Thursday, January 12, 2012

Vessel Sinks, Part I

I promised myself, and a potential client, a vessel sink design by Feb 1, so I better get on it. As often happens when I am intimidated by the technical aspects of a project, I often stall beginning it(see The Kiln Project!), because there are other, easier projects I can work on - or, if not easier, ones that I have a clue where to begin.
However, begun is half done, and it's time to find a clue. The first place to look is how other people have made vessel sinks before. am finding that they are made as small as 12" in diameter, and I found a few as large as 20". (I am sticking with round, for now, although they come in many shapes.) Many are 5.5" tall. There's a nice, very specific set of specs at Coyote Glass.

I think I will shoot for 16.5" in diameter (fired dimensions, all), 5.5" high, and .75" thick*. I know, that last seems like a lot, doesn't it? I need to remember that the functional demands of a sink are different than those of a bowl: after installation, no one will be lifting these, but they will get frequent - constant, really - use, and need to be immune from chips and dings, as replacing a sink is a much more onerous proposition than replacing a bowl. The tricky part will be making the drain hole accommodate a standard pipe, what with shrinkage and all.

If it isn't obvious from the post, I haven't made a sink yet, so none of the images are my doing. they are, respectively:
*Yikes! This necessitates a thrown dimension of 19" in diameter, and 6.25 inches high (plus a little for trimming; let's say 6.5") I could do this the last time I tried, but I haven't tried anything that large for years. Oh, well: time to channel my inner Steve Jobs. "Don't be afraid. Get your mind around it. You can do it."

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