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@Dot, the op hasn't been back since they made their post. I would send them a private message with your extruder question. To send a private message click on their name then the little envelope at the top of the page that comes up and follow the prompts. They will get an email letting them know of your message.

Maybe of slight help:

Good question. The larger motors may be louder - or they may be quieter under the same load? Someone with direct experience may yet weigh in... From what I've read, Skutt wheels are noisier than similarly rated competitor's wheels; I don't know that to be a fact... I like my Skutt, a lot! It was much louder in clockwise than counter clockwise, at first; it's quieted down with use. Previous experience limited to Brent A,B,C and CXC models at the Junior College ceramic lab. I liked them all just fine, but didn't give the A model much of a test... The noise level varied quite a bit; all had been used a lot, for a long time. Added: Skutt support has a good reputation; you might ring them during business hours and ask them!

Do you know if the larger motors are more noisy than the smaller ones? I was thinking of just getting the skutt classic with the 1/2hp or 1hp motor just in case since I don't see any drawback aside from possibly greater noise...

Oops, double post.

Hi Dot, Welcome to the Forum! Crazed wares, almost certainly weaker*, and liquids can be a concern, particularly where the fired clay's absorption rate is "high"... For sculpture (and other non-food ware), however, crazing may be ok? Reversing crazing, that may not be possible. My understanding is that crazing occurs when the clay and glaze COE** are different enough, and that can only be corrected by changing the glaze and/or clay. If the clay matures at a higher cone (than 04, in your case), the fit may change when fired higher, but not necessarily a better fit! Check back for more responses... *A well fitted glaze makes for stronger ware **Coefficient Of Expansion Co-efficient of Thermal Expansion (digitalfire.com) see also Mr. Hansen's articles on glaze crazing, glaze fit, glaze compression

HP rating are not all the same -that said 1/2hp is usually enough for all size pots one could ever what to make. The 1/3 hp is a bit weak for larger work

Ah, I didn’t know there were options for motor size with the new skutts. I can’t seem to find an option to customize on the websites I have been looking at, but I’ll look into it!

! That was my choice as well, excepting the vent, as I retained the vent from prior kiln setup... Moving from fully manual to three zone numeric control ...oh, how I like the sound of clicking relays!

Wheel vendor hp ratings may not be equal. The Skutt hp ratings are "continuous duty"... The "pounds of centered clay" ratings also may not be equal. Last sentence on Skutt's "Motor" webpage*: "Most people will be fine with a 1/3 HP motor, but, if you are throwing big stuff you might want to step up to the 1/2 HP or 1HP motor." I'd agree with that, err, with edit to "...lots of big stuff for a long time, you might want to step up..." My 1/2 hp model, maybe it's "broken in" by now, after six years? Both are good wheels! *The Motor - Kilns | Ceramic Pottery Kiln, Glass Kiln, Pottery Wheels | Skutt Added: Looks like Skutt has changed their product line; I'm not seeing which models have the 1/2 or 1 HP motor. My Stephen Hill (~2016) is fitted with a 1/2 hp motor; its twist is something to respect, for sure...

I make rather large vertical sculptures, low-fire bisque 04, underglazes, and glaze, 04, and one of them has some crazing just in bright light, but I can't sell it with a good conscience. Is there anything at all I can do to fix it? It took many hours to make it. It went through the glaze fire fine, also 04. Any advice will be appreciated.

"...Is it ok to test glazes both on the front and the back of standing tiles?" Good question! My first thought was - it makes for the tests to mimic the intended applications - then, huh! ...ok, I'm going to think about that a while*... You might try side by side comparisons, set of tiles with glaze on one side only, another set with different glazes on both sides? It's possible that glazes that have dissolved materials could influence the other side... I liner glaze almost everything but have never set up test tiles with liner on one side and "outside" glaze on the other side; just dipping about halfway in at a forty-five degree angle, where second dip overlaps in the middle as Bill alluded to. My test tiles check a new glaze against clays I'm using, else glazes I'm using against new clay, looking for: fit - no crazing or shivering coverage - no crawling color fizzing/bubbles pinholes how it works applied thinly, thickly ... *I pour in and out the ware interiors, and dip the exterior, with a full dry in between. So, my test tiles don't reflect how I'm glazing wares, with liner on one side and color on the other. When I do a set of test tiles, almost always I'll also fire a small ware or two that are liner glazed.

