Pyewackette

@Callie Beller Diesel I don't care for the foam bats, pieces tend to sink unevenly on them.  Larger pieces in particular.  I haven't got the neoprene yet (its sitting in my Amazon cart pending figuring out whether or not we'll be moving soonish) but I'm thinking the 1/2" neoprene ought to be a decent replacement for the thicker foam bats when I need something to flip a platter over onto to protect the rim, and maybe able to leave it there for trimming.
Thanks for the info, now I know the 1/8" stuff is what I need to make a sticky bat.  Might try the 1/4" for bigger things, rather than the 1/2".

per Standard Clay
 

Yesterday and today I felt too grumpy to throw so I glazed some pieces I had that needed it.
Why, thunk I, am I feeling grumpy about throwing?
Because for weeks now I've been throwing with only porcelain (after experimenting with raku and Balcones Dark, one bowls worth each).  And I've gotten BORED with it.
This is news to me.  I have developed a liking for variety in my clay, and that very recently.  I've always been aimed in this direction (and have been counseled in the past NOT to try to work with multiple types of clay) so I think the impulse has been there but unrecognized as I struggled so with the studio clay, switching it up once in awhile with the B mix.
So here's my suggestion for QoW - what clay body or bodies do you work with and what do you like about it/them? What is the impetus for working with one or multiple clay bodies?  Corollary:  do you make your own clay, and why?

Ceiling fan is a cheap and great idea.   I worked with a portraiture sculpture group for ten years.  We  made turntables out of formica sink cutouts and ball bearing kits for lazy susans.   I have a large heavy duty one that I put together.  It will easily hold and turn a couple of hundred pounds of clay.   Denice

I think it depends on the clay body. If you’re working with a really fine toothed clay that’s prone to readsorbtion, I could see excess slip possibly creating some structural weaknesses. Scale might play into this too. If the potter was Adam Field and he was talking about his larger Onggi jars, rim cohesion is going to be a bigger structural integrity consideration on those pieces than on a mug.
Personally I use chamois to smooth out the rim, but I also shape everything with a metal rib. That doesn’t leave a lot of excess slip behind, so redistributing whatever remains is just hiding whatever coarse particles lurk.
I think an entire weekend workshop could be taught on feet and rims. What I use for a rim tends to be very piece specific, and what the pot is supposed to do. For bowls used in the kitchen, i like a rounded or otherwise beefed up rim that is chip resistant. For mugs, I make a round rim that I then create about a 30* angle on the inside that helps cut off liquid flow. Still chip resistant, but a nicer feel for the user. It also makes for a clean liner/outer glaze demarcation. Jars with lids have their own functional considerations as well. Those tend to be more vertical, because I don’t want the gallery warping inwards and trapping the lid in the firing. 
(I have to get into the studio, but I’ll try and get some pictures to upload later.)

Back in the pre-internet glaze recipe days, handouts with that general formatting were part of every workshop or guest lecture in every ceramics department. While glazes could be attributed to a given artist, there can be some variance if someone decided to adjust an ingredient for their own work, and the only recommendation for name changing a given recipe was if you made “significant” changes to it. 
I originally came across that My 1,2,3,4 base glaze attributed to Victor Babu 25 years ago. Most others attribute it to Bernard Leach. Val Cushing has his name on a LOT of shop glazes from the 90’s and 00’s. 

My approach is to get everything wet that I can without ruining it, flood the floor, then squeegee it outside. It took a lot of effort to arrive at baseline we felt comfortable with. Since then it’s regular (weekly)  passes with a HEPA shop vac, high and low, with the garage door open. Followed by flooding the floor and squeegeeing it all out or down the floor drain if it’s mostly water.
When weather doesn’t permit the open garage door it’s an n-95 canister mask till the job’s done. 

I bought a used wheel and it has predrilled holes in it for bat pins.  I am not fond of bat pins.   I also tend to press a knuckle or two against the wheel head,  the plastic bat is a lot easier on my skin.   Denice

For reference, 3mm is a hair more than 1/8”. It’s close enough to not make a difference in this instance. It’s the thickness of single pane window glass if you need a common physical comparison.
1/2” neoprene would be overkill, but not unworkable if you already own it and you’re making your own. A foam bat is the more affordable tool that does the same thing as the diamond core version. I could also see thicker craft foam glued to a bat working for this if you wanted a perfectly smooth surface. 
 

