch notch (figure 3).

Dampen and score each edge. Fold up the sides and attach each one at a time to its neighbor (figure 4). The clay should be damp enough to not crack. Place coils on the inside of each seam and smooth them out (figure 5). Using a metal rib, clean up the outside of each seam (figure 6).

For the top, trim all three edges of the triangular panels to 30° (figure 7). Score and dampen the edges of each panel and assemble them (figure 8). Attach coils to the inside, smooth out then attach the lid to the base of the form (figure 9).

Now it is time to cut off the lid. Use a needle tool to score a line around the form. With a fettling knife held at an angle (upward or downward—your choice), cut off the top (figure 10). When cutting the lid, use a half circle in one side as a key so that it’s easy to place the lid (figure 11). Using the 30° tool, cut the edges off the sides of each foot segment. Assemble and attach the base adding coils to the seams (figure 12).

**First published in 2015