This Clay Container Lid is Magic... It Pivots to Open!

Today I'm trying something unique. A container with a pivoting lid. The lid opens from an off-center point. There's no extra hardware required. It's all made of clay. Can this design really work? Let's find out. I use 1.4 kilos of clay for the container and 700 for the lid. I also need 2 times 150 grams. I start with the container by centering my clay. So like many container projects the base is just a straight sided dish. I'm making the container about 20 centimeters in diameter. And now I flatten the clay. I bring the clay out to just a little over 20 centimeters. I push down into the clay and open out. I start to form the walls. I make sure to compress the base and I pull up the walls to the final height. The walls of this container will be about 75 mil. You can easily vary the dimensions of this project but the lid must fit the container. And I measure. I'll use this measurement when making the lid. I set aside to dry. And now I start on the lid. I take the 700 grams of clay and I center. Once centered I flatten the clay. I flatten the clay out to just a little over the diameter of the container. I'm going to add some ridges to the top of the lid just for interest. I have a particular variegated glaze idea which I think will work with the undulation. And now trim around the base and wire through. And then I set aside to dry to leather hard. So to the pivot mechanism it requires a pin. In this case I'm going to throw the pin and a narrow cylinder that the pin will sit in. So I've centered 150 grams of clay and I bring the clay up into a narrow tall shaft of clay. I leave a little clay around the base. This will allow me to attach it to the lid. I measure. I want the pin to be the same height as the inside of the container. The height of the pin is important in determining whether the lid opens easily. And now to make the cylinder. So I center 150 grams of clay and I bring the clay up into a tall narrow cone. Now I open out the cone into a tall narrow cylinder. I use the end of a paintbrush for this. I make sure that the inside of the cylinder is just a little larger than the pin. It needs to allow the pin to swivel easily. I've left a little extra clay around the base of the cylinder. This will provide strength. And I set these pieces aside to dry to leather hard. So the pieces are leather hard and now I'm ready to join. I place the lid upside down off center. I center the pivot point of the lid. Which is actually quite close to the edge of the lid. And I mark out where I'm going to place the pivot pin. I cut a recess in which the extra clay at the base of the pin is going to sit. And then I score and slip and add the pin. This will create a strong join for the pin. This added footing for the pin ensures that the pin is straight. It's a bit of extra engineering that adds strength and stability. I'm ready to trim the base. I up end and center and then trim across the base. They'll be off center so that as the lid pivots the container will open. After trimming I compress the base. One of the tricky parts of this project is aligning the pivot mechanism. So the pin and the cylinder have to line up so that the lid properly closes over the base. To do this I sit the lid on its top. I add the cylinder onto the pin and then I use some ink to color the base of the cylinder. I place the base on the lid lining it up so that it's properly closed. I take the base off and this was unintentional but the cylinder has stuck to the base where it's supposed to be attached. All I really needed was for the ink to leave an outline on the base. No matter now I know where the cylinder has to sit I can attach the cylinder in that position. So I score both parts and then I attach with slip. So if you find these projects intriguing why not check out our swivel lid and our swing lid. And of course make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss out on any of our functional super useful and original projects. So the two parts are finished and I set aside to dry fully. Hang on I forgot a handle. So I take the lid and I cut a hole. I like this simple approach but you could also add an external handle to the top. Once dry I bis fire. I glaze by pouring into the dish and I glaze the outside and top with a brush on glaze. I'm using a variegated rutile blue glaze. I'll also add some extra variation with a jade blue gloss on the edges. I'll fire these pieces separately. In the glaze firing I'll support the lid on some kiln props and then I glaze fire and it's fired. So now I just place the lid on the base. The rutile glaze has done its job and the pivot mechanism works fine and I can use it to store keys, bath salts, tea bags, seed packets, matchbooks, stationery, all kinds of things. It's easy to open with one hand and keeps things tidied away. I've started to think of different versions I can make using this mechanism. If you can think of any uses for a pivot mechanism leave a comment below. And for another unusual and fun container idea check out my swing lid video. As always happy potting!