Dick White

On the hydrometers, or rather now, the scales. Don't get the big postal scale, the smaller one will do. It measures up to 3 kilos at a reasonable accuracy (1/10g) for batches. You will be measuring only one ingredient at a time. It's unlikely that you will have a recipe and batch size that will require more than 3 kilos of any one ingredient. And even then, the problem is a bowl big enough to hold that much fluffy white powder. The only thing you would do with the 50 lb. postal scale is mixing your own clay bodies.
The feed store is a good source for the big syringes. Here in the city, we don't have useful feed stores. Be sure to get one that holds at least 100 ml. Bigger is ok, but not the 60 ml ones. The math only works at 100 ml. Or rather, no math is needed at 100; the 60 requires math and that's work. 100 ml of glaze weighs xyz grams - xyz is the specific gravity.
Regarding that mucky glaze. Get a specific gravity and adjust that first. I like my dipping glazes to be in the 145 range, though a few are a bit higher or lower. Then adjust viscosity with a flocculant (a few teaspoons of saturated epsom salts) to thicken up to just the right creaminess or a deflocculant (a few teaspoons of saturated soda ash, or some like Darvan) if it is too thick.
And yeah, I know all about losing stuff in a move. We "lost" our entire set of good silverware. A year and half later, when finally hanging the last of our pictures, we found the silverware in a box marked "pictures." We had gone back to the old house for several trips and reused the boxes. Duh...

A volumetric line blend is made from glaze batches of equal recipe amounts and wet volume. Make 500 gram batches each of glazes A and B, add appropriate amounts of water and sieve them as usual. Measure the wet volume of each batch and top off the one with less volume with some water until both are exactly the same volume of wet glaze. Remix the one that you added water to just to ensure it is uniform. You will need nine test cups plus the two original batches, and a 100ml syringe.
In the first cup, put 10ml of glaze A and 90ml of glaze B. In the second cup, put 20ml of glaze A and 80ml of glaze B. In the third cup, put 30ml of glaze A and 70ml of glaze B. And so on through the nine cups, with 90ml of glaze A and 10ml of glaze B in that last cup. There should be enough wet glaze left in the original 500g batches to serve as the 100% endpoints of the line blend. Thoroughly stir the mixtures in each of the 9 cups.
The dry recipe of any of the blends is basic math. To start, the base for both recipes must initially total 100 (or a consistent amount). If the base for recipe A totals 100, then 10% of all the individual materials in it will total 10. Similarly for recipe B; 90% of all the individual materials in it will total 90. Add them together and the new recipe will total 100 again. Making a larger batch is simply a matter of multiplying everything in the new recipe by the same number, as with any recipe.

A volumetric line blend is made from glaze batches of equal recipe amounts and wet volume. Make 500 gram batches each of glazes A and B, add appropriate amounts of water and sieve them as usual. Measure the wet volume of each batch and top off the one with less volume with some water until both are exactly the same volume of wet glaze. Remix the one that you added water to just to ensure it is uniform. You will need nine test cups plus the two original batches, and a 100ml syringe.
In the first cup, put 10ml of glaze A and 90ml of glaze B. In the second cup, put 20ml of glaze A and 80ml of glaze B. In the third cup, put 30ml of glaze A and 70ml of glaze B. And so on through the nine cups, with 90ml of glaze A and 10ml of glaze B in that last cup. There should be enough wet glaze left in the original 500g batches to serve as the 100% endpoints of the line blend. Thoroughly stir the mixtures in each of the 9 cups.
The dry recipe of any of the blends is basic math. To start, the base for both recipes must initially total 100 (or a consistent amount). If the base for recipe A totals 100, then 10% of all the individual materials in it will total 10. Similarly for recipe B; 90% of all the individual materials in it will total 90. Add them together and the new recipe will total 100 again. Making a larger batch is simply a matter of multiplying everything in the new recipe by the same number, as with any recipe.

