douglas

Since you are making utensils, I think you could get away with single firing them to cone 6 with the glaze vs. firing to cone 8 maturity and then second firing to cone 6. Porosity issues are for vessels holding liquid for long periods of times. A spoon won't matter if it is not completely vitrified in the way a pitcher would need to be. I had some luck glazing some overfired bisque (went to cone 6) and refiring in cone ten. I had to dip the pot, let it dry completely and then do a second quick dip. The glaze was normally glossy, so while it was thin, it still had a nice feel to it. Your results will vary based on the glazes you use, but if you have already fired them to cone 8 you might as well try.

Like Callie said, soak your bisque chucks ahead of time so that they don't suck the moisture out of the clay you use to protect the bottle. One other tip is don't use clay wads. Use a thick coil on the bisque chuck instead, then use a trimming tool to cut the coil into a symmetrical surface. Assuming your bottle is symmetrical it will drop right in vs. needing to adjust the wads to center and level the bottle.

I have an RK-2 which is an earlier model. I throw mostly with a brent now. The RK2 is really loud, I don't know if the RK-10 shares that problem. The upside to this design is the cone drive and motor are all mechanical. There are no circuit boards to fail, so if you are handy, you can fix this. Shimpo does not support these anymore, but it seems there are plenty of parts in the pottery suppliers hands. Mine handles 20lbs with no problem. If you want to throw really big it might not be up to the task. But this guy seems to make fairly large pieces on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-99NPQ_gho#t=1m30s The pedal and hand throttle control the speed of the wheel, you can use either one. Since the pedal is attached to the wheel, you have zero options on repositioning where your foot goes.

Post the recipe if you want help on how to fix this. Pictures make it easier for people to help you too.

It definitely has a very groggy feel to it. I don't think it is grog since they don't do much processing to the clay. Very large particles and some students don't like to use it since it is very rough on the hands. I have only used it straight out of the bag, or wedged with Coleman's porcelain. At least with our studio glazes it seems to be good. It does seep slowly so sometimes adding porcelain slip to the inside of mugs and bowls can help prevent that.

Nerd, what have been your negative experiences with Lizella? I have not noticed any problems with cone 6 electric, soda, or salt.

Maybe pour the slop into a plastic bag inside a bucket, and leave it open so that the water evaporates. When the bag starts to fill it up, tie the bag shut and throw it in the trash.