From https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/1557-gold-lustre-and-alkaline-glaze/?do=findComment&comment=10521
1. Lustre is a thin film of metal deposited on the surface of a fired glaze.
It is NOT a glaze in itself. It relies on the glaze interaction with the lustre for adherence and this can be anywhere between 720.C-820.C depending on the hardness of the glaze. Earthenware glazes are usually refired between 720-750.C while stoneware and porcelain usually refire between 780-820.C but that is not set in stone. Every glaze is different and you would have to test to find the common denominator for your glazes. Glass, depending on the type, starts to accept lustre from 600.c onwards. You will know if you haven't fired high enough as the lustre will rub off. If fired too high it will start to burn off and be patchy. Commercial porcelain blanks can be tricky to find the optimum temperature as a lot of these follow the procedure of high fired bisque with a low fired glaze. This appears to be the same with bone china. It takes on the characteristics of the glaze it is on. If the the glaze is very glossy then the metallic layer is very glossy. If the glaze is matt then the metal layer is matt and this then follows on for all the permutations in between. However I have noticed in my own work that copper glazes seem to be more problematic as my lustres always seem duller. This then brings me to the second point. PS
These lustres (there are reduction lustres as well) are based on resinates, which are metallic soaps. When they are heated they decompose to metal atoms and various gases such as CO2. Why most of them (e.g. copper) don't decompose to the oxide is complex, and apparently relates to the electron distribution within the resinate ion during its decomposition. Which is why resinates are still used.
Danger of skin contact & fumes until they are fully fired, then you've got a metallic thin film (somewhat amalgamated with the surface of the underlying glaze). Some of the dangers are inherent to the resinate, others relate to the solvents used.
Johanna DeMaine
Lustre Ceramics Monthly
Health & Safety and Overglaze
Background Overglaze: Challenging the Myths
 

It would be faster and better to just roll a new slab. Paperclay joints on bone dry pieces are not always 100% successful, especially on a thin slab. If you're bisque firing, pieces will not stick together unless you've properly joined them with slip/score.

Hi everybody
Tried out some commercial available hollow dies in the small clay saver
They are well made the hollow clay tubes came out amazing.
When I made  this  extruder no  welding was used
It all bolted  together  ,
I have made a small alteration the ball joint socket has been extended and is fixed in place with some bolts
I will draw up some plans on how to make this extruder some time next year,
Mick

Well my 7k worth of Thermo lites showed up a few days ago. I picked them up in my smaller pickup and just uloaded them an d got a thin wash on them to stop plucking on my porcealin.
They where boxed very well and since they are the huge size 14x 28 inches I was woriied they may not all make it but all 20 are fine. I got them dry in heated studio and am now ready to slow bisque them soon in the Geil kiln. Trcking was about $585 fro NY to  nomans land where I live in extreme costal Cal by the Or. border
These weigh 12.5 #s each are a joy to handle. A bit heaver than my #9 12x 24s.  Now I have over 70 advancers and thermolites.As well as a few dozen spares which I think I will sell next year.
If you pick them up  from Bailey leave them in the packing they give you and if its iots less than 8 electric  kiln ones you can put them in 3 piles seperated with padding and secure  with no issues. If you are moving lots like I do on thier sides is best but as noted a few in piles of 3 can be flate with cardboard between just fine.
This box had them all on edge bubble wrapped each and taped in two's as a unit with sheet foam between the piles and cribbed with more 2 inch sheet foam and taped empty boxes inside wood crate which was a bear to open with so many nails.. 

Here the outside (upside for lids) has been dipped.

Inverted, the glaze goes up the inside as the trapped air is compressed, however, it doesn't stick, for the liner is waxed from the lip to about 3/4" down.
After the dip, an initial swipe with a sponge* to catch the biggest drops of glaze beaded up on the wax prevents them from sliding down the wax when the pot is righted, there.
Then, any remaining droplets are easily caught, no hurry, for they are beaded up on the wax.
For the dip, I'm lowering these (careful not to "burp" any air out!) smoothly to full depth, retrieving to the upper limit of chatter marking, then lowering to the lower limit of the chatter marks (not all the way to the foot!) afore withdrawing the piece - steady, not too fast! - shake, shake, run the drip around, sponge the big droplets off the wax, right the piece, etc. 
Varying the speed of withdrawal can make for interesting banding, particularly with transparent and semi-transparent glazes...
Upside down dip, simple way to control glaze thickness - thinner near the foot, thicker near the lip.
Where the glaze is "watery" (for my glazes, specific gravity 1.41 to 1.46, depending on the glaze) enough, I don't have to hurry to prevent too thick a layer, and, And, where the glaze is "gel" enough**, it does not run, drip, sag.
Waxing, cutting and cleaning for the sharp boundary at the lip is a bit of trouble, however, I like the look.
I'm taping off the foot, as I like the clean sharp edge there too. The tape provides a handle as well. I'm removing the tape while the glaze is still moist - less dust.
The area within the foot ring, I'm using a squirt bottle, level with a wet finger, sponge* away any oops, done.
 
