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Benzine

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Everything posted by Benzine

  1. So I will likely use the motor I posted for a spray booth, and a standard kiln vent motor for the kiln. I was going to use the exhaust portion that I got with the kiln, and buy a new motor. However, the Elementary in the school district I work for, has an old kiln, which is no longer used. It has vent attached. It is the type where the actual motor is below the kiln. *Picture Attached* So I may try and see if I can buy the vent from the District. Possibly the kiln as well, for a future soda kiln conversion.
  2. Thanks Bill. One correction though. The exhaust is not going through a chimney, just through metal ducting to the exterior through the coal chute door. That's where the previous owner had their system vented. They cut a hole through the metal and fitted it with a slotted vent like what is used for a dryer. You could be right about it being for a hood vent. It would of had to have been a large one, but definitely possible based on where the guy worked.
  3. Greetings All, So I am doing some repairs in my studio/ workshop, which is located in what used to be the coal room, in the basement of my 1920s home. There were quite a few mortar joints that needed repointing and the paint had powderized (Is that a word?). So once that is all done, I plan to run exhaust for a kiln vent/ spray booth. The previous, longtime owner used the space as a wood shop. So he had a ceiling mounted exhaust system vented through the coal chute hatch. He actually left the exhaust system which was something he built himself (He was an engineer at local appliance company, which is why the control panel was a repurposed from a microwave). The exhaust was comprised of what I think is a gas furnace blower/ motor, with a huge wood housing that pulled air through air filters, then vented to the outside. Obviously this worked well for wood dust. So when I was prepping the wall for repointing and painting, I took down and disassembled the exhaust, keeping the motor. So with all that background info, would I be able to use this motor to both vent my kiln from one of the fans and use the other fan to vent a spray booth? I included a photo of the blower, and a photo of my concept sketch for how it would be set up. Is this system feasible? The fan/ blower does seem to move a lot of air, which is why I have dampers included that could be closed so both fans aren't pulling air from only just the kiln side or just the spray booth side. I should note, my second hand kiln came with a kiln vent hook up for the bottom of the kiln, but not the motor. Thoughts?
  4. I purchased a pugmill (Peter Pugger with a vacuum chamber) for my classroom a couple years ago (after hand reclaiming my entire 750 lb. bin to send home to students during a COVID closure in the Fall of 2020). Prior to that, myself and the students would do it all by hand. I'm getting too old for that nonsense, and it takes up too much classtime for students to do it. Anyway, I like the Peter Pugger because you can throw anything in it, from slip to bone dry. I've got pretty good about getting a consistent mix from it, but the clay seems a bit short and has a "shaggy" appearance. I add slip from the bucket, where the throwing water is emptied, to get some of those fine particles, and have even added a splash of vinegar. The clay is used for hand-building only, so we haven't had any issues with throwing, but our coil plasticity leaves something to be desired. Any suggestions? Also, the ground chuck the machine produces tastes a bit mineraly...
  5. So a long overdue update. I fired the slab, with only the oxide wash, which looked better than the samples with clear anyway. I also fired it warp facing down to see if the warp would correct itself. The answer, mostly yes. The arched warp which was towards the middle, flattened back out. It did however pick up some smaller warps on the ends. I need it to be significantly flatter, so I will remake it. I still have all the templates, so no worries. This time, along with the slow drying between boards, I will make and use some waster slabs to fire with the actual piece. I'll give an update once I get that done.
  6. Thanks Mark! I figure I have nothing to lose with refiring either way. I did think about firing it between shelves, but was worried that could cause it to crack somehow. Oh well, we live and learn.
  7. Good Day All, I recently made a slab (approx. 16" long by 3.5" wide and .25" thick.) to use for the address number on my house. It is made from a mid-fire brown oxidation clay body. The house numbers and thin decorative border (also .25" thick) were attached to the main slab with magic water. Both slabs were rolled out with a rolling pin and slats, rotating 90 degrees while rolling thinner, then flipping over and doing the same there. Both sides were also compressed with a rubber rib/ kidney. They were then allowed to dry between to flat boards before cutting down to size. After attaching the numbers and border to the base, they were placed between the boards again and allowed to slowly dry for several days. The slab was perfectly flat before going into the kiln, and was fired on waster coils to allow for expansion and contraction. It was bisque fired to Cone 04. The warp is a bow in the middle, like a perfect arch (Abkut 5/8"). Any chance the warp goes away at the Cone 7 glaze firing? It will will either receive an iron oxide wash only, with the possibility of putting clear over top. So if anyone has suggestions for the glaze firing, please let me know. If not, some suggestions for remaking it would be appreciated. I have the templates I made to create the borders and numbers and that is where most the work was at (Math is hard). Thanks All!
  8. Mine mostly just hurts, from the base of my skull, down to the tip of my tailbone...
  9. My upper back hurts and my lower back hurt. Is there a kiln that requires a strong middle back, because I think that would be best for me... hehe.
  10. Awww, thanks Pres. I haven't been avoiding these forums, I promise. Front loaders are definitely an attractive prospect. My coworker and I wonder at what point that we won't be able to load that bottom shelf. That's what students are for, right? I have never talked to a colleague who has a front loader, other than those schools that have gas kilns. I don't have space for a front loader, unless the kiln were moved. Can't say I'd want one, as my current L&L is great!
  11. Has anyone had any issues with their glaze buckets developing leaks, or failing all together? I bought a set of buckets from a big box home improvement store a year or so ago, and added a couple more since. On three different occasions, I discovered some moisture around the buckets, and when I lifted the buckets, there was a good portion of the glaze coming out. The bottoms of the buckets had split. I have not be rough with the buckets at all. I either hand whisk or use an immersion blender to mix up my glazes, so I don't think I am causing any damage. Since I bought them all at the same time, I guess I could have just got a bad batch, or maybe they just aren't a good product in general. Thoughts?
  12. I just rewashed the shelves in my school L&L. We have a full round shelf for the bottom layer. Getting that thing in an out is a chore, as I'm hanging over the side. So between gravity and the pressure on my abdomen, I get a rush of blood to my head, then an instant reversal of that as I pull the shelf out. And if I have had anything to eat before doing it, then some heartburn is usually involved.
  13. What's "funny" is those cheap-o kids wheels will come up on auction sites, when searching for "potter's wheel"... Lots of them.
  14. Yeah, I'd steer clear of any type of sports logo, unless you have permission to use them. I bought a metal cut out from a farmer's market, that depicted a mascot. It came with a certificate saying that its use was approved by the organization. I imagine the seller has to give a percentage of each sale, or maybe a flat licensing fee to saud organization. I generally don't allow my students to use similar designs either. In this case it's less about the worry of legal issues, and more about trying to get them to be more creative. My suggestion for them is to use an initial for the organization and use similar colors. Sports teams don't have ownership of the name of the city/ state they operate out of, nor do they own every tint and shade of their colors.
  15. Benzine

