hitchmss
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Posts posted by hitchmss
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Please see spreadsheet below for all the equipment I have for sale.
Will update as stuff sells.
Asking prices are just that: reasonable offers will be considered, especially those looking to buy in bulk. Ive provided current retail values in my spreadsheet. Most of my asking prices are 40% or more from retail.
Equipment overall is in good and operable condition: some items need refurbishment which is on my list to do. The advancer & SiC shelves need a serious grinding, and if youd like to do that, take 12% off the price listed.
Not on the list is an Olympic 3031 manual kiln, 240V single phase in good condition with like new elements-$1300. As well, a 100amp plug & outlet for those wanting a moveable kiln with quick connections, brand new- asking $750. A heavy duty steel cart with large pneumatic tires is what the kiln is currently sitting on, and would make a great setup for the kiln & plug. Asking $1,000 for the cart (like new condition).
Also not on the list, is a 90 ton ram press with 100 die rings, a few thousand gallons of slip mixing/storage/transfer tanks(poly and stainless) and slip casting equipment, as well as two waterfall spray booths.
Have some reclaimed standard 259 (700#'s worth); ready to be used (deaired & pugged), asking .40 cents per pound.
Probably have more Im not thinking of. Not selling my entire studio, just clearing out unused equipment and a recent closed pottery factory acquisition.
Can send you photos via text. Please email me at hitchmss@gmail.com (include something in the subject line so it doesnt go to spam)first so I can establish you're not a bot, and we'll go from there. Located in Felicity OH, outside of Cincinnati. Can arrange trucking for you.
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17 hours ago, PeterH said:
I don't think anybody has directly addressed this question.
Understanding the Deflocculation Process in Slip Casting https://tinyurl.com/2p96x33r
A simple mix of clay and water will not work well at all for casting. Not only will it quickly waterlog the molds but it will shrink too much (and therefore crack in the molds) and it will take much to long to cast. It will also gel and settle out and generally make the process miserable. Optimal casting requires that the slurry have minimal water content (e.g. 30% instead of 60%), good flow and draining properties and that it not settle out or gel too quickly. When the slurry is right the casting process works amazingly well.
... I suspect that these issues are amplified if you are trying to solid-cast.
Thanks for answering that Peter! I had always heard to cast using a defloc slip as the particles would evenly disperse (as well as lower water content), but wondered if being cast solid would provide different results. It seems based on a lot of good advice that slip casting these handles wont work, so Im going to pursue press molding these instead. Thankfully, Ive got enough experience with making/using press molds that this should be a relatively painless journey.
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15 minutes ago, Chilly said:
As @Mark C.says.
Slip cast handles are hard to make so they are solid. Mine always ended up with a hollow down the centre. No amount of re-topping the reservoir, changing the viscosity etc, made any difference. As soon as I put any pressure on the handle to change it's shape it squashed or flattened.
i assume this was using a defloc slip? I wonder if a non defloc slip, being higher in water content, would take longer to gel/set, and thus might give fill solid? When you let your castings dry after filling the molds, were they vertical, or on a slight angle? I wonder if an angle might increase the chances of casting solid? Maybe setting the molds onto a vibrating table as they set? Not sure if any of these have merit, just brainstorming. Would love to find a way to make this work, but again, time/money invested only to fail....
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9 minutes ago, Hulk said:
Interesting!
I enjoy pulling handles and will very likely keep plodding along with it for ...ever.Seems that extrusion is the common alternative, however, handling would be required to get the taper.
I've been curious if stamping out handles could be an alternative?I worked in a tile studio and we press molded a lot of tiles. I hadnt thought about press molds to be honest.... This might be a better alternative to slip casting.
I enjoy pulling a few handles, but I make about 500 mugs a year which I pull handles for, and it takes me about 5-6 mins per handle to pull which equates to about 42-50 hours a year just in pulling handles.
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10 minutes ago, Mark C. said:
I never had any luck with bending slip wares-they do not like it
I think the extruded handle is your best option (its what I do with thousands of handles per year)
slip ware just does not bend well as it cracks . The way the particles line up is my thought as they tear easy with bends.-Your extruded handles will be 25 times stronger with all the compression.
I extrude a boatload of handles for other pots. They look "ok", and are quick, but for some things I just want that pulled handle look.
I was wondering about the particles/strength of the cast handles. Not having any experience, I wasnt sure. Similarly, wasnt sure if a defloc vs non defloc slip would be stronger/weaker in this regard.
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Hey Gang, long time no talk....too busy making pots to get on here and throw my $.2 around even though Id like to!
I searched in the back pages to see if this was covered somewhere else, but couldnt find the answer to my question, but if it already has, please advise and/or delete.
I make about 1,000-1500 pots a year for which I also make (aside from extruding) handles for these said pots. I pull handles for mugs, and throw knobs/handles for some bakers. While Im efficient at the process, it still adds up to a bunch of time just in making the handles, and Id like to find a more consistent/expedient process for doing this, so I thought Id research into slip casting them.
Making the molds is not my issue; plenty of experience making molds and using numerous different materials (silicones/urethanes/gypsums/etc). My question mainly lies in the casting slip. Having very little (all intensive purposes, consider it zero) experience with slip casting, my knowledge of said materials makes me think that a deflocculated slip cast handle is going to shrink a lot less than my throwing clay body (Bmix ^10), and this will obviously be an issue.
Can I cast with a non deflocculated slip? Ideally Id love to just add some suspension agents to my slip and pour away. Will I have issues doing this with my castings?