*Where a big sponge is too much, cut the "right" size and shape from a big'n! ...still thanking Bill Van Gilder for that tip, thanks Bill!
** per often mentioned (by me!) adjust that thixotropy!
See Tony Hansen's articles on dipping glaze, thixotropy, etc. and Thixotropy and How to Gel a Ceramic Glaze (digitalfire.com)
 

@Mark C. The L&L stand has a full metal top:

Looks good does the kiln floor overhang the stand at all? if so the walls are not well supported.. I always cut a circle  of steel or even thick 1/4 aluminum that supports the whole kiln and  put on top any stand provided . It s simple physics walls are downward force of walls and lid usually unsupported or cantilevered over the floor support to outside of floor hence the cracking usually seen in most kiln floors. I hope L& L has figured this one out as all others I have seen have not.

I trim foot rings almost exclusively, but they don't always look the same.  Sometimes I use a foot trimmer thingy like the one Dirty Girls makes.  I still trim inside it.  I cut a line into the clay above the foot as a glaze catcher.  If a piece has a flat bottom that is a sure sign I made the bottom to thin.
I once had an instructor who attempted to push me away from trimming footrings.  He was quite insistent.  I was quite intransigent on the issue.  I won.  It's my work.  Plus the guy sells his pitchers for like $200 a pop - if you're getting $200 a pop you have time to trim a foot ring IF YOU WANT TO.  I certainly don't get $200 (or anything at all) for a piece but I will still trim a foot ring because I WANT TO.
As for the dishwasher thingy, lots of machine made stuff does the same spill-the-icky-dishwater-all-over-the-silverware thing.  If I ever sell a piece, I will be recommending against putting it in the dishwasher.  If you do it anyway, its on you to counteract that.

Don’t be afraid to buy clay. You just have to remember it’s a product with ingredients that aren’t 100% uniform over time, and mixed by humans who have off days. It would be odder to not ever experience some kind of weirdness from time to time. If you find something, tell the manufacturer and the retail place you bought it from. They can’t fix a problem they don’t know about, and it’s a reasonable expectation for them to do something to make it right for you.

I too have been “wedging backwards” for 30 years. Difference is, instead of putting the pointy end of the cone down as in the video, I land the clay on the big round end of the cone that’s already formed. After smoothing out the spiral shape so it doesn’t trap air. That part’s kind of important. I cut slam all my reclaim, because it really does result in a nicer mix. I don’t have the fancy post on my wedging table. I just lay out my cutting wire and slam the clay on top of it. 
I will say concentrating on your core and using your body weight rather than killing your shoulders is a solid point, though. 

@Denice why not throw directly on the wheel head if you’re cutting the piece off the bat?

It’s not unusual for white clay reclaim to look greyer than the fresh out of the bag stuff. Things do grow in wet slop, but they burn out. 

Um. I feel this frustration deep in my soul. The truly maddening thing is that because of all the possible variables, if you’re learning about it on the free or cheap, it’s a long process. Glaze chemistry is not only the interactions between the individual atoms like it’s written on paper, its the working properties of the minerals they all come from, particle size and how it affects melt, and the physics that happen in the kiln accordingly. There’s a ridiculous number of variables involved, so a scientific method of breaking down each and every one of them is a vast undertaking. 
Most glaze chemistry for clay artists/potters can be encapsulated in the words of Inigo Montoya. “Let me explain. No, wait. There is to much. Let me sum up.” A bunch of stuff gets oversimplified, because not everyone needs the deep understanding of the science to make what they want to. Sometimes that oversimplification leaves room for expanded understanding later, sometimes not.
For the free/cheap approach, reading Digitalfire and following the outbound links at the bottom of  the page for expanded info is about the best we got. After that, paying $$$ for courses and books is definitely faster. Definitely don’t look for older chemistry books on websites that have free college textbooks*. It would be wrong, because it’s (sometimes) borderline piracy. College profs don’t recommend this. Nope. 
*cough* *cough* Library Genesis* cough* cough*

Well, clearly a schedule can be worked out, but to me, the whole thing about inadequate wheels is just wrong, wrong, wrong. However the college tries to justify cheating the students like that, and regardless of whether students are paying or getting credit. It's just plain wrong. I can't even fathom walking into a wheel-throwing class and students not having full access to a wheel--whether I was the student or the teacher!  Maybe it's time to make some noise!

If it's a throwing class, why are they taking more students than wheels? The mixed levels is not a problem at all. Every class I've ever taken or taught  has been mixed levels. I think it's great, because the advanced students pass a lot of knowledge down to the beginners. But for the class to really work well you need everyone to have a wheel.