Chantay Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 I am thinking of trying out a cone 5 porcelain. I have a few question before I give it a spin on the wheel. If it gets intermixed with my stoneware during recycling will it blow up or fall apart in the kiln? Can I use the same glazes? Just thinned a bit? What am I not thinking of? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 As long as your reclaim is thoroughly mixed, you should be ok. The porosity of the reclaim will be somewhere in between that of your stoneware and porcelain. It's always a good idea to do some test tiles for the glazes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavy Fire Studios Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 My instructors in college always harped on us about not mixing reclaim stoneware and porcelain, because of cracks and blow-uppy things happening. I would be sure to do some thorrrrough testing if you want to mix the two! Also, stoneware glazes look sexy on porcelain. Ohhhh the buttery... *sigh* ♥ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Beller Diesel Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 Let me qualify, because it occurs belatedly that not everyone does reclaim the same. I take all my clay down to slop, (trimmings, bucket slops and bone dry mistakes) mix thoroughly with a drill and a paint mixing bit until smooth, and dry the slop out on plaster to a wedge able consistency. If I mix clay bodies, the end result is homogeneous. Don't take the two clays and just try wedging them together: the different shrinkage rates will cause problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surubee Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 If your stoneware and porcelain mature at the same temperature, and you blend them sufficiently, there should be no problem mixing them together. If you overfire it you may get bloating and slumping, but that is true of many clays. Why do you need to thin the glazes more for porcelain? Most places that use both clay bodies use the same glazes for both bodies. Translucent glazes will tend to look lighter and brighter on porcelain. I really love using porcelain. Good luck with it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 you need to keep it clean. Any specks of stoneware will show in the white. So you need to switch over , wash all bats, wedging area, boards, etc. Glazes may work but could craze due to more silica or fluxes in the body.I don't know your stoneware nor porcelain body. Marcia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJR Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 I would keep your porcelain scraps in a separate bucket. If you mix them together, you lose the quality of the porcelain, so what's the point. Marcia is right. You have to keep your work area, bats, wheel etc. clean, or you get brown soecs in the porcelain. TJR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Campbell Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 Your stoneware will not mind the porcelain, but you will not like the porcelain with stoneware bits in it. I agree ... Clean up and keep them as far apart as you can. Any random speck will show up in the worst place possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusty Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 We have not been throwing very long but Porcelain is hands down the best so far out of 5 clay bodies. I know that's not many compared to others on here.. Its such a pretty white color, 1 spec looks like a turd in a punch bowl... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cavy Fire Studios Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Or a turd in a milk pitcher, heehee! I have my white earthenware to sorta satisfy my need for ultra-white clay. Maybe one day I will get to use porcelain again. Oh, by the way, porcelain can be a prissy little snot on the wheel. Whatever you do, don't use too much water! A little goes a long way with that glorious white princess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantay Posted November 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 OK everyone, great info. I currently work with both red and white stoneware. I do a major cleaning when switching between one and the other but you get the occasional brown boogey on the white. I think I will give it a go. If I like it, I will probably drop the white stoneware. I like the stoneware, and some of the glazes only work on white and not the red, but I feel like I need a change. It will be awhile, I've got a couple of hundred pounds to clean out. Thanks again everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 10, 2014 Report Share Posted November 10, 2014 Porcelain-stoneware blends are great, so don't worry about your reclaim. There will not be any explosions or other issues, even if they are not perfectly wedged together, although you may see some inconsistency in the color of the clay (streaks) in that case. I've had students do swirl-ware with porcelain and terra cotta with no problems. A small amount of stoneware in your porcelain will not show as long as it's mixed in well. In cone 5 reduction, a little bit of brown clay contamination is not a big deal like it is at cone 10 reduction, so don't kill yourself with cleaning. It takes a lot of iron to show up in oxidation. DO watch out, though, if you're using a speckled stoneware because the speckles will show up. I find porcelain to be much nicer for throwing than white stoneware, and the color of the fired clay is much better. You'll probably find that glazes fit better, too. You do not need to thin the glazes, but you will benefit from bisque firing a cone or two hotter, as the porcelain tends to be more porous than the stoneware. I like my porcelain bisqued to 04. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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