A volumetric line blend is made from glaze batches of equal recipe amounts and wet volume. Make 500 gram batches each of glazes A and B, add appropriate amounts of water and sieve them as usual. Measure the wet volume of each batch and top off the one with less volume with some water until both are exactly the same volume of wet glaze. Remix the one that you added water to just to ensure it is uniform. You will need nine test cups plus the two original batches, and a 100ml syringe.
In the first cup, put 10ml of glaze A and 90ml of glaze B. In the second cup, put 20ml of glaze A and 80ml of glaze B. In the third cup, put 30ml of glaze A and 70ml of glaze B. And so on through the nine cups, with 90ml of glaze A and 10ml of glaze B in that last cup. There should be enough wet glaze left in the original 500g batches to serve as the 100% endpoints of the line blend. Thoroughly stir the mixtures in each of the 9 cups.
The dry recipe of any of the blends is basic math. To start, the base for both recipes must initially total 100 (or a consistent amount). If the base for recipe A totals 100, then 10% of all the individual materials in it will total 10. Similarly for recipe B; 90% of all the individual materials in it will total 90. Add them together and the new recipe will total 100 again. Making a larger batch is simply a matter of multiplying everything in the new recipe by the same number, as with any recipe.

Fine with me too. It's an interesting additional level of glaze chem. Thanks Bob for originating it.

With all due respect to Occam shaving with his razor, aren't we complicating things here? Move the picture to your desktop or wherever you keep pictures. Right click on the picture, and one of the options in the top group is "Edit with Paint 3D." Click on that and the picture will open right into Paint 3D. I'm not going to engage a debate whether the new Paint 3D is better or worse than the old Paint (or that both are abominations), but it is Win10's default built-in raster image editing  program. Once in Paint 3D, the crop tool is right there above the image. Click on the crop tool and the image will be surrounded by a white line with little white circles in the corners and midpoints. Push any of them in with the mouse to change how the white lines enclose the part of the picture you want to keep. Click Done when you like it. Then click on in the Canvas item in the tool bar across the top. This will surround the image with square white dots instead of the round ones in crop mode. With your mouse, drag any of the corner spots inward and the image will shrink. (Don't use the spots in the middle of a side - they will squish and distort the image. We just want to smallify it.) When done with this step, go to File and Save As to a new filename. This preserves the original in its full bigified glory. Find the new picture (yeah, Winblows will always put it somewhere you can't easily find it), hover your mouse over it and the preview box will show the file size. It needs to be less than 1 MB to be uploaded here. If the new picture isn't small enough yet, rinse and repeat with the canvas resize feature.

With all due respect to Occam shaving with his razor, aren't we complicating things here? Move the picture to your desktop or wherever you keep pictures. Right click on the picture, and one of the options in the top group is "Edit with Paint 3D." Click on that and the picture will open right into Paint 3D. I'm not going to engage a debate whether the new Paint 3D is better or worse than the old Paint (or that both are abominations), but it is Win10's default built-in raster image editing  program. Once in Paint 3D, the crop tool is right there above the image. Click on the crop tool and the image will be surrounded by a white line with little white circles in the corners and midpoints. Push any of them in with the mouse to change how the white lines enclose the part of the picture you want to keep. Click Done when you like it. Then click on in the Canvas item in the tool bar across the top. This will surround the image with square white dots instead of the round ones in crop mode. With your mouse, drag any of the corner spots inward and the image will shrink. (Don't use the spots in the middle of a side - they will squish and distort the image. We just want to smallify it.) When done with this step, go to File and Save As to a new filename. This preserves the original in its full bigified glory. Find the new picture (yeah, Winblows will always put it somewhere you can't easily find it), hover your mouse over it and the preview box will show the file size. It needs to be less than 1 MB to be uploaded here. If the new picture isn't small enough yet, rinse and repeat with the canvas resize feature.

I have an update!  I did use cold water, so that wasn't the problem.  The issue is probably that I added the water to the plaster, and mixed it as I added the water.  I also probably over-mixed it or mixed it too fast with the mixer.  I tried it again, this time with 4 quarts of water and 11.4 lbs (5176 g) with the water measured out (though I didn't weigh the water), and slowly sifted the plaster into the water.  I was worried about it setting too fast again... so i didn't let it sit for long.. probably less than a minute, then gently mixed it by hand.  And it worked!  

