Plaster Bat

A plaster bat is a thick ceramic tool used by potters on a pottery wheel for throwing clay, with ware thrown directly on the bat so the whole piece can be removed together to make room for the next. Because of their material, plaster bats absorb a large amount of water, drawing it out of the base of a thrown piece as it dries; potters favor plaster bats over wood or plastic ones because pieces are often lost to cracking across the base when the rim of a piece dries faster than its foot, and a plaster bat, together with cloth and plastic covers, keeps drying more even and reduces this kind of cracking, especially on large plates and bowls. A 12 inch by 1 inch thick plaster bat weighs around 5 pounds, and homemade plaster bats are considerably cheaper than commercial ones.