Re: Modular substrate & cutting clay pots down to size

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Tauni Sandy asked how to cut clay pots.

This can be easily done for small potts with a tile saw -- a saw with a
toothless, diamond-dust-impregnated blade in a water-cooling bath,
designed to cut ceramic tile.  You can rent these, or the use of one at
the rental location from some ceramic tile stores.  Home Depot might. 
You have to hold the pot perpendicular to the blade if the pot has a
semi-conical shape.  Propping the thin end on a piece of tile is
usually adequate.  As with all electric saws, don't push the material
into the blade so hard that the motor slows down significantly -- at
least, not while the saw's owner is looking ;-)  The radius of the
blade will determine the diameter of pot that you can cut on a saw. 
For a large pot, you'll need a large industrial sized tile saw or a
brick saw set up with a fine-cut blade.

Tile saws are much safer, in general, then saws with toothed blades.

A carborumdum ceramic cutting disk on any other motorized saw will work
but will create too much dust to make it seem a sensible alternative to
a tile saw.  It will also be more dangerous to use, if it's a handheld
saw.  And the carborumdum disk will wear down very quickly.  The disks
are relatively cheap but he electric motor will remember the dust for
years to come  :-(  

Hope that helps,
Scott H.

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