ratdog Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Ya! To da pugger I do this but I find if I allow a day after plugging then repug it comes out better. Sorry but not instant. Unless clay has been sitting for a while.or been pugged before. Like da bags o clay from mile high. Don't get stuff from them anymore Can't afford it Try pugging with a rest period of 24 hrs u won't regret it. The vacuum on a commercial pug mill is much stronger than those on studio models, so they de-air much better. Has but time is needed to disperse the water. Nelly I to have done that with mile high chestnut and others bought ....it works well. Fastest way to go from bag to pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GEP Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 My thoughts on recycling clay, from a person who makes a living making pots .... I don't think recycling takes an inconvenient amount of time or effort. I save my trimmings and throwing water into a fairly small container, maybe 2 or 3 gallons. Every two weeks or so, I spread the slop out onto plaster bats (15 minutes tops) then the next day I pug it. I am primarily a wheel-thrower and I really don't like to throw clay right out of the bag. It's too hard or uneven, and when you portion it you get square pieces. For me it is a net savings of time and energy to run new clay through the pug mill too. It's much faster to measure it into portions (2 inches = 1 pound), it's already round for easy centering, and it takes a lot less energy to throw for hours when your clay isn't too hard or uneven. Since I'm already pugging everything, it helps to add that recycled clay to make my pugged clay softer. I haven't forgotten my early days of the pottery business, before I owned a pugmill, and I tried to wedge all of the recycled clay by hand. That I would defintely NOT recommend for a professional studio! Not just a waste of time, I think you would quickly wear out your body doing that. Mea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 But I am finding that I can take it out of the bag and just slice it from the top into squares and then take these and form them into balls without leaving the wheel. I cone up a few times and it seems to work. I hope people aren't gasping out there and saying I should be wedging but it does work with new clay for me. At least that is what I am finding right now. Nelly I don't teach my students to wedge until they have a few flopped pots. We always use clay right out of the bag without wedging, with the exception of porcelain. If you cone at least 3 times, no wedging is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teardrop Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Interesting stuff about cutting clay right off the block and not wedging it. I saw a lot of noobs in class "wedge" air and cracks into their clayballs and they would have been far better off just cutting and using it, IMO. Dunno of the instructor was just "old skool"...or just set in her ways but >everything< got wedged in class. As far as recycled clay.... pretty sure it's all this particular instructor used. With so many noobs...that 55 gal bucket would fill quickly and she was always recycling clay...mostly for her own use from what I saw. I personally didn't/don't like the look of recycled clay on my slabwork/functional stuff and won't use it on my pitchers/other pieces I spend a lot of time on. All of my recycle gets formed into the ashtrays I am going to try to sell as my lower priced item in the booth. Something to take home that has "Colorado" on it....etc. that isn't uber expensive but is still "handmade". (I love Mark's spoonholders/rests idea...but with no wheel...not gonna happen) I've just been slightly wetting the scraps and putting them in a bag......then I whap the bag repeatedly on the concrete floor (wedging!) and then roll the clay out with the roller. good luck teardrop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atanzey Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Teardrop - that sounds like an incredible stress reliever. I'd love to see a video! Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted June 13, 2012 Report Share Posted June 13, 2012 Teardrop ... Off topic sort of but spoon rests don't have to be round. I have a cute square one with slightly raised edges ... A rectangle with four raised corners ... Why think round when most stove tops have rectangular open spaces? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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