starting off: feeling totally stuck
last month i was grinding 14-hour days working on my pottery business, pouring cups till 2am. orders kept piling up but my output stayed garbage. my hands were cracked, back hurt like hell, and honestly? felt ready to quit. googled “how to make pottery faster without sucking” at 3am – that’s when i stumbled on ben ancheff’s stuff.
the first ugly tries
dove into free forums first. found his “5-finger clay kneading” technique. tried it next morning:
- smash – pressed clay using all fingers like he said
- rotate – spun that lump 180 degrees every slap
- palm smash – forgot this step completely first time lol
result? clay exploded everywhere. legit looked like a mud grenade went off in my studio. spent 45 minutes scrubbing walls. almost bailed right there.
obsessive tweaking phase
found his paid course deep dive. realized i was skipping the damp towel trick. followed his exact routine:
- soak fabric strips overnight in warm water (not cold like i used)
- wrap clay tight before kneading – not loosely like before
- 30-second pauses between kneads – i’d been rushing this
boom – suddenly made 20 identical mugs in 90 minutes without cracking. mind blown. that moisture timing was pure witchcraft.
the real game-changer
but his wheel foot position hack changed everything:
- left foot angled 45 degrees outward (i had it straight)
- right heel barely touching the pedal (i stomped it)
- kept knees loosey-goosey (used to lock up like a robot)
next day pulled 32 perfect vases before lunch. no back pain. zero wrist cramps. felt like some kinda pottery god.
after 3 weeks of this madness
orders are finally caught up. doubled my prices cause demand went nuts. stopped destroying my studio daily. still mess up sometimes when i forget the towel step – turns into clay confetti. but hey that’s art right? gonna experiment with his glaze thickness shortcuts next week. dude’s methods actually work if you follow them exactly instead of half-assing like me.
