Mark C. Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 As one who makes lots of cone 10 glaze from scratch-I took a few photos of that area-this may help those thinking about getting into this I suggest if you are starting out- dedicate a large space for this as I have no large space in my studio my glaze area has always been to small-I store bulk glaze materials in 5 other locations near studio door (within 20 feet) covered but outside-My glaze area is just this side of a real mess-to small always messy and a bit over the top The cost to make your own is less than buying glaze premade or premixed. The real upside is you you have control to make whatever glazes you can cook up from testing testing-most commercial glazes are pretty dull and what I want is glazes that jump out from the crowd. I buy in large quantities but starting out I did not-now I know my needs after many years and have over bought a few materials that will out live me Such as my 1 ton of grestly borate when the shortage crisis became a non issue As I have bought in quantity for so long I still have large amounts of materials long gone like Kingman feldspar ( 2 tons) or 100# of true Albany slip left Starting out just buy what you need depending on cost and how far away your material dealer is-for me it was about 12 hour drive round trip so I got as much as I could haul and afford Get a good tare beam gram scale and some scoops-a good dust mask and a power mixer as well as whatever quality sieves you can afford. You will need a glaze hydrometer to get your thickness down to the same every time-I learned without one by dipping my hand and watching it run off-now that I wear latex gloves always I use a hydrometer Try to organize it say colorants- in one area basic materials in another area-all close to the mixing scale area You can get buckets for free from painting contractors or barter for them Make a list of your basic needs and get plenty of those basic materials I started out in the 70's building my own balance beam for a scale from wood and nails so it can be done cheaply- I now have one glaze made by the ton for me from Laguna Clay as I use so much of it -My time is better used making the other 15 glazes I use than making so many batches of this one.I go thru about 1 ton of this one glaze in 3-4 years I can say that making your own even when you buy a ton at a time is cheaper Mark www.liscomhillpottery.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Mark, My friend in Ohio got tons of materials from the family of a deceased potter. The disposal of the glaze chemicals was going to cost the family thousands because they would have to be tested before disposal for being hazardous or not. so people may want to know Not to over purchase or save your family some problems to deal with ,should your chemicals out live you. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark C. Posted January 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Mark, My friend in Ohio got tons of materials from the family of a deceased potter. The disposal of the glaze chemicals was going to cost the family thousands because they would have to be tested before disposal for being hazardous or not. so people may want to know Not to over purchase or save your family some problems to deal with ,should your chemicals out live you. Marcia You make a great point about our field of work Thats why I mentioned my bought to much story it can be a mixed blessings thing-on that note its best to make sure everything is well marked-if it is it should be no worries for the family when you are gone. I to have bought out 3 potters when they gave it up for various reason-hence I owned materials and items that I would never use-one can often donate them back to potters guilds as I did with lots of stuff when we had a guild. Also materials distributors will take them back for free if unopened-our area has a center for clay and glass learning and I have donated items to that as well. When you are young at least for me I scrounged up any materials I could in ceramic field as iI knew I was into clay for the long haul-now I am very selective on any new items-I would turn down anything that I would not use say in one year when its offered to me.- Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJR Posted January 22, 2012 Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 Mark; This made me smile! I thought I had a lot of materials! My wife's cousin was a potter who became a lay minister. I inherited all of his materials, bought his electric kiln to help out his widow. Yes, he really did die at age 53. I have about 50 lbs of iron oxide which I hardly ever use. I don't use Temmoku glazes anymore as I decorate on a white matt. I also have been given buckets of stoneware glaze which I test an then use. It takes a long time to use up a 10,000 gram bucket of glaze that you don't really like.I probably have about 30 glazes sitting around. I only use 4-5 glazes that I have mixed up myself. I am just about out of Cobalt Carb, and I am out of Custer. Will probably only buy 5kg of Custer-don't know what the equivalent is in pounds,maybe 2.5 lbs? I am very aware of what I am purchasing now, or being given, as I don't want to leave my kids a big mess to clean up. TJR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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