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Recycle Board Plaster Wasted?


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I work in a community studio.  We have had issues with our recycle clay being very wet.  The reclaim clay is processed with a wet bucket and a dry bucket, for people to use as things collect.  The wet bucket gets VERY wet. They dry it on plaster tables but the artist in residence thinks that the tables are "worn out".  There are no crack or "deforms" in the table.  There is reinforcement in the plaster  of the table and it is open on the bottom to air and on the top.    Is it possible that the plaster is just "spent"?  Or is it just that that plaster never really gets to dry out?  Does anyone have any fantastic suggestions?  There are a LOT of students and many don't want to reclaim their own clay.  There can be three wet 55 gal wet buckets at a time and the poor guys just can't seem to dry it out and re-bag it fast enough.  They can add dry clay but that is a cost the studio really can't afford with all that wet clay around already.  Thanks for help.

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Pre dry clay before plaster drying.... See jeans thread . Or my technique the "Rootmaker" pot. Concrete floor...these the get you near wedgeable clay. Then it's less stress on plaster. Have you given plaster a break and let it dry out for a couple of days maybe with fan on it?

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 Or is it just that that plaster never really gets to dry out? 

 

I think that is the problem re drying the clay, but I'd say a bigger problem is that you have too much clay building up for re-cycling. A quick calculation suggests to me that 3 X 55 gallons must be close to a ton of clay.

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We use canvas or cloth  bags.  They are given as freebies and seem readily available.  Fill it up with slop, twist it  and hang it from a nail under a table with a bowl underneath.  Takes up little room and it allows a bit of leeway on when to start wedging it up. The clay peels off the canvas, a nice amount ready to wedge and the bag can be reused over and over.

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If the plaster never dries, then the plaster isn't doing its job. It needs to dry out in order to be porous and absorb the water from the clay. Sounds like you need to leave it open for a few days so it can dry out. If it's really saturated, it could take a week depending on the humidity in your area. A dehumidifier works wonders.

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We use canvas or cloth  bags.  They are given as freebies and seem readily available.  Fill it up with slop, twist it  and hang it from a nail under a table with a bowl underneath.  Takes up little room and it allows a bit of leeway on when to start wedging it up. The clay peels off the canvas, a nice amount ready to wedge and the bag can be reused over and over.

 

That is a good idea for somebody with not much space. I like it :D

 

I give my plaster at least two days to dry in between recycling.

 

There are lots of ideas in other recent threads so have a search and see what seems like the best option. There was a good video in one showing a big stack of shallow rectangles for drying out clay.

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I have mentioned this in earlier posts.

I teach clay to 150 students a day when I am on the clay unit.

1. After each class, all scraps, slip, coils etc go in a basin.[dollar store]

2.Slosh water from the tap. Not a lot of water, just enough to get surfaces wet.Pour water off. Do not let clay sit in water.

3. Place in a plastic bag that the clay originally came in.Fold bag over.

4.Place bag on floor out of the way. Students won't touch it as it's on the floor.

5. Leave until you have about 5 or 6.

6. Cut wedge and put in cleaner clay bag. Takes me half an hour to do 300lbs of clay.

7.Clay has now returned to moist state.

8.No big barrels, no plaster bats.

TJR.

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I was in the studio today.  We are in the North East so the weather can be a big factor.  The one artist in residence did get a fan on it. He said it was helping a lot.  I was just trying to make sure I was "correct" in thinking it was more an issue of the plaster needing to have a chance to dry out, rather than it being "bad".  I believe that part of it is having too much reclaim right now as we have had a bunch of studio changes and things slipped with the reclaim.  Sorry for the pun, but it works. ;)  Now that we are on task, the fan and maybe a light bulb under the table we can catch up.  Thank you everyone for your suggestions and help.

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My students pay for their own clay, and recycle their own at home. I just don't have the space for everyone to be drying out their clay in my studio. Usually they put in a pillow case and set in on a concrete floor in the basement for a couple of days. If they choose not to recycle, great, I sell more clay.

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I have mentioned this in earlier posts.

I teach clay to 150 students a day when I am on the clay unit.

1. After each class, all scraps, slip, coils etc go in a basin.[dollar store]

2.Slosh water from the tap. Not a lot of water, just enough to get surfaces wet.Pour water off. Do not let clay sit in water.

3. Place in a plastic bag that the clay originally came in.Fold bag over.

4.Place bag on floor out of the way. Students won't touch it as it's on the floor.

5. Leave until you have about 5 or 6.

6. Cut wedge and put in cleaner clay bag. Takes me half an hour to do 300lbs of clay.

7.Clay has now returned to moist state.

8.No big barrels, no plaster bats.

TJR.

But what if a student wants to put the clay in thier pants or pillow case (they always carry one for just this thing) and hang in tree????

What no mondo plaster tables?

This seems way to easy-maybe consider a pants/pillow case hanging tree in middle of class room.

Mark

 

I can see the pillow fights now

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Students get some clay with their class fee.  Anything more and they have to pay.  All the recycle goes gets processes and actually resold.  They don't get it back for free.  There is a price difference between a box of clay and the recycle.  It has been very interesting to see how everyone else handles this issue.  Thank you all.

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try one of those hot oil radiators under the slab., they are safe to leave on and will keep the slab dry.  People keep them under the kitchen cabinets on low in empty houses to keep the pipes from freezing when there is no other heat.  I use them all winter in my studio to keep clay from freezing.  They are not expensive, and you can get ones with timers on them to come on at night and go off when it warms up.  could serve double duty in your studio.

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I've been in this situation. Recycling that amount of clay for students is unsustainable, especially if one person is IT. We shifted to having students recycle their own clay in an extra clay bag. It's amazing how much less the students "wasted" during their building/throwing/etc. after this change. Students who don't want to recycle can give or sell theirs to someone who does recycle. And just think of all of the space and staff time that will be freed up for better uses!  I have a recycling handout. Email me at potterbeth@cox.net if you'd like a copy.

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