Drip Plate?

[capt don]

I have a glaze that calls for a drip plate, what do most people use for a drip plate? I was going to Lowes and buy a couple red clay dishes like you would put under a garden pot.

thanks Capt don

[trina]

How high are you planning to fire? I have got some pretty runny low fire glazes that i put on posts and use my rattiest kiln shelves. However if you are firing into the higher cones, I wouldn't recommend a terracotta undertray, it wont stand up to the heat and could itself melt. T

[atanzey]

I use my regular clay, and thrown plates.  I'm no good at plates, so there are always some around that are expendable.   I've also coated them with kiln wash on occasion, so the item would come off better, and I could re-use it.

 

Alice

[mregecko]

Use the same clay that you're using for your pieces.

 

Roll out a slab and just bring up the edges (curl, roll, pinch, whatever) so that any overflow will pool and not run off the dish.

 

Bisque them, then use the drip plate under your ware.

 

I agree with the kiln wash application -- if you do have drips, it will make it much easier to separate.

 

If you plan on doing this a lot, there are some specific formulas for kiln-furniture style clay that can be repeat-fired many times.

 

But if you put a terracotta tray from a hardware store in the kiln and fire it too high, it will definitely melt. 

[bciskepottery]

In the event you are working with crystalline glazes, here is a link to an article that shows how Bill Schran uses drip plates and pedestals.

 

http://www.creativecreekartisans.com/Cone6Crystals.pdf

 

Even if you are not using crystalline glazes, the idea of a pedestal might make sense as it appears easier to cleanly break a pedestal off the bottom than it would be if the glaze ran onto a plate that has less working room between the plate surface and pot bottom. 

[perkolator]

we just use studio body/whatever clay you're using for a firing tray/drip catch plate.  make sure to build it well and fire it to the cone you're glazing at - this way you know it is crack-free.  to help make it more of a re-usable tray, coat with kiln wash and place a nice layer of silica where your drips will fall - silica will hopefully just catch the glaze and either "bead" it up or soak up the mess allowing you to remove it for a clean tray.

[Ben]

Why use silica?

Wouldn't alumina hydrate be a better material to fill the drip plate with?

[neilestrick]

Why use silica?

Wouldn't alumina hydrate be a better material to fill the drip plate with?

 

 

Silica is cheap.

[perkolator]

^this exact reason.

[Wyndham]

I've had good luck with using soft firebrick cut 1/2 in thick for a pad under mugs, vases or bowls and brushing some kiln wash on the softbrick, placing this on the drip plate.

For me it's easier to clean off the bottom of the mug,etc where some of the soft brick might be stuck with some glaze.

Wyndham

[Kathy Fields]

Did you place the firebrick and the item within a drip bowl/plate?

 

Have any thrown a drip bowl, with a center tube? The bowl would be wider than the glazed item, while the center tube would be the diameter of the glazed item. This tube would also have very heavy layers of kiln wash, such that when the glaze dripped off the edge of the primary item and onto the tube, one could break off the tube/drip bowl easily by cracking off the kiln wash. Recently heard of this technique for firing Crystalline glazed pieces.

Have used bisqued discs under pieces, but aside  from the need for very flat disques, glaze can and does find its way under and between it and the disc. Have spent a long time grinding off the fused disc from an otherwise fine piece.