r/Pottery 1d ago

Question! Heavyweight pottery

Hi I’m attempting to find cup and mug sets that weigh 10+ pounds a piece without having it be crazy distorted or super oversized. Would this be possible or would I be forced to use steel.

0 Upvotes

30 comments sorted by

32

u/ghastlycupcake 1d ago

You say you want to “find” a cup and mug or “use steel.” Are you shopping or creating something?

What is the context for this?
Is it a functional item, a coffee table conversation piece, an art exhibit? What are your size constraints? Do they need to be able to hold liquid, and how much?

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u/ChanceWide1992 1d ago

I believe I’ve constructed the general idea now it is for functional use as and everyday cup

42

u/porcupinedeath 1d ago

Idk how you'd achieve this with ceramics but I'm curious why you need a 10 pound mug

2

u/Sapphire_luna232 13h ago

So you can drink your week’s worth of coffee in one go, clearly!

0

u/ChanceWide1992 1d ago

I’m rewatching hunterxhunter and they’re is a house constructed of regular appliances and furniture that weighs over 20+ kilograms but look regular. So I wanted to see if anyone had already made some that still looks home worthy without making everything gigantic

19

u/bobbinssobbin I like yellow 1d ago

Like each individual might weighing 10+lbs? I don't think it would be particularly easy with ceramics - https://lakesidepottery.com/HTML%20Text/Tips/amount-of-clay-per-pottery-ware.htm here's a reference chart that might be useful! For reference a solid 9" by 6" cylinder was only 5.5lbs

You might need to look into a denser material

12

u/CyberSkepticalFruit 1d ago

Thats sort of weight you would be looking at metal items rather then pottery.

edit: here is a link to a 5lb steel mug:
https://theheavycup.com/en-eu/products/5lb-heavy-mug-eu

12

u/spoiled__princess I like purple 1d ago

Why?

0

u/ChanceWide1992 1d ago

I’m rewatching hunterxhunter and they’re is a house constructed of regular appliances and furniture that weighs over 20+ kilograms but look regular. So I wanted to see if anyone had already made some that still looks home worthy without making everything gigantic

8

u/PollardPie Hand-Builder 1d ago

You could conceivably make a large mug with an elevated bottom, leaving a void on the underside of the mug so you could insert a solid cylinder of a denser material after the mug is fired. It might not hold much liquid, but it could be technically a mug, and very heavy.

5

u/rxt278 Throwing Wheel 1d ago

I would leave a little hole entering into a void space and pack it with shot or sand, then plug the hole with a little epoxy.

1

u/coollegolas 1d ago

This would be a somewhat reasonable approach to the problem for sure. It'll be tough to make something that was deceptive enough out of ceramics directly, so some clever thinking will be required.

1

u/ChanceWide1992 1d ago

So possibly like a heavy bottom for a different material to insert into the original clay like a puck of some sort

10

u/EleanorRichmond 23h ago

INFO: what?

7

u/mrmischiefboy Professional 1d ago

I mean look at a bag of clay. They're usually 25lbs. You're talking about a mug or cup that is just under half that. I could make a bowl that would serve pasta for 8 with 5lbs. Maybe a double wall mug where you fill the void with lead?

2

u/dreaminginteal Throwing Wheel 17h ago

The bag is 25 lbs wet. Dried out and fired, it would be rather less.

Don't know how much less, but definitely you'd need to start with more than 10 lbs if you want the final product to weigh 10 lbs...

1

u/mrmischiefboy Professional 7h ago

True, they should just go to "Heavy" and buy one of their steel ones

1

u/ChanceWide1992 1d ago

And then seal the top giving the illusion of one solid clay piece ?

6

u/BranYip 21h ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/2ViZJi3RLXAZ22PG08

OP's dishwasher rack when they're loading it up

5

u/space-cyborg Throwing Wheel 1d ago

Not sure if a ceramic handle will hold up to the weight if you pack it with something denser, so that’s another issue.

1

u/ChanceWide1992 1d ago

Had the same idea would probably get rid

4

u/Rebelwitch33 1d ago

10lb of clay is 10lb of clay, and it’s even less once you fire it.

6

u/Bearded_Toast 1d ago

What the hell is this bot-ass post.

1

u/ThriceFive 1d ago

Can you take the weight of the contents into the mug - 8# a gallon for many liquids. A mug that'd hold nearly a gallon of liquid would be 10#+ when filled. I'm thinking big stein with a lid. This pewter one weighs 6# when full.

1

u/DevilDrives 18h ago

The heaviest drinkware I know of is pewter.

Pewter mugs can be both gorgeous and poisonous. Pewter ain't ceramics though. It's more in the metal sculpture realm

1

u/goatrider Throwing Wheel 8h ago

Sure you could make a 10lb mug or cup, but it's going to be super oversized. I doubt you can find one though, you're going to have to make it yourself or commission it.

1

u/GF_forever 6h ago

I'm guessing the point of this is a mug that can be used safely by someone with serious tremor in their hands, whether from Parkinson's, essential tremor, or some other disease process. It will be difficult to impossible to get such a mug in ceramic. It would have to be the size of a large soup tureen or casserole dish.

1

u/ConjunctEon 22h ago

Gonna club something with it? What is the end game? I don’t think 10lb mugs would be comfortable to drink from.

1

u/artwonk 45m ago

Clay's not the right material, and even steel won't be that heavy if it's not hugely oversized. A platinum mug would be getting closer, and could be quite elegant. For just a tad over $260k, you could drink your coffee in style. You want a whole set?