How To Attach A Handle And Prevent It From Cracking // 3 different shapes

In this video I show you how to attach a handle to a pottery cup and turn it into a mug. I pull my handles, but you can make them in any way you'd like. I also explain how to prevent the clay from cracking. I start of with a basic handle shape, and show you two different variations as well.
Bisque fire: 1020°C / 1868°F / cone 06
Glaze fire: 1220°C / 2228°F / cone 6
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!
Tools you can use:
Scoring/scratching Tool from Xiem Tools: amzn.to/36tfHfy
Sponge from Mudtools: amzn.to/3rArsrH
Heat Gun: amzn.to/3OkroGd
Sculpting Tools: amzn.to/3jMefYr
Film equipment:
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Sigma 16 mm Lens: amzn.to/3vnlr2U
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Voice-over microphone: amzn.to/3rAAmWd
Tripod: amzn.to/390wjMv
Phone holder: amzn.to/3jMoJXR
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[@MaresEatOats_]

Thank you for this video!!! Easy to follow and your accent is so interesting, too. Have a great day!🎉🎉🎉

[@emmapeters6222]

This was so helpful, thank you!

[@zanekalnina8023]

Great video, thank you so much for this tips. I have problems with cracking and will definitely try out your all 3 ways, nice and beautiful handle shapes! 😊 Really needed video about handles and you made it! 🤩

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear you found it helpful! Have fun making handles🤗🥳

[@kevinjamiesonbelou]

1:36
Brilliant! I’m totally using this idea!

[@denavess732]

I use slip to attach handle. Vinegar sounds like great idea. Love towel idea also. Smart thinking. Tool called shaper tool😊

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much!! I could not find the name😅

[@cockadoodleguru]

Your pieces are absolutely beautiful! I think after watching how you do this, my handles will be so much neater and better.

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much! Have fun making handles :))

[@lynneyoung800]

You are a star, I’ve watched a number of videos trying to find a way of attaching handles as mine are cracking - and now I know why! Great video, thank you. 😃

[@annelangewisch9588]

January 29 2023
You make it look so easy and beautiful!!! I am a new potter and really appreciate your videos. I have learned a lot from you, but could learn better if the directions were a little slower. Thank you for sharing your work and lessons.

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you find my videos helpful :) I'm sorry I talk so fast😅

[@sp4874]

Thanks! I just attached an elegant handle to my jug thanks to your video! First time using vinegar instead of slip so will see how it goes drying. I’ve popped it in an old freezer we use as a wet cupboard (not switched on of course)… so will dry it slowly to give the jug and handle time to become one 😊

[@hollandhobbyfarm4340]

Thank you very much for this video! I'm a new pottery who has become VERRRRRRRY frustrated with my handles cracking at the attachment sites. Wish me luck!

[@caldervanandel]

I hope you won't have cracked handles anymore! Good luck :))

[@jeanninebona6096]

Merci pour toutes ces super vidéos et vraiment, quel talent! C'est un réel bonheur de vous retrouver ! Un grand bonjour du Sud de la France.

[@caldervanandel]

Merci beaucoup! Content que mes vidéos te plaisent!

[@cindypope6122]

Thank you so much. I am also new to pottery making many Christmas Cups.

[@caldervanandel]

I hope it's going well :))

[@arabianwings8064]

Very interesting. I often have problems with my handles. While they do not crack because I dry the mugs very slowly, they often distort because they are so soft. I have an old hair dryer in my studio. I will see how this may work in firming up the handles. Another good video. Thanks! Gabriele

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much Gabriele! Drying them with the hair dryer should do the trick😁

[@patriciafurr4771]

I always learn so much from you!!! Thanks for making these videos.

[@caldervanandel]

I'm glad you find my videos helpful :))

[@jeffingels4480]

Thanks for the great ideas. If you still have cracking problems try changing clay body. I had a clay that never cracked, I literally dried them out in the sun and wind and fired the day after throwing. Then they stopped making that clay and I've had trouble ever since.

[@therabbitswhisper]

I learned a lot. Thanks for sharing.

[@welli-o6u]

Love this video. I've never been able to pull handles in such a perfect uniform manner (I use an extruder tool now) so I'm super impressed with your handles.

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much! Extruders work great! Pulling handles took me a long time to learn :)

[@kelleymckenzie]

Thanks! This was very helpful!

