Babs

That is so frustrating indeed. Have you fellow potters working with a different body that also hand build? Maybe get a bag or two of clay from them to try? How does it perform for thrown pots?

How are you drying this multi layered slab? What is your firing schedule? Had a teacher who said many times, to non listening teenagers, " It is not the material but the operator", i.e. the process, design etc being applied so before troting down to the store, check your steps, or it could be Murphy.... Happening all over your kiln?

Why not constructed/thrown upside down????? Or literally from wheel , who was that guy , who threw "downwards" at a certain stage of the process

A pboto would be good. What cone have you fired glaze to? Just if glaze is immature it may clear a bit if fired higher, on a waster slab. Is this result way different to other work or test tiles using this glaze ?

Just was asking because I have used either /or with little noticable diference but I guess it depends on the glaze and the clay it is going on.

@PeterHThink it aids with that metallic look folk seem to like eating from a.t.m. If prepared to sell barium based dinnerware, could also contain chrome, eh?

Think many years ago in a heavy reduction firing , I had a barium containing satin matte glaze go black matte, colourant was copper. Oxidation , the ubiquitous bright turquoise.

No scientist, and just rwmember reading If folk who put pots i kiln straight off the wheel, sealed kiln and fired. Wonder what the firing schedule was, prob pre controllers. Will try to find that source. Off topic sorry Min.

Removing all the glaze wirh a dremmel? You realise the piece, having been fired to C6 won't accept glaze readily if you plan to reglaze.....

I find some underglazes need a bit of frit added to help with the melt with a glaze. Without a pic. hard to determine. Rest of glazed area ok? Then I would try a bit of frit mixed with that specific u.glaze

Kiln 43ys old, wht is the sitter rod looking like? Thin, pointy, sitter needs recalibrating? Rod needs replacing?

@Finn Ewins after being totally mesmerised by Neil's throwing ability, check carefully the totally stable base he provides for his hands. Seat, knees , elbows, hands working together, even raising his heels to maintaining these anchor points. Those points need checking until second nature as with Neil. Lucky to have him as a moderator, hey?

+1 with Bill. Prepare 12 small balls of clay. Centre without coning. Check your key points. Seat close to and level with wheelhead. Elbows anchored, hands working together at all times. Your hands need to be working about position "5 on the wheel clock" Be aware how your hands leave the pot after each pull. Clean the area where clay meets the wheelhead anytime it gets any gunk collecting. Throw 12 cylinders. Cut them through cylinders to check. https://youtu.be/7lllCkLbJFE Beware of the buttress one potter said... in these forums. It id a thick area which can cause probs..it occurs if clay is not picked up right where the clay meets the wheel head. Maybe pics of your offcentre pots, or watch a video of yourself working. Keep at it, observing the key points. This frustration will pass..pottery life is full of them, join the mob!

Also Bill, the porosity of the surface will change when CMC is used imo

Was the stencil area totakly dry? CMC dries slowly, glaze won't take up in those areas if still damp compared to other areas and so will show in the firing.

The CMC could take longer to dry so glaze applic not as thick , just saying.

Ha! Make sure your hand moves down in the conung motion and pressure is maintained by small finger side of hand right down to wheel head and that the clay is shaped into a good clean shape to the wheelhead, no sloppy loose connection vetween wheelhead and clay. Some folk make a slightly mushroom shape . Check out some videos of folk coning down

Is your wheel head level? Is the wheel level? Do you cone your clay a couple of times before settling into opening the clay? It is possible to trap air when coning down if not applying the correct pressure. Compression of base when you initially open out the clay. Any bubbles can be popped successfully at this point. Trim off the off centred but, slice thriugh with wire to check whether that area is thinner, or not.

@Liz Comay Is the handle actually cracking or cracks appearing at the joint? Handles pulled or coils and flattened? I ask because I suddenly had a batch of mugs where the handles cracked , not the attachment. I thought I was following same old same old. Rethinking, only difference was I placed the handles on hardieback instead of a wooden board with newspaper on it. Went through to glaze fire before I was faced with the cracked handles awaited me when I cracked the kiln.

Oh puck!!!! Sorry all:-)) Long winters will do that to you.

And if pots are goingto hold food and liquid, you may well need that high temp at some point in your process to vitrify your ware. Because of the prob in advice above many go c04 bisque, and the glaze to higher cone. It depends , eh? If it works.....

You said you were loading your kiln....make sure your single fire recently glazed dipped pots are totally dried. Candling with lid propped for a number of hours. Learning process! Good luck

Would you post a photo?

I made one and it really takes the pressure out of old joints. I use it for pasta ishes Ir medium salad dishes. Some bigger platters, I need the wheel head and I use the heel of my hand so ok so far with those joints.

Basic research practice i passed on to my students: Without authentication, not worth reading. Would you post photos of your tests and notes. These forums are full of folk who willingly share knowledge acquired by decades of observation , learning and good practice. If you diss peple like Tony Hansen, and this is not the place, replace his findings with authenticated info. Apologies if this is humour.