Trimming is Child's Play James Rozzi

This Quick Tip comes to us from James Rozzi of Stone Mountain, Georgia. Here, Rozzi tackles trimming delicate, narrow-necked bottle forms. Not only is this tip a time and energy saver, it may also bring back fond childhood memories! –Jennifer Poellot Harnetty, editor

Tired of throwing clay chucks for trimming the bottoms of narrow-necked greenware bottles? A good, cheap, easy and permanent replacement comes in the form of a child's toy: a plastic ring tree that can be purchased at any department store. These consist of graduated sizes of plastic rings that function well when rubber feet are applied. Simply take several of the smaller plastic rings, attach three or four self-adhering rubber feet to each ring (available at any hardware store), and your chucks are complete. You can use them with a grip (as shown) or without, and the narrow neck of a bottle will not have to support the weight of the body.

**First Published in 2017.