[@ObedTheBored]

Earned a like and suscribe, absolutely beautiful work and explanation

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much!!

[@diegaah]

Hello Calden, beautiful depiction. Would you mind clarifying your drying time before bisque firing, do you moderate your drying with a plastic bag for about 3 days and then after the 3 days, do you leave it at room temperature and for how long do you let it sit without a bag over it prior to ‘bisqueing’? Thanks

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much! Yes I leave it in plastic for 3 day, and then I let it dry for about a week at room temperature :)

[@rabiulislam8049]

Great job

[@screamingmimi90]

Do you not use slip when you attach? Only vinegar? I’ve never heard of that. Lovely thinness on the cup and a beautiful shape to the handle. Is the cup leather-hard when you do this? And how soft is the clay of the handle? Very interesting video. ❤️

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you! Yes, I only use vinegar and no slip. The vinegar has a reaction with the clay which makes the clay viscosity higher which means it becomes stickier and helps it bond better. The cup is leather-hard, I attach the handle directly after trimming it. And the clay of the handle is as dry as possible, but to a level that I can still easily bent it.

[@screamingmimi90]

@@caldervanandel wonderful! I have to try that in class soon.

[@caldervanandel]

Have fun!!🎉

[@markkeown9532]

Have you tried adding a binch of oxalic acid to the vinigar ? give it a go.

[@ailedcorinnerivera6934]

Thanks so much for the tutorial. ✨

[@oksanabear]

love your videos! straight to the point!

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you!!

[@ggb9405]

thank you!

[@fictionalhuman]

Thanks for the great tips! I’ve never tried vinegar before. I’ll give that a go!

[@caldervanandel]

I'm glad you like it! Good luck!

[@Forestsun4]

Thank you🍀💚🌍

[@maryjeanallen6189]

Fantastic! Thanks SO much for sharing all this! Love how carefully and patiently you work. By the way when you throw, do you mostly "wedge on the wheel" (coning up and down, as you show in your videos) or do you also wedge the clay on flat board before you cone up and down on the wheel?

[@caldervanandel]

Thank you so much! I do wedge the clay a little before I start throwing, but I know that the clay I use doesn't have air bubbles in it, so it's mainly to make it a bit softer. I wedge on top of a plasterboard. I'll include it in some videos in the future😊

[@jedidiah72]

Also..... You can paint wax on the outside of the handle to slow the drying as well. Still keep it under a plastic bag.

[@caldervanandel]

Great tip!

[@hugobernachea3067]

Hi friend (I don't know your name), I'm your follower from Argentina and my name is Hugo.
I'm using google translate, sorry for the errors in my writing.
I congratulate you for the neatness of your work, which can also be seen in the order of your workshop. If you saw mine you'd be scared.
My query is about the differences in temperatures between the sponge cake and the glaze.
What enamel do you use? Don't you crack with those differences? I do everything at 1070 degrees centigrade, to avoid cracking.
Greetings from Buenos Aires, Argentina

[@caldervanandel]

Hi, my name is Calder. Thank you so much! I use stoneware glazes, which I fire at 1220 degrees Celsius. And I don't have a problem with them cracking, if that's what you mean. I have had glazes that cracked at a lower temperature, that's why I moved over to stoneware glazes☺️

[@malcolm7436]

Why vinegar and not slip, or just water? Thank you for the brilliant guidance video.

[@sohaumafonte1723]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻❤

[@rensommers1588]

Hi can you tell me what the sponge is that you are using….thx for the video its been a great help

[@caldervanandel]

Hi! It's the orange sponge from Mudtools :)

[@denavess732]

Are you using extruder gun with attachments do your handle? I can’t pull consistent handles. Great video. ❤️😊

[@caldervanandel]

I pull my handles, but an extruder works great too😁 Thank you!🤗

[@JohnnyBenavente]

Can you combine vinegar with slip? Or it has to be one or the other then you attach? Thank you for the great video

[@caldervanandel]

Yes you could also mix slip with vinegar :)

[@brendawiles3148]

Is your sponge dry when you first use it on the join?

[@caldervanandel]

No, it's always wet😊

[@emilygriffioen7172]

Did you mention the type of clay body?

[@caldervanandel]

No I didn't mention, I use 254 from www.potterypassion.com/products it's a standard white stoneware clay😊

[@dilanaydemir5561]

love it! thanks, it is so useful