How I use Lapping Paste to Make Lids Fit

Another unsatisfying (or satisfying) lid lapping video, smeared over with carborundum paste and ground until spinning true. A larger pot this time, reduction fire and still warm to the touch. A chunk of wood is used to loosen the lid, yet as I tap the side, I make sure I don’t make contact with any sharp angle, as this could chip the stoneware. Once loose, I pry the lid off, crack the last wadding away and given the lapping process. This is done with Chemical valve grinding paste, a technique shown to me by Lisa Hammond during my apprenticeship at Maze Hill Pottery, so many years ago now. It’s brushed on the underside of the lid and twisted in place, both by hand, and on the wheel, although it always feels better doing this in my hands, as if I have more control over where the pressure is applied, as it isn’t only up or down that I’m pushing. I also press the lid to the side and twist it at a 45-degree angle, both I can’t do in the same way on the wheel. Once lapped, is that a word? I wash the