dhPotter
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Posts posted by dhPotter
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11 hours ago, Rae Reich said:
Find or make out of clay a cookie-release shape that you can use to hold the coaster flat as you lift the cutter. I have dowels to push out clay stamped with smaller tubing, but it took a while to find something that fit perfectly within my large biscuit cutter.
I do this with a bisqued piece because it shrinks just enough to fit inside the cookie cutter but loose enough to not get stuck in the cookie cutter. The bisqued circle gives you coverage over the whole shape, so you are not pushing to release in just a few spots.
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@neilestrick Where can an open end tube be purchased? I looked on Olympic website and did not see any kind of tube and they only had type S thermocouple, $545 - $655.
L&L has the open end tube for $57. Will this tube work on an Olympic 2327 HE?
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My schedule has a ramp from 500*F to 2050*F at 400*F/hr. Then ramp at 108*F to 2185*F. A hold of 15 minutes at this temp. Then free fall drop to 2085*F and hold for 30 minutes. This has stopped the blistering(pinholing). Your blistering(pinholing) having sharp edges means the blister occurred after you hit top temp and the kiln was cooling and there wasn't enough heatwork to heal over the blister.
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That is how I do it. I demonstrate then let them drive the wheel. I sit next to them coaching for the first 2-3 times they do it. If they need more demonstrating then we switch seats. Then its back to coaching them from the sidelines. Works out well so far. Been doing it this way for 3 years.
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Of the 2, Custer and Minspar, Custer is a better replacement for the G-200.
Custer is closer to the same chemistry as G-200.
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Special or custom orders tend to come back and bite you.
Very much agree with this statement. I now understand why y'all have said over and over to never take custom orders. It is a never-ending saga.
- Min, Bill Kielb and Pres
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This may have been on this forum. It is very helpful.
When to Open the Kiln
1. When the kiln temperature falls to 600°F, open all the peep holes.
2. When the temperature reaches 450°F prop the lid 1 inch.
3. When the temperature reaches 350°F, the lid/door can be opened 3 or 4 inches.
4. When the temperature reaches 250°F you may completely open the kiln allowing it to finish cooling prior to unloading.
5. When the temperature hovers around 200°F the kiln can be unloaded.
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Correctly it is stated as 1.46 but some use 146 to state the SG.
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If you are using glaze calc software you will need to raise the silica and lower the alumina. Pay attention to the Si:Al ratio with the Si being much more than the Al. Others here can tell you what ingredients will raise or lower the 2 items. Think about replacing some ingredients, such as replace Calcium Carb with Wollastonite. I am not chemically competent to tell you much about other ways to raise and lower the ratio.
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@nancylee For amounts of clay you are talking about, I pat the clay, as the wheel slowly turns, into a semi-centered mound. Then I place both hands on the opposite side of the mound and as I increase the speed of he wheel, pull the mound towards my body. This gets the mound closer to centered, but I don't worry about perfect at this time. Now I cone the clay 3 times, after each cone try to place your hands in your centering position and hold till the mound gets closer to centered. By the 3rd cone everything should be aligned and centered.
I had read where Marcia Selsor likes to have the chair she sits in be positioned so when she looks down at the wheel she is looking about 1 inch beyond the center of the wheel. This has helped greatly. Try to lay your weight on the mound with your shoulders well over the mound. I usually end up with clay on my chest from hugging the mound.
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Looking at Raspberry/ Cranberry glazes posted on the forum recently, I started copying them into the glaze software. I asked myself "Why am I doing this, I already have 2 very nice recipes." I posed this question to another potter which said "If you are curious you will always be testing glazes". That's the answer. That and "is the next glaze the Greatest I have ever seen?" I want to know what it will look like on my clay and if the new glaze is "better" than what I have tested before now.
Perhaps Terrim8 has the correct answer, for me anyways, "till death due us part".
Trying to pare down the number of glazes. Threw out 2 more this morning.
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At what point in a potter's career does he/she stop searching for and testing new glazes?
When does the potter become satisfied with his/her stable of glazes and says "This is enough"?
- Min, Magnolia Mud Research, Hulk and 1 other
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Whenever I think I can't go to the pottery for some reason or another, I always picture Warren MacKenzie walking out to his pottery at 90+ years of age. And when I'm really full of self pity I watch his video, "A Potter's Hands" and am ashamed of my insignificant whining.
I feel the same way about Shoji Hamada. He sits or kneels and spins his wheel with a stick in "Art of the Potter" and creates beauty.
How can I ever say "I'm too tired or too old or whatever" to go to the pottery?
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In 1975 I wanted to escape 2 years as a Political Science major. My buddy was an art major in pottery. I took Ceramics 101 and 102 but was not consumed by it. In 1979, after cutting half my Left thumb off, I took Ceramics 101 and 102 at the local community college while the thumb healed. Again not consumed by it.
Next time to stick my hands in clay is in 2008. I audited Ceramics 101 just to see if it held my interest. OK I get consumed, however kidney cancer surgery in 2013 knocks me out of pottery for awhile. Try to get back into it but R hip and L knee bone on bone is too much pain. Get both totally replaced in 2015.