    Second Hand Skutt

    "Used" Kiln I picked up off an auction site.
  16. There's likely no need to do that. It's probably nothing with the specific clay time in itself, just its moisture content when you go to use. But Liam mentioned that some clay is just "short", and naturally not have much plasticity/ flexibility. Most, if not all suppliers will list recommended applications in the clay description i.e. "Good for Hand Building, Good for Wheel Throwing, Great for reducing facial puffiness and detoxifying the pores"... Well, maybe not that last one...
  17. Like @liambesaw said, the wedging may be the culprit. I find that most the time, the clay out of the bag from the company is about where you want it (If not slightly too dry). So while wedging is generally good practice, it may be counter productive in this case. If you are wedging on a porous surface, especially plaster or cement, that's really going to pull moisture out. Wood will do so, but far less. A couple options on top of what Liam suggested: 1. When wedging, spray down the work surface with a bit of water, throughout the process, that way you are getting the clay homogenized, without drying it out. 2. Wedge as you were, but after rolling out the slabs, use a damp sponge on both sides of the slab to both smooth the surface and work some water back into the slab. 3. Add moisture to the bag of clay before wedging. There are a couple methods for doing this. One is to poke a bunch of holes in the block of clay, add a bit of water and seal the bag up. Another, and the one I have found to be very effective is to add about a cup of water to the bag and seal it Then submerge the bag in a five gallon bucket of water. The pressure from the water outside of the bag, forces the water inside the bag into the clay. I found out about this method on these forums, but don't recall who first shared it. Like I said, I have found it to be effective. Best of Luck, Ben
  18. Spent the last couple days getting clay "kits" ready for students to take home.  We had to go to Online Learning a week ago, and will continue at least past the Thanksgiving Holiday.  I wedged the entire contents of our reclaim bin (650 lbs. or so), for the kits.  We have so much surplus clay, I didn't want to add to that by giving them the boxed clay.

  19. I'm with you on that. Read through detailed instructions, watched multiple videos, and my spiral is more of a cone. I'll eventually get there... In regards to the question, I throw relatively small 1-3 lbs. Five pounds doesn't give me too much trouble, 10 lbs. takes a bit of work, and I've never done over 15 at one time. A few weeks ago, I pulled most of the clay out of my classroom's reclaim bin. It was packed full, as last Spring's in progress work got recycled. So there was quite a bit of leatherhard slabs mixed in with the slip bucket and throwing slop. So I was wedging twenty five pound chunks with a mixture of cut and slam and ram's head. I'll tell you what though, that clay now has a great consistency!... It also made me think really hard about purchasing a pug mill.
  20. Ditto! In regards to weather, we had a couple inches of snow Sunday early morning, which is not normal for us. So then of course the next day we got several inches of snow to really accentuate that point... Funny thing is, it happened while we were at School, so all we could do was watch. Luckily, it didn't impact the roads at all.
  21. Ah! I just wasn't sure if storing them in a bowl that has extra air flow like that, helped keep them longer. We get berries at the super market, and they come in those plastic clam shells. They have to be eaten quick, or they turn to mush/ grow mold. I've heard some people rinse them with dilute vinegar to prevent mold, but wasn't sure if that was one of those "hacks" that doesn't actually work.
  22. @Callie Beller Diesel Are those berry bowls just for rinsing berries, or for storage?
  23. I think it's awesome! I've actually thought about doing that in my classroom with students. I'd probably start by making one myself, and then have a volunteer make one for each subsequent firing.
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