Lid That Is Glazed To The Bowl

[Barbara Ross]

Does anyone know how to seperate lids from bowls that have glazed together. There isn't a lot of glaze but a nice seal around the lid. Is there any trick to seperate them?

[Kishor Goradia]

Does anyone know how to seperate lids from bowls that have glazed together. There isn't a lot of glaze but a nice seal around the lid. Is there any trick to seperate them?

 

 

It could be very simple if the applied glaze is very thin or if the stuck area is not all over. Take hack show blade(iron sheet cutting blade) and cut the glaze very slowly all over and again and again with the mild hammering all around the lid.

[MadMudder]

Does anyone know how to seperate lids from bowls that have glazed together. There isn't a lot of glaze but a nice seal around the lid. Is there any trick to seperate them?

 

 

Saving that pot for an emergency is also an option. I have pots that are hopeless and when I need a good release I smash them on the driveway! It is kind of immature but it is better than yelling at your kids or something that involves bad karma.

There will be more pots.

I just made the first set of dishes for MEEEEEEE! We always ate on leftovers, now we have a matching set of handmade dinner ware, the kiln is cooling right now.

My kids never stressed the accident of breaking a dish. We said there were plenty more where that came from.

You will probably spend more time trying to fix the bowls than it would take to make new.

B

[AndyL]

Does anyone know how to seperate lids from bowls that have glazed together. There isn't a lot of glaze but a nice seal around the lid. Is there any trick to seperate them?

 

 

 

There's a few ways that have worked for me.

1. Put the piece in your freezer overnight and gently tap the cover with a hammer.

2. Gently tap with a hammer where the sealed area is

3. Wedge wooden toothpicks in the seam you want to separate. Wet the toothpicks with water to make the wood swell and break free the lid.

[Marcia Selsor]

Does anyone know how to seperate lids from bowls that have glazed together. There isn't a lot of glaze but a nice seal around the lid. Is there any trick to seperate them?

 

 

If it was just a slight contact, whack around towards the edges of the lid with a wooden handle. Sand with a diamond pad after it comes apart. Or use a dremel with a grinding wheel. You could have a nasty edge inside.

[Pres]

Does anyone know how to seperate lids from bowls that have glazed together. There isn't a lot of glaze but a nice seal around the lid. Is there any trick to seperate them?

 

 

I have had problems in the past with student pot lids sticking. For a HS student that pot that he may have spent hours on is heartbreaking-so I worked pretty hard to come up with saves. Most times a tap with a small wooden rolling pin or mallet would work. Some times is that didn't work-I would put the pot in a full tub of water and let the inside fill up, wrap with electicians tape and freeze the pot. If the water would not go in, I knew that I had to move to the next level. This was using a dremel tool with a cut off blade to carefully cut the glaze around the lid. Often this would require several passes. Finally if this did not work, it meant that the glaze was in between the gallery and the pot itself Very little could be done here. On a few occasions I was able to drill holes in the pot and help them wire if for a lamp. Thank goodness I acquired a drill press and a belt/disc sander when the Woodshop program was phased out!

[clay lover]

Depends on how thick the glaze is in the stuck area.

I have had some success with using a short piece of 2x4 placed just at the edge of the pot, just outside the lid rim. hold the whole mess ,wrapped in a towel, in your lap, and whack the 2x4 with something, another 2x4 will do, or a hammer. You will either get the lid off, or not, or break the pot. It's a no loose try, the way I see it. Usually, it comes off.

[Seasoned Warrior]

For me rapping with a wooden spoon handle or a dowel has helped, the Dremel tool is a good way to actually remove a heavily stuck lid: make sure you use a respirator and safety glasses grinding glaze. I've tried the freezing technique and it hasn't worked well for me: the pot cracked form the expansion of the ice. I particularly liked Pres' solution in turning it into a lamp, that is a great idea and I'll have to give it a try the next time I run across this problem. Good luck!

[centered]

Well, this solution won't help you this time around but may help in the future. When I am firing in a studio where other people load the kiln, I usually glue (elmers glue) my lid in place so that it will not move around while they are loading it in the kiln. I have had good luck with the freezer method but I slowly place the bottom of the piece in hot water then quickly take it out, then keep doing that until it heats up the rim but not the lid. Sloooooowwwly. I never had any cracking from thermal shock. I wouldn't do this to low fired ware.

[Bobg]

If it's not glazed on too much, I usually just take a chunk of wood and give it a wack.

 

Bob

[Sandpot]

All the above are excellent methods. Let me add another - try using a bead reamer. It can be a time consuming task, but the reamer is diamond encrusted & will help to smooth the edges as you go. I have also used a diamond nail file when the glaze amount is small. Good luck!

[Benhim]

I agree with Pres, that's the only way I've saved a piece is tapping with a large wooden dowel or stick. The soft wood has less impact than a hard instrument like a hammer which would easily shatter the hard ceramic.