01 October 2011

Spouting Off

Making a teapot that pours well is really important to me. The spout needs a large 'collecting' area. As you pour, a large amount of liquid is being forced into an ever narrowing spout. This creates velocity and helps the tea 'spring' from the spout rather than dribble.
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Lots of small holes works best. The purpose of this is not so much to strain the tea (you still need a nice silver tea strainer to catch the stray leaves!) but to keep the loose leaves from getting into the spout and clogging it.
After making cups and saucers that no one will use I needed to make teapots that could collect dust with them. I'll show you photos of the finished ones next time. You can see one with a spout added in the background, looking naked without it's handle.
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DON'T let the taper expand towards the end if you really mean to use it! Add that to my pet peeves list.

I could drive you crazy with all the nuance that I believe goes into a 'proper' teapot, but with Ray Finch looking over my shoulder every time I make one, expectations are high!
I use my cut-off wire to describe the arc that I then cut off with a knife.
Then I coax the cut part into a deeper curve, like the opposite of making a lip on a pitcher.
This gives it a jaunty angle to apply to the body of the pot.
I'll also show you how to cut the spout at the tip next time. Another essential element.

"Blogger" really sucked tonight.

4 comments:

Linda Starr said...

yes something strange is happening with blogger; I am enjoying this teapot tutorial, thanks.

gz said...

Post your pictures one at a time!
Most people having blogger problems seem not to be using firefox....

Lovely to see the Winchcombe way in photos!!
I also depress the pierced area very slightly, it seems to stop the leaves gathering on the inside of the piercings

Dennis Allen said...

Thanks Dan. Very informative,

Elizabeth Seaver said...

Great teapot lesson--here's hoping it will not need dusting for long.