Finished cast v1 stoneware beer bottles

The center bottle is a standard glass one, the other two are ceramic, cast out of my version 1 plaster mold. The stopper fits perfectly. The clay is Plainsman M370 + 10% raw umber, it fires black. The glaze is GA6-B, an amber transparent that produces a deep glass-like effect over the dark burning body. They were fired using the C6DHSC firing schedule. These bottles are a testament to how 3D printing and 3D design now make it possible for even casual potters to make pieces never before practical or even possible.

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Classic Medalta Potteries Beer Bottle Mold

Making a new mold using 3D printing

Medalta classic beer bottle mold for slip casting

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The original bottles were hand thrown and very heavy. This one, for example, weighs 525g. Our bigger slip cast equivalent with a modern shape, 3mm thick walls and much higher capacity weighs only 400g.

The color, enduring glaze fit and the type of clay used by Medalta indicates these were likely fired at least to cone 10. Energy was cheap at the time and the Saskatchewan clays they used require high firing.

This is a test mold to determine if the swing top stopper will work on a neck of this shape. This mold only weighs 87g and the walls are printed to only 0.8mm thickness. Two natches are sufficient to keep the halves aligned perfectly. Pieces will shrink about 12%, thus the larger size. We will use tissue transfers for the decorations, the GA6-B glaze for the inside and shoulder and G2926B transparent for the body.

Slip cast leather-hard full-sized beer bottle prototype

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The commercial bottle on the right is 25cm high. These stopper mechanisms are a commodity item, millions are made and a wide range of bottles work with them. They are easy to find online and go by a variety of names (e.g. "Grolsch style flip top stoppers", "Swingtop Grolsch style bottle cages", "Porcelain swing top cap").

The slip cast bottle is on the left - this one is leather hard, recently extracted from a mold. It is made using a black-burning stoneware, the L4768D recipe. As a starting point, I used water/Darvan proptions outlined in the "Casting Recipe" section of the M370 data sheet. By the time this is fired it will be 10% smaller and will match the glass one on the right. The lugs are positioned to work well with swing-top stoppers.

Ceramic beer bottles with iron red glaze

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This is G3948A iron red glaze fired using the C6DHSC schedule. The casting body is L4768D, a fast-casting mix made using OptiKast kaolin, nepheline syenite, silica and raw umber. It fires almost black and is highly vitreous and strong. The inside glaze is the GA6-B base Alberta Slip super gloss functional. These are part of a project where we are documenting step-by-step how to make the mold and casting slip.

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Beer Bottle Master Mold via 3D Printing
A project that took several years of failures and blind allies and is finally coming together - so much simpler than expected!

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