Glazing Tall/narrow Cylinders

[mregecko]

Hi all -- I've been working on some lamp forms lately, and am really liking some that are elaborations on simple tall cylindrical forms.

 

The only problem I'm having is that glazing them can be a bit annoying! Our glaze buckets are wide-mouth 5g paint buckets, and the glaze level isn't tall enough to get the entire thing in one dip (even with the displacement).

 

For some glazes it's fine -- lines don't matter. But for transparent glazes (like the celadon in this picture, which was brushed on) lines are very visible.

 

Does anyone have ideas for tall, narrow, cylindrical containers to hold glaze? I was thinking a tall/skinny trash can, or an umbrella stand, or something like that... But can't seem to find the "just right" container on Amazon or in hardware stores.

 

Thanks!

-- M

 

EDIT: Height is around 16" or so, give or take a few inches.

[jrgpots]

Would 6 inch PVC pipe capped on one end so it forms a tall narrow cylinder work? You could cut the length to fit the height of you pieces.

 

Jed

[bciskepottery]

Couple of approaches to consider:

1. Spray glaze on

2. Fill a wallpaper tray (the narrow rectangular trays you fill with water to soak wall paper) and rotate/spin your form

3. Put a plastic or metal can upside down in a shallow tray; the bottom or your pot should hand over the edge of the form.  Fill a pitcher with glaze and then pour it over the form on the stand.  Using a banding wheel to turn the form while pour can help; just make sure to put the banding wheel in a plastic bag to prevent glaze from getting in the drive shaft, bearings of the banding wheel.

[Denice]

I had forgotten about the wallpaper tray method, what's nice about them is they are flexible enough that instead of washing excess glaze out just let it  dry and flex it loose and reuse it.   Denice

[Marcia Selsor]

I pour the inside first. Nxow fin a tall narrow bucket to accommodate your pieces and pour the glaze from the 5gallon bucket into that container. Dip your piece and return the glaze to the mother bucket.

[clay lover]

I pour into a different container that fits the pot in question. You can also build a wooden box that is the right shape, line it with a plastic bag, the bag will take the shape of the box. For pieces I do often, I make the form for it, so there is enough room, but no extra.

Go to Home store, think creatively, find the shape, a length of heating duct, ?? and then use the bag for water proofing the appropriate shape.

[Chris Throws Pots]

One idea I have that hasn't been mentioned is to throw a glaze reservoir to exactly meet your needs. In the short term it will slow your process down as you wait for it to be ready, but this way you could make something that truly syncs with your process. Choose a high gloss glaze so that clean up is easy and you lose as little glaze as possible when returning it to the mother bucket. You could make something tall and narrow that either tapers out or has somewhat of a bowl shape at the top to catch dripping glaze and make it easy for you to get your hands in position on the piece you're glazing.

 

Good luck,

 

C

[Pres]

If using the 6" PVC, most of these pipes have a flange piece to attach to walls etc. This would provide you with a more stable base especially if you attached the whole thing to a piece of plywood with the flange that has mounting holes.

[neilestrick]

I just put details in my forms that will mask the line.

[mregecko]

Thanks all for the great ideas -- I really like the idea of the PVC pipe, I may end up going with that.

 

I'm pretty good at pouring, but with one or two glazes that REALLY show overlap, I just never seem to be able to get the perfectly even coverage I get with dipping. Same with dipping in a shallow tray (which I mostly use for plates).

 

Neil, I've been able to use some glaze / form features to hide glaze lines, but sometimes what I want to do just doesn't make it possible. I think the PVC pipe is kinda exactly what I'm looking for.

 

Thanks again!

-- M