Since 2016 I have been consumed by clay, glazes and making. No pain and 70 pounds lighter, I am hitting it hard and loving it.
The kidney cancer was a wake up call. I figured if I were ever going to do anything in pottery it better be now. Now at 64 years old some days I feel like a puppy, spry and full of life and ideas, then some days like an old dog - both mentally and physically.
I read something that says professionals don't wait around for inspiration, they just get on with making. That pretty well sums it up. Just get on with the making...
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Making and using my own pottery is my own R&D lab. I do not consciously look at the shape of my hand or lips. It has taken a few years to work out the discomforts of my designs. I detest a mug that dribbles, so lots of R&D on the perfect rim for drinking, close but still not there. With me it is all about how to hold a piece. My hand arthritis dictates that the piece is easy to hold and does not strain the hands. It is pretty cool to make something then use it to find it doesn't work so well. Humbles one rather quickly. Wished I had taken an industrial/ manufacturing design course, or whatever the course would be to teach me ergonomics. Actually I haven't sold much because I don't put it out there. The feel and functionality must be to my expectation before I let it go out of my hands. Lots of R&D.
Favorite piece is the coffee mug. Since recently starting to press texture into the body of the mug, I like using several different mugs. I like the feel of the different textures. My hands are busy feeling the texture in both the body and the handle while using the mug.
If I were an illustrator I could make bowls look more interesting, but I am not. Altering makes the bowls more interesting. We use all sizes of bowls, from the condiment bowl up to the larger mixing bowl.
- Callie Beller Diesel, Min and Gabby
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Finished putting handles on yesterday. I think my handles qualify under the "Ear" classification. My handles are slab made. Cut a dogbone shape then curve it in the shape of an ear. I never really looked at it like an ear, but the ear shape it is. Since the backfill thread, I have been backfilling top and bottom connections. Glaze was piling up at the connection points because I would always paint 2 coats then spray a bit. Now with the backfill it looks a lot better. I still brush on 2 coats prior to spraying, but the glaze doesn't gather in the deep V created from the attachment. Yes it takes more time to fiddle with backfilling, but it Looks Good.
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Pres, your hands sound like mine. On both hands I have bone on bone where the thumb connects to the hand. Bone spurs, also. I too, cannot pull handles anymore. I could, but it would ruin my hands for a couple of days. My handles are slab made. Any pinching action with the thumbs is painful. Just as you had suggested Pres, if my hands are busy in clay throwing, they don't ache so much as if they are idle. As a programmer, I'm hammering on the keyboard all day but something about clay is soothing to the hands. For every movement made with my hands I first analyze how that my affect the use of my hands after the movement is completed. Then try a different approach if pain ensues. For punching decorative holes in a piece, I started using a drill instead of hole punches. The drill proved too much strain on the hands. Actually punching holes with the punches does not feel bad, it is the clean up of the hole, the little ridge around the hole, afterwards that is a pain. I am allergic to the arthritis medicines and having only 1 kidney, I cannot take any over the counter meds for pain. The stick blender is a real pain to use. But it is the best tool to use. Last night I mixed up and added water to 13 glaze tests using the stick blender. Also sieved 2 production glazes. I use small brushes, about the size of the Talisman brushes, for the sieve, easier to hold than a scrapper. Today the hands are very sore. But it is what must be done to advance my pottery. Oh yeah, having only half a left thumb adds to the complexity of holding tools, especially a rib on the inside of a pot. A lot of finger wrapping around the tool to hold it. Also holding some tools between the middle and ring finger, either hand, helps to control the tool with minimal pain.
Without clay I would be miserable.
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Oldlady that is a spot of Strontium Crystal Magic Cool with Pete Seafoam over it. The "brown" glaze is Red Orange that will go shiny copper if the glaze is not layered over or under any other glaze. Looks like a brand new penny.
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A lesson learned...
The last weekend in February was the last time I touched a kiln load of pots ready for single-fire glazing. Around June 6th is when I started to glaze. I pour the liners on mugs and pitchers. Then begin to spray the exteriors. 2 days after pouring a thin crack appeared in 2 pieces. I looked in the Hamer book and found out the crack is from readsorption. We had a very rainy spring with periods of extreme dry weather. The pottery shop had the windows open during this time. I took me about 2 weeks to glaze the pieces and 29 test glazes. Kiln was fired June 17.
I have always d processed the pottery this way. Throw a kiln load, then when all pieces dry, begin to pour and spray. I have never waited this long between the making and the glazing. Lost 5 pieces due to this readsorption.
Never in my wildest dreams, in order to make decent pots, did I consider being a physicist, chemist, geologist, and any other ...ist I may have left out.
Picture of the hairline crack and a picture of the survivors. At least all were not lost. Also, I finally figured out how to properly load the kiln. This firing had the most even firing across the whole kiln. All cone 6 were bent exactly the same.
glaze that settles rock-like quickly
in Clay and Glaze Chemistry
Posted · Edited by dhPotter
@Roberta12 This mixing matte and gloss works great!! I have a base of G2934 at 40% and a clear, G1216M, at 60%. This base has given me white, tan, yellow, turquoise and gray liner glazes. The glazes are very durable.