neilestrick

I work on bisque fired pieces, originally as-fired, but now usually with a layer of underglaze briefly oven dried.  I sponge on the transfer, burnish with a small polished wooden knob tool, using a piece of old knit T-shirt fabric as a buffer against scrunching and gouging the paper, sponge again, burnish again through a more dry piece of T-shirt, pick an edge of the paper and roll back a little to see if it is transferring completely, sponge/burnish again if not, then peel.
That technique is what has worked best at my small scale and fine detail objective, with Yasutomo hanshi paper, half-ripe xuan paper, and brief experiments with medical exam table paper (smooth, not creped) and paper from old sewing patterns.

On bisqueware, yes. On greenware it works fine right on the clay.

@Art By Iggy If it's only pulling 15 amps instead of 30 then half the kiln isn't working, that means you either have a dead relay or a dead element (wired in series, if one goes out they both do). Have you tested the elements for continuity? Have you confirmed that the relays are working? If you're not comfortable doing live tests inside the control box, then put a little piece of paper on each element and start the kiln and see if they smolder.
Where are you measuring the amperage draw- from the circuit box or in the kiln control box?

I spent a couple of hours yesterday morning running some screen printing tests. I'm using a 110 mesh screen, Speedball underglazes, and raw Xuan paper. My findings:
- Speedball underglazes come fairly thick in the bottle, so with no modification they actually print pretty well for 1-2 prints. However, by the third print the underglaze would stop going through the screen and it would just print water. The thicker the underglaze the worse it got. If I washed off and dried the screen, then it would print again. I think the underglaze must be sealing up the screen.
- I don't have any guar gum or dextrin in the studio, but I do have CMC gum and Veegum T, which together are fabulous for suspending glazes and making them brushable. Typically I would make a syrup out of them, but I didn't want to add too much water to the underglaze so I mixed it up like thick snot- 2 tablespoons of CMC and 1 tablespoon of VGT to 1 1/2 pints of hot water (normally would use 1 gallon of water). Let it soak (overnight if you have time), and mix it with a stick blender.
I added 1 teaspoon of the snot to a pint of underglaze and ran a dozen prints without any problems. I also thinned out the underglazes a bit and was much happier with the thickness on the paper. No need to let them stiffen up at all. In fact, Speedball underglazes are a bit too thick in the bottle. I'd seen people say it should thicken up to a toothpaste consistency, but I didn't find that to be necessary or desirable.
- I was concerned that the CMC gum would make it more difficult to transfer, since in a typical application the gum makes the underglaze hard and resists water (which is why I always recommend applying underglazes to leather hard and bisque firing before glazing if you're working with dipping glazes). With the transfers they worked much, much better with the added gum. Great release from the paper. I lay the transfer on the leather hard pot, dab it with a wet sponge, then lightly roll it with a little brayer.  I'm doing some bold patterns, not thin line work, so it's easy to control how complete the image transfers by how long I leave the transfer on the pot.
- The raw Xuan paper is very fragile when wet. You have to be very careful about rubbing it when it's sitting wet on the pot. I've got some half raw coming and I'll see if that holds up better.
EDIT: Forgot to add- I have tried making the transfers with newsprint before, but I don't like how much the paper wrinkles as it dries. The underglaze was also more likely to flake off when dry. I'll try it again with the new gum-added version later this week and see if it behaves any better. The good thing about the newsprint is that it's much more durable than the Xuan paper.

Ok, it’s really good to know! One less thing to worry about. Thanks Neil

Can you post a picture, top and bottom? The feet are probably the biggest culprit, but any time you have long flat sides like that they're going to warp. On solution is to put a slight curve in the sides, which makes them less likely to bow inward.
Any clay body that vitrifies is going to want to warp in the firing. The lower the absorption, the closer the clay is getting to its melting point and the softer it gets at the peak of the firing. Have you tried firing them on a waster slab? I wold also try going thicker as they get larger.

On the topic of your body being able to do the work: There's a very real possibility that one's business model will have to change (or even stop) well before you reach retirement age. I am at a point in my career where that is happening to me. I'm 51 years old, and after 30 years of making pots my hands hurt way too much to continue wheel throwing. It's nothing that surgery can fix for the most part, and I want to be able to use my hands when I retire some day, so I am now a hand builder! If I was making my living 100% from making pots, that would be a severe change in my production output and my business may or may not be able to survive that kind of change. Luckily for me, selling pots is only one of 4 income streams I have. That said, kiln repair work is also really hard on my body and I'm starting to see signs that I will probably have to stop doing it well before retirement age. None of this was an issue when I was 40, I'm just worn out. Once it starts happening it seems to build quickly, so you have to plan ahead for those changes. There's a reason you don't see many 64 year old guys framing houses or installing roof shingles.

Thank you to all the responses, I just measure both phases and the ammeter gives me 45 amp each one, for stay more sure about my safe I will upgrade the breakers to 60amp each phase and I will have to change #8 copper to #6 copper. 

Thank you! 

Can you post a picture, top and bottom? The feet are probably the biggest culprit, but any time you have long flat sides like that they're going to warp. On solution is to put a slight curve in the sides, which makes them less likely to bow inward.
Any clay body that vitrifies is going to want to warp in the firing. The lower the absorption, the closer the clay is getting to its melting point and the softer it gets at the peak of the firing. Have you tried firing them on a waster slab? I wold also try going thicker as they get larger.

I don't think that 'work' in itself is the issue. Rather, it's the type of work. Some people can work for hours and hours with spreadsheets on a computer and have no problem with it. Some folks install shingles all day or frame houses. Some teach kids. I can work hard all day in the studio but I would hate other jobs. It's a matter of finding the work that you enjoy, and if you're not totally into clay then it's not going to be work you want to do all day.

It depends on what type of glaze it is and how much is in the glaze. I'd run a test first.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday morning running some screen printing tests. I'm using a 110 mesh screen, Speedball underglazes, and raw Xuan paper. My findings:
- Speedball underglazes come fairly thick in the bottle, so with no modification they actually print pretty well for 1-2 prints. However, by the third print the underglaze would stop going through the screen and it would just print water. The thicker the underglaze the worse it got. If I washed off and dried the screen, then it would print again. I think the underglaze must be sealing up the screen.
- I don't have any guar gum or dextrin in the studio, but I do have CMC gum and Veegum T, which together are fabulous for suspending glazