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Perfect Dip - Level Glaze All The Way Around The Cup? How?


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*I just realized I put this in the wrong forum topic. I apologize.*

 

So I have been dipping cups and I can get a pretty even line around the bottom of the foot, however I can't seem to get it perfect(or where you cant tell at eye level on a desk) unless I apply wax resist on my wheel.

 

However there are pieces that I dip not all the way down and leave a little of the clay exposed. On those pieces I don't bother wax resist. Is there some trick to getting a perfectly level dip? I was thinking about buying something like this: http://amzn.com/B000BQR7TU

 

So I would put it on the bottom of the cup, and make sure it is level then dip in and count, pull out a little, pop cup and move on. Is this crazy of me or what?

 

I tried searching but I couldn't find anything about this as I guess most people dip to the foot which is waxed, which doesn't really present a problem. But I have some glazes where I actually like the feel of a smooth clay and the look of the glaze line break. Also on pots where I don't trim the bottom I like this look to be about a .5 inch or so above the bottom of the pot. It just makes it look more finished to me for the purposes I am going for.

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I saw that post and it is most excellent, and I plan on trying that method when I have tons of pots to glaze at once that I want a uniform line on.

 

However say I want to leave 1/2'' or an 1'' above the foot on 2-3 pots. So talking total of like 1.5''. Is that not a ton of wax to get hot? It might just be for a few cups. I am trying to find a solution that works for just a small amount of pots that I want to do this on occasion. 

 

Any ideas on that?

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To use your level idea you have to have very steady hands, balance the level on top of a slick surface while simultaneously lowering your object into the glaze and not drop the level into the glaze and not spend too much time in the glaze making sure it's still level.  I learned this lesson painfully with a sculpted elephant that I was trying to lower to my exact pencil line around his butt so I wouldn't have to wax ... and it was compounded by two layers of different color glaze ... major kiln shelf scraping.

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That is a good idea. So wax is really the only way to do this? 

 

Maybe I will pick up this : http://amzn.com/B005ZSOOCC

No, hot wax is not the only way to do this. I always get a blurp of melted wax up the side when I use the electric frypan method.

I wax all of my mugs while they are upside down and re-centred on my wheel. I go pretty fast as I tap centre them.

I first sign my name with brush, then wax.

I also completely submerse the bisqued mug in a bucket of glaze for a count of 5.

Inside and out are the same glaze.

TJR.

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grype,  the electric WARMING pot you are looking at will not get hot enough to melt your wax.  why does the line have to be perfectly level?  a factory could do that, why do you want to copy a factory?

 

tjr, the blurp is because you are putting the mug straight down into the hot wax.  that causes a bubble of air which causes the blurp when it escapes.  try to put the bottom down at a slant and circle the bottom around.  (there must be a word for that, it is similar to pouring glaze out of an interior only in reverse.)  that will allow the air to escape without being trapped and blurping.   

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I will check into it. I didn't know wax needed to be that hot to melt. I don't do much with candles, I hate chemically made scents so.. never really spent much time around candles unless the power went out.

 

Thanks for the tips. That is a pretty good price if it will do the job quickly when I start making batch mugs.

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grype, please think about what you are buying.  do you really want something so deep that you cannot even see your hand as it approaches the hot wax?  it sounds like the money is burning a hole and your pocket and you are ready to buy anything at all.  in that case, i have a bridge in brooklyn that i need to sell for a bargain price.

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haha thanks old lady but I am not buying anything right now. The only thing I have bought recently is materials for glaze, a new work bench and bison trimming tool.

 

if anything i have been pretty thrifty. I have worked with the same 1 trimming tool for a 1.5 years. the same 6 bats, the same sponge even. 

 

right now I am just looking for ideas on how to do things better and quicker as my son starts preschool in august and I have 6-7 hours a day alone to do things, and I plan on using all that time to pot, trim, glaze, and do testing. So a lot of things are going through my brain right now. 

 

thanks for the kind words and looking out for me, and I dont need a bridge right now, sorry.

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However there are pieces that I dip not all the way down and leave a little of the clay exposed. On those pieces I don't bother wax resist. Is there some trick to getting a perfectly level dip? I was thinking about buying something like this: http://amzn.com/B000BQR7TU

 

 

 

Why not measure how far down from the top you want the glaze to be and only fill whatever you use as a glaze bucket to that depth - dip your pot (upside down) until it sits on the bottom - assuming your table/work bench is level the glaze line will be level.

 

Some experimentation will be required to allow for displacement of the glaze as you dip your pot.

 

Using a spirit level is going to take too long, you will end up with too much glaze on the pot as it sits soaking while you study the bubble.

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So the majority of my problem was I had bad wax resist. It was the kind I bought when I first started. 

 

My current solution is just to put my pot on the wheel and apply wax resist in a ring around the pot in like 20 seconds. It isn't as fast as the hot wax thing, but I really don't want to get into that yet. 

 

Then I just dip to the wax ring, and if its a little over on one side it still comes out even. 

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I bought some wax resist that smelt like eggs. Opened it once, never used it. The stuff seems so rancid, maybe it is just very old.

 

The uneven glaze line has never bothered me but I did see a video (searched forever couldn't find it) where you get a square of carpet and have water just to the top of the carpet. Get pot, rub pot, done. Never tried it but sure looked good.

 

Found it :D http://ceramicartsdaily.org/pottery-making-techniques/ceramic-glazing-techniques/bonus-monday-pottery-video-a-simple-ingenious-homemade-tool-for-dry-footing-pottery/

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yes, washing off glaze is relatively simple, i used to do it all the time with thrown things.  however, if you use very dark glazes with cobalt in them, they are not completely cleaned off with water.  not that it will stick to your shelves, the bottoms are just very messy.  

 

did not say do not do it, just be careful to test the technique on YOUR work

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