Obviously, the higher water content will lead to saturated molds much faster, which Id just offset with more gang molds-no biggie. Im also hoping that this will benefit me some; my pulled handles are thicker at the top, thinner at the bottom. If I pour these molds with the thick/top up, and thin/down, I would think there would be a higher concentration of water in the bottom portion of the mold (gravity), and thus, hopefully my handle bottoms wont be much drier than the tops upon removal from the mold.
Id need the handles to come out of the molds soft enough to still bend into shape to attach (Not sure that I want to make molds of handles in a "pre-bent" shape), so Im thinking I will have some challenges with timing the extraction of these castings, but with experience....If they do need to come out too firm to bend, I could always rehydrate, which is time, but not a huge amount of effort.
Anyone have experience with this? Anything Im missing? Dont want to spend a lot of time/money on this to find out that its a complete waste.
Thanks in advance!
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The way I look at this QOTW is more about my competency in being able to produce objects on the wheel, and not about when I made "good" objects, whether those be for sale, or in comparison to my other works.
I also agree that it is more a measure of intensive, focused hours of practice than it is years of dabbling/making/etc.
What I tell students is that in the beginning while learning to throw they are going to be "taking" what the wheel and the process gives them; yes they have input, but once things begin to go awry, they do their best to keep it from flopping, and call it good enough. The point at which they are able to sit down, and produce any object they want, in just about any (realistic) size they want, is the point where I consider them to have mastered the throwing process. For me, this took me about my first 8-10 years, and its been another 8-10 years since that point. There are definitely objects or sizes that challenge my skills, but it has become a process like breathing in which I dont have to think about it much, if any, and I just do. While I feel that I have "mastered" the wheel, I definitely do not believe that I have nothing left to learn from the wheel; it is a process in which I will continue to grow in my technical abilities for the rest of my life......i.e for now throwing 15#, 1/4" thick bowls takes relatively little effort, and one day I will be throwing 30# bowls with the same ease.
However, many have noted the other exhausting lists of skills that need to be honed to make "generally admirable" work, let alone work that is designed well for its utilitarian purposes; form, surface, glaze chemistry, eutectics, equipment handling, studio management....all these "broad" categories take years/lifetimes to hone.....it took me about 4 years, maybe 200 firings of my gas kiln to truly understand and with relative precision how to predict how each zone of the kiln will react....the next new kiln, will take me likely as long to learn its nuances too. It is these challenges which keep me excited about ceramics.
In my area there were a couple of potters who would at shows share a double booth, and would hang these 10' tall banners of themselves with the words "Master Potter__________", yet they both made pots which were adolescent in their maturity at best; while yes, they may have put in the 10,000 hours, a master potter it does not make. I know Ive spent well over 10,000 hours practicing the art of walking, yet I aint bringing home the bacon with my vertical posture!
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It sounds like Im in the same boat as everyone else here too.
I built my slab roller frame, and top, and used a Bailey Machine to finish it out. Made the top from Formica, and made the in/out feed tables larger than need be; table end to end is about 10', by 30'' wide. I also made the height of the top closer to 37" so it was a comfortable height to work on. Both choices (bigger table, and higher top) were made because I knew it was going to have to serve double duty. When I get into my bigger studio I will be making a new top so it will be 4' wide and 10' long.
I also built shelves underneath the table so I can store all my forms for slab work, along with all kinds of other tools etc. I made it small enough that it could fit through most doorways, and can come apart when I need it to. I usually have the "wheel" taken off my mech so its easier to work around...slides into a corner of the studio. I use the slab roller as a slab roller about 1-3 days a month, and for the few times a year I use it, I consider it a completely sound investment. I make these little dishes from slabs which are press molded into a plaster mold; before the roller it would take me about an hour to make 50 blanks, with the slab roller it takes me about half or less of that time; It paid for itself quite rapidly, even though the mech from Bailey was close to $1k.
My current studio is on the smaller size than what my new studio will be, but is bigger than what most of you are stating. If I had a smaller studio, and wanted to have a slab roller, Id put it on heavy duty locking casters so I could roll it to a wall when not in use as a slab roller, and it would become just a work/storage table. I put small 1" non locking castors on one end of my slab roller, thinking that the other end without castors would keep it from shifting around the studio as its worked on; while it doesnt move around, I dont think it would anyways even if I had casters on both ends. It does make it very easy to pick up the one end and "drive" it around the studio when need be.
I think if I only made slabs a couple times per year, then Id stick with my slats and rolling pins, but it is SOO much nicer to have an actual slab roller when you're making a bunch of slabs.
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@liambesaw Not sure what you mean by DC motor? Runs off of alternating 110 current.
I know I also need to flip the wheel over and lubricate the main bearings; Ive got a nice "....squeek....squeek....squeek..." at low speeds. Sounds like a small bird in my wheel....highly annoying.
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I have a early 2000's pacifica gt 800; variable speeds and torque are my two big criteria; followed by smoothness at low speeds/change from speed-speed, lastly by quietness. I have a reversible option on my wheel, but very, very very rarely use it; Im right hand dominant so I guess that's not a big one for me.
The vast majority of pots that have been thrown on this wheel are under 5# which it handles relatively well; my belts are getting worn, so if I hog down on 3# I can feel them slipping, but with new belts it handled centering 30#+ with no real issues. I dont know if its the number of miles on my wheel or what, but at low speeds I am starting to notice a little choppiness in my wheel speed when changing from one RPM to another. Could just need a tune up.
Lot of equipment and materials for sale, Cincinnati OH.
in Community Marketplace – Buy/Sell/Trade/Free
Posted
Realized my PDF file above didnt read well. Heres a list.
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