is it possible to make pots without firing clay?

thailand-steve

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i'm interested in trying to make my own pots for fun mostly, see how it turns out. but i have no access to pottery clay and a kiln so i was wondering if there are any practical alternatives?

one thing that jumps to mind is car body filler (i expect the bonsai purists are throwing up at this point) but its easy to work around a mold, strong as rock and can be finished to steel like smoothness

of course it would not look very pretty in natural pink finish but maybe something could be used to coat it, epoxy paint or something? but how would you simulated a glazed look?

anyhow, just thinking, has anyone every tried an alternative to fired clay?
 

thailand-steve

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I've seen some pots made of fiberglass or cement.

i thought of fiberglass too but the lack of weight would make it feel wrong i think and i think cement to be strong would need to be quite thick

in either case, the bigger challenge i think would be finishing it in a way that looked like a real glazed clay pot, i'll have to search around for that i guess
 

daygan

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There's always bonsai muck. Plant it on a slab or just make a pot purely out of muck. I can't remember where I recently saw trees planted in what looked like nothing but muck with a moss top dressing, but if I do, I'll post those pictures...
 

Klytus

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Bondo-sai?

Sometimes in the shops they have Granite pestle and mortar,i would not use this rock for grinding food but i guess they must use some kind of turning machine in the fashioning of such objects.

Rounds could be a possibility if you have taken delivery of industrial equipment and you have enough phases at your disposal.

Actually upon thinking about it they could be granite dust and epoxy pressure moulded mortaria.

Furthermore i'll wager these gas/oil exploratory bore hole yield long round sections ready for cutting and turning,but it's a guess.
 
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ABCarve

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There is fiberglass reinforced cement you can buy by the bag. It could be as light as ceramic and colored with dye while mixing or stained after drying. You would need some kind of mold to form it in or over. Quik-crete makes such a product.
 

thailand-steve

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i found this nice flat 2" thick slab of granite the other day. i was thinking of cutting a hole out the middle for the tree and making a bottom with a stainless steel plate (which you would never see of course) and keep the natural outer edge as is. i think that could look nice too.

granite.jpg
 

thailand-steve

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There is fiberglass reinforced cement you can buy by the bag. It could be as light as ceramic and colored with dye while mixing or stained after drying. You would need some kind of mold to form it in or over. Quik-crete makes such a product.

i like that idea a lot, embed the color powder (maybe blue or green) in the cement and maybe apply a clear glaze when its dry to bring out the color.

another thing i've done for my house actually, is acid stained cement. cement is great because its so porous it soaks up color very easily.

making a mold is easy, i can carve one out of a gypsum block, or if i can find a plastic bonsai pot i like, us that as a mold
 
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ABCarve

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Actually the good FRC (fiberglass reinforced cement) doesn't have any sand in it. This makes it much stronger and waterproof, but not very porous for accepting paint.
 

thailand-steve

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i just made these 3 (my first 3 so still practicing)

P1140795.jpg P1140792.jpg P1140793.jpg P1140794.jpg

they are made with colored cement around a fiberglass reinforced core

i plan to make a youtube video about how to make them when i have perfected the process

steve
 

Anthony

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Steve,

if you check the IBC pot section, there is a discussion on making pots from cement. It is an easy situation and you can make waterproof cement pots by simply using sand with builder's gravel.
The mix with these three ingredients cement/sand / builder's gravel [ we call it sharp sand ] can be cast and vibrated to give a tight structure. To strengthen it fibre can be added in, and if the pot is really large some chicken wire.

You also have paper crete, just do a Google, there is a great deal of information on how to do it.

Years ago we did the fibreglass mould bit, also works and can be coloured.

You can also carve out certain rocks. Marble, is good as is soapstone.

The cement pots don't have to be thick and chunky by the way. Just experiment.
Good Morning.
Anthony
 

will0911

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your pots turned out really good! great color and are very smooth. If you didnt say you made them i couldnt tell the difference other than the legs on the blue one. Im looking forward to a youtube video!! what is your channel?
 

brewmeister83

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Actually the good FRC (fiberglass reinforced cement) doesn't have any sand in it. This makes it much stronger and waterproof, but not very porous for accepting paint.

Just to clarify, are we talking about the quikcrete (1200) fiberglass reinforced stucco which has a base of portland cement and has no sand added, or do you mean some other type of cement? Thinking of trying my hand at some of these cement pots soon and I want to make sure I get the right stuff...
 

thailand-steve

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your pots turned out really good! great color and are very smooth. If you didnt say you made them i couldnt tell the difference other than the legs on the blue one. Im looking forward to a youtube video!! what is your channel?

i'm 2112design on youtube but no bonsai on their yet, just my music software business

i will make a video in about 1 week, i'm just working on ways to make it faster and easier now. at the moment is about 6 hours work to make one, i want to get it down to about 1-2 hrs.

but basically, its 100% render cement core over a plastic box. then the core is covered with fiber glass tape like the one used for gypsum board (sheet rock) joins. then left over night to harden.

then i use cement mixed with color and trowel it on to the core, then use a custom made stainless steel cutter to carve out the wall profile, using a plywood base as a perimeter guide.

the video will make it clear.

steve
 

ABCarve

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fore

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Google ciment fondue.

This is what Eric K? does over at IBC. I tried using it once so far to make a slab, and found that either I mixed it too watery, which I don't think so, or that you must have a sandbox or something to hold the first shaping from falling out of the hardware mesh.
 

Poink88

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This is what Eric K? does over at IBC. I tried using it once so far to make a slab, and found that either I mixed it too watery, which I don't think so, or that you must have a sandbox or something to hold the first shaping from falling out of the hardware mesh.

Too watery which can cause you several problems...the worst one IMHO is cracking as it dries. If I'll try this, I'd probably use a plasticizer.
 
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dick benbow

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best example of cement pots, I ever saw was made by a yamadori collector on van couver Island in british columbia, canada. They were all a rugged appearance that if you didn't know better you'd have thought they were carved volcanic rock. If I felt motivated to try, I'd use a technique i discovered decades ago while building Koi Ponds and that was the use of dyes, while the cement was formed and still wet as it began to dry. I'd mix up the dyes green,red and black
and spray the colors in overlapping patches. The black ( to get a more granite look) I would remove the spray nozzel and strike the bottle with my right hand against a left fist clenched
to make droplets like the flecks of black in granite. My other pond technique was to mix black sand blasting granules in the cement mix itself which also looked very believeable as the real thing when dried. I don't think I'd like an entire collection displayed this way but it would make a nice comliment along with pots. :)
 

Poink88

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There is an array of concrete dye available and you can use them on cured concrete (as long as not yet sealed).

There are lots of techniques that can be used to simulate different effects, a good watercolor technique art book will cover most applicable ones. Easiest one is the use of sponge (natural if possible) or old rag. You can also use toothbrush (or any other brush) then flick the bristles to splatter the dye to the pot (make sure your area is protected and you wear gloves ;) ). You can also use sea salt to create interesting effects on smooth surface. There are so much more but just to show that it could be another hobby all by it self. :D
 
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