Thanks for the help!

Did you mix it while you were adding the dry plaster to the water, or did you pour the water over the dry plaster and mix from there? The proper technique is to have the measured amount of water in a large mixing container and gently sift the premeasured amount of dry plaster onto the top of the water and let it sink. By the end of the premeasured  dry plaster, it will likely be sitting in an underwater "mountain" that nearly reaches the surface of the water. Let it sit there to slake for a few short minutes, and then mix it. It will be creamy, and then you can pour your mold. If you mix it too soon or too much, it will curdle and begin to set instantly.
Another possible fault is mixing in a container previously used to mix plaster but was not completely and thoroughly cleaned. The previously set plaster remains will instantly set off the chemical reaction of setting in the new plaster. For this reason, I tend to mix the plaster in a bucket into which I have inserted a plastic trash bag. It will be a bit trickier to pour the plaster out, but then I can just throw away the bag.

Did you mix it while you were adding the dry plaster to the water, or did you pour the water over the dry plaster and mix from there? The proper technique is to have the measured amount of water in a large mixing container and gently sift the premeasured amount of dry plaster onto the top of the water and let it sink. By the end of the premeasured  dry plaster, it will likely be sitting in an underwater "mountain" that nearly reaches the surface of the water. Let it sit there to slake for a few short minutes, and then mix it. It will be creamy, and then you can pour your mold. If you mix it too soon or too much, it will curdle and begin to set instantly.
Another possible fault is mixing in a container previously used to mix plaster but was not completely and thoroughly cleaned. The previously set plaster remains will instantly set off the chemical reaction of setting in the new plaster. For this reason, I tend to mix the plaster in a bucket into which I have inserted a plastic trash bag. It will be a bit trickier to pour the plaster out, but then I can just throw away the bag.

These old Paragon kilns are wired differently than most kilns these days. They are 120/240V, meaning some of the time the switches cause the elements to run on 120V and other times the elements use 240V. Consequently, the 4-wire plug and receptacle with a neutral is essential.  The kiln will not operate properly on a conventional 3-wire 240V circuit. As Marko notes, a 30 amp circuit is minimum, but 40 amps is maximum.  The outlet on the top of the control box is actually 120/240V, and was intended to power an extension ring if desired. Otherwise, it's not good for much else. As for digital controllers, the external wall-mount Skutt KM-1 is not suitable for this kiln. It will only work with a straight 240V 3-wire cord with no neutral. As noted, this kiln requires a neutral. The Orton AF4000 wall-mount controller can be special ordered with the 120/240V circuitry. If you are adventuresome and facile with electrical wiring, you could replace the kiln sitter mechanism with an Olympic ElectroSitter.

These old Paragon kilns are wired differently than most kilns these days. They are 120/240V, meaning some of the time the switches cause the elements to run on 120V and other times the elements use 240V. Consequently, the 4-wire plug and receptacle with a neutral is essential.  The kiln will not operate properly on a conventional 3-wire 240V circuit. As Marko notes, a 30 amp circuit is minimum, but 40 amps is maximum.  The outlet on the top of the control box is actually 120/240V, and was intended to power an extension ring if desired. Otherwise, it's not good for much else. As for digital controllers, the external wall-mount Skutt KM-1 is not suitable for this kiln. It will only work with a straight 240V 3-wire cord with no neutral. As noted, this kiln requires a neutral. The Orton AF4000 wall-mount controller can be special ordered with the 120/240V circuitry. If you are adventuresome and facile with electrical wiring, you could replace the kiln sitter mechanism with an Olympic ElectroSitter.