Is there a wall-mounted extruder?

Well I ended up emailing Rob Battey as suggested. Think I’m going to end up with the L&L e23T-3 with quad elements and vent sure system. Thanks again all!

Thanks again everyone, I ended up going electric for now!

Does anyone have experience with the new red Skutt wheels? I am in the market for a new wheel and was thinking about getting one of the new Skutt classics. It is between that and a Brent CXC… The Skutt being only 1/3 hp gives me a little pause, but supposedly the torque is really good…

I haven't seen that, and would be interested if you have a ref. But I have seen occasional references to needing to let the pot dry sufficiently between glazing one surface and the other. ... this seems to be more of an issue with dipped glazes than painted ones.

I Have only been in An Olympic gas kiln for the past 30 years. We installed a tankless H2O system, and our pressure is now been upgraded to commercial levels. I can easily overfire the Little Beast. I've had a couple of cone 11 cones puddles. I’m Doing a bisque Fire Now with a full load of heavy and big fermentation crocks. I started at noon yesterday and Will finish up at about 03:30. At 1800 Now. William The Kracked Pot, Washington NC

Yes, mostly ought to be fine. One color can influence another a bit I suppose on occasion but folks use liner glazes different than their exterior glaze all the time. Folks often dip their tiles … 3 second, 5 second dip …. 1 coat, 2 coats. So using test tiles and brush applying each side has its drawbacks. With respect to glazing the outside and not the inside or Vice versa this can create an unbalanced stress in the clay as the glaze often squeezes the clay so to speak. This tiny bit of compression can increase the strength of the ware significantly. So one side glazed and the other not can cause unequal stress in the ware. End result - more fragile ware occasionally breaking suddenly when someone puts hot coffee in a cold mug for instance. Fully glazed well matched - glaze and clay- generally enhances the durability of the ware.

If it’s bad I’ll use a needle to even the rim, but I might try that hacksaw trick. For the foot, trimmed stuff takes care of itself. Untrimmed pieces will often get a rolled foot, hold the (leather hard) piece at a 45° angle and roll it around on the edge of the foot. If something sits unevenly when dry I’ll get a ware board wet and slide the piece around on that to knock down the high spots. This occasionally happens even on trimmed work.

When I've used Nerd's reclaim mix, a very small amount (a quarter cup to about three gallons of reclaim slurry; OM4 is the ball clay I'm using...) makes a discernable difference. Verticals cracks shortly after throwing - Studio Operations and Making Work - Ceramic Arts Daily Community

When recycling clay for the ceramics classes before summer vacation, I would add a few ounces of vinegar into the pug mill. Over the Summer months the clay would set in 50gal plastic buckets with damp towels with a water vinegar soak in them. Every Fall the recycled clay was better than the clay direct from the boxes. Students noticed the difference and I did take the time to explain that the organic material in the vinegar had chance to age the clay with organic material. best, Pres

to maximize the number of tests a test tile provides is it ok to test glazes both on the front and the back of standing tiles? or will the chemistry go through the clay and interfere with the other side? I read an instance where a glaze should not be used on a pot if that pot was glazed on the inside as well.? is this a common issue or just a rare occurrence specific to one particular type of glaze?

I add some ball clay to my 5 gal bucket of reclaim when I add more waste clay, just a handful and mix it in. I like to work with a clay that has more body to it so I can hand build with the recycled clay. I also use it for the original piece when I make a mold, you have to toss the original piece and first mold pull. Denice

This came up the other day, might help. https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/41668-midfire-clay-short-when-recycled/ Given your reclaim is already on plaster slabs if it is still fairly wet I'ld put it back into a bucket with some more water and add the blunged bentonite or ball clay/bentonite and slurry mix it again with the plasticizers. The smaller the clay particles the greater plasticity you will get from them, bentonite is much finer than ball clay which in turn is much finer than EPK.