Whirl′ing-ta′ble.
（Pottery.) A horizontal disk rotating in a horizontal plane and carrying a plaster mold, whose surface is the counterpart of the inside of the plate, saucer, cup, or other circular object, while the outer surface of the object is formed by the templet, which is lowered upon and gaged for the thickness of the ware (Fig. 7201). The templet a moves in or out upon an arm b according to the radial dimensions of the ware to be molded, and descends in a groove to a distance regulated by a stop in correspondence to the desired thickness of the ware. The molds are made of plaster, and as they readily absorb moisture, they are kept in a drying-room, from whence they are brought by a boy as required. The plate-maker cuts off a piece of clay with a wire, and flattens it out by a plaster-mallet called a batter, while the clay rests upon a slab of wet plaster called a batting-block. A boy brings a plaster-mold from the drying-room, places it on the whirling-table, and then takes his position at the driving-crank. The man places the clay on the mold which forms the inside of the vessel, and when motion is imparted to the table the templet a is brought down and gives the required thickness and configuration to the ware. The mold and the ware are then removed to the drying-room, where, in a few hours, the plate is sufficiently dry to be removed from the mold. The latter is left to dry for a while longer, to remove the moisture contracted from the clay.
