How to make a bonsai pot-Mold making

making bonsai pots is fun. It is easy also, just follow these easy steps...

first get some clay

make a template, this was a special order for some trays for some bonsai forests . With this you can make multiples of the same potcut cut it out, customer make this sketch on a napkin lol

Note I cut it out a bit bigger that requested size...Why

12% shrinkage...remember that !

pat our some clay a little bigger that the template

roll roll er flat

put on template... cut around



bout right

take a little board and mark the profile



then cut it out

Use that board to make the profile ...foot and angle



Cut out for the feet

Now we make a dam to hole the plaster
I like Formica strips that I hot melt glue to tack it down

Seal up really good

Plaster de paree time



if you put a plastic bag into your bucket , clean up is easy, just let it harden then pull out the bag...walla

pour the plaster into the dam



continue to fill to cover by and inch or more over the top

So now I flipped over the whole thing ,

you are now looking at the top of the pot. I added a small send dam inside to hold the plaster for the top lip

In order for the top to come off and let the eventual pots out of the mold , you need a seperating agent between the two parts



spray that on
now you can pour the top

Clean up time, surform tools works wonders



pop the top off , pull out the clay model

thats it, now wait a couple weeks for the plaster to dry out. then we make clay slip

mix well

Fill er up

liquid clay build up a wall on the sides of the plaster mold. in a short time you can pour out the extra

clean up the the top edge and put in drain holes

after a few hours the clay will release from the plaster and you can tip it out

let it dry a bit, clean up the bottom...sign it

look familiar...an exact duplicate of the model, now you can make multiple pots