These old Paragon kilns are wired differently than most kilns these days. They are 120/240V, meaning some of the time the switches cause the elements to run on 120V and other times the elements use 240V. Consequently, the 4-wire plug and receptacle with a neutral is essential.  The kiln will not operate properly on a conventional 3-wire 240V circuit. As Marko notes, a 30 amp circuit is minimum, but 40 amps is maximum.  The outlet on the top of the control box is actually 120/240V, and was intended to power an extension ring if desired. Otherwise, it's not good for much else. As for digital controllers, the external wall-mount Skutt KM-1 is not suitable for this kiln. It will only work with a straight 240V 3-wire cord with no neutral. As noted, this kiln requires a neutral. The Orton AF4000 wall-mount controller can be special ordered with the 120/240V circuitry. If you are adventuresome and facile with electrical wiring, you could replace the kiln sitter mechanism with an Olympic ElectroSitter.

Just a sorta-humorous note along these lines... We had been talking about this, and though the college studio where I am a studio monkey was closed because of the pandemic, I suggested to the professor that she should order some to get us through the however long the shortage might be. We reopened yesterday for modified in-person studio work, and there on a cart were 4 bags of it, enough to last us the rest of millenium.

An issue with the GG and a Shimpo wheel is that the mechanism of the GG is that counterclockwise torque (assuming a typical US counterclockwise wheel) on the base of the GG causes the inertia of the sliding top to press clockwise with respect to the base, which causes the arms to move inward on their spiral tracks. This is exactly the same as the initial tightening on the ware while putting it in the center. This keeps it gripped during the trimming. However,  the Shimpo wheel stops very quickly when you back off the pedal, much faster than other brands. As a consequence, the top of the GG tends to keep some of its counterclockwise momentum with respect to the now stopped base, which has the effect of very slightly loosening the arms. It is at that point where the ware moves off center, but you probably didn't notice it happening.

Ha. For some, this glaze chem stuff IS wilderness camping. All. The. Time.

Ha. For some, this glaze chem stuff IS wilderness camping. All. The. Time.

Ha. For some, this glaze chem stuff IS wilderness camping. All. The. Time.

Ha. For some, this glaze chem stuff IS wilderness camping. All. The. Time.

Ha. For some, this glaze chem stuff IS wilderness camping. All. The. Time.

This may be a bit geeky for the average artist, but with the Genesis controller, you can extract a data file for each of the last 10 firings that lists the setpoints, actual temperatures, and percent of power-on time every 30 seconds. Import that into a spreadsheet like Excel and calculate rates of temperature rise at various stages of the firing and for each section of the kiln. If you are facile with the spreadsheet, you can construct graphics of programmed vs. actual. Like I said, it's a geek's toy, but it can be useful to see where the variances are from expected in the programming and imbalances between the sections. This is particularly useful when elements begin to wear and the ramp rates at higher temperatures begin to significantly lag the program. You can see how the run up to bisque seems to be normal while glaze firings go on forever until the dreaded E1. I've also used this by setting a high ramp rate for a long cooling segment down from peak (set it to over 400F/hr) just to keep the controller from turning the elements on at all while logging the natural cooling rate of the kiln. I doubt you'll find a brand new kiln to be generally lagging the expected program, but it can help diagnose section imbalances that can be tweaked with a thermocouple offset.

What I was trying to do was use my logging pyrometer connected to the same thermocouple as the controller to keep track of what the controller was seeing/doing. I attached a separate wire directly at the thermocouple block. When I noticed the readings bouncing around, I gave the thermocouple back to the controller rather than have the kiln load bolloxed.

What I was trying to do was use my logging pyrometer connected to the same thermocouple as the controller to keep track of what the controller was seeing/doing. I attached a separate wire directly at the thermocouple block. When I noticed the readings bouncing around, I gave the thermocouple back to the controller rather than have the kiln load bolloxed.

As one wag said, anything is possible, but some things are not likely. My one attempt at that was not satisfactory. I connected a separate pyrometer to the same thermocouple as was being used by the kiln's Bartlett controller. The temperature readings went jittery and I couldn't tell what was going on. Haven't tried it since.

As one wag said, anything is possible, but some things are not likely. My one attempt at that was not satisfactory. I connected a separate pyrometer to the same thermocouple as was being used by the kiln's Bartlett controller. The temperature readings went jittery and I couldn't tell what was going on. Haven't tried it since.