Colby Charpentier

Try looking for it under the name Floating Blue. There are other members, more familiar with commercial glazes that may be able to better direct you...

The Bill Carty talk in Milwaukee last year addressed this. He suggested that the neurological effects are only an issue when exposed to vaporized forms of Manganese (The MSDS information is from the steel industry, where everything they handle is at high heat). Proper materials handling still applies, however the greatest risk is breathing the kiln fumes. Also, be aware that subsequent firings will still give off fumes, as all surfaces in the kiln will hold on to a bit of the Manganese. Be sure to wash all wares prior to use as well to take care of the residue. As for the leaching issue, a pro

If you're going to do a lot of bottles, bisque a couple of decent chucks, and pack clay onto the chuck only if you need to. And don't ever use different clay for your lugs...

Have a knowledgeable individual take a look at the wheel. Your wheel should be evaluated without clay or bats on it, using a fixed point of reference on multiple points on the wheel head and a level as well. The wheel is a piece of equipment, and it's either functioning properly, or its not. Its performance has nothing to do with what takes place on it. I mention this because even a flawed wheel with a wobbling wheel head can be used to produce perfectly round pots. That being said, you should in no way accept a flawed piece of equipment if that is the case....

I have different grit preferences depending on which bodies I am sanding. For a small-particle porcelain, I can't go less than 150 grit without instigating blemishes in the final product. With the stoneware I use, I can go as coarse as 80 grit. Take note that sanding for high-fire applications isn't as effective, as high-fire clay bodies will tend to flux and resultantly change their surface due to the shrinkage. I do agree with other posts here that there is a health hazard, however, in order to meet the standards that I hold for certain lines of work, I find sanding to be integral to creatin

Propane will actually burn somewhere around 3500 degrees in the primary flame, the closest thing that I've done to firing with a torch alone is firing a small kiln, 6" max interior dimension, with a small torch. It requires a small throat just to make sure the torch doesn't directly contact any of the work....