Potters and related workers

Potters and related workers prepare pottery, porcelain ware, sanitary ware, bricks, tiles and abrasive wheels by hand or by machine.

Skill level: Semi-skilled

Salary Check

Making articles of pottery and porcelain
Making clay or plaster-of-paris moulds
Reading technical drawings to know customer’s requirements
Forming articles on the potter's wheel by pressing thumbs into centres of revolving clay to form hollows, and pressing on the inside and outside of emerging clay cylinders with hands and fingers, gradually raising and shaping clay to desired forms and sizes
Adjusting wheel speeds according to the feel of the clay as pieces enlarge and walls become thinner
Operating jigger machines to form ceramic ware, such as bowls, cups, plates, and saucers
Adjusting and setting controls of pug mills that mix, extrude, cut, and deposit clay charges in or over moulds as specified
Smoothening surfaces of finished pieces, using rubber scrapers and wet sponges
Forming abrasive wheels by moulding and pressing an abrasive mixture by hand or by machine
Examining finished ware for defects and verifying accuracy of shapes and sizes of objects, using callipers and templates
Preparing work for sale or exhibition, and maintaining relationships with retail, pottery, art and resource networks that can facilitate sale or exhibition of work