Manufactured Dies
Extruders usually come supplied with a basic die for making coils and
perhaps another simple shape along with one or two blank dies.
Purchasing dies is the simplest route to take and you’ll find scores of
options available. Extruder manufacturers offer a wide selection of
dies already made and you’re sure to find something in their product
line that will suit your needs.
These manufactured dies fall into two categories—there are those for
producing solid shapes such as coils, handles, dishes, tiles, etc., and
two-part dies used for making hollow extrusions like square or round
tubes of varying dimensions. If the profiles to be extruded are small,
several shapes are usually included on a single die. When purchasing
one of these dies, you’ll also need a die mask to block clay from
extruding through the holes you do not want to use. A die mask is
sometimes included with a basic extruder but you’ll have to check.
Blanks
Every manufacturer sells die blanks for their extruder and these are a great way to get started in making one of your own simple dies, like the three-hole rope die on page 28 that David Hendley uses. You can just take a blank die and drill three holes in it. If the blank is big enough, you can make several simple shapes and use a die blank to cover the unused portions.
If you have a way to cut blank dies, several materials are suitable: construction-grade plywood, marine-grade Baltic birch plywood, aluminum, etc. One material that you’ll find easy to cut and file is polyethylene plastic—the material used in white cutting boards.
Another simple way to create dies without a lot of tools is to customize an existing die. As you look through the catalogs at different profiles, envision how you can take an existing die and personalize it for your own needs. Oftentimes all you need at most is a small hand drill or some files to add notches or grooves to add interest to the shape. If the die has bevels to it, maintain those with any alterations to help compress the clay as it’s extruded.
Images excerpted from The Extruder Book by Daryl Baird, published by The American Ceramic Society.
| 
| Sacral Vessel, 14½ inches in length,
by Laurie Rolland. This piece was handbuilt inside a bisque mold using
textured slabs and extruded straps of clay. The extruder dies were made from clay.
|
| A basic cylinder die can be made more interesting by filing, drilling or cutting notches around the edges of the pre-existing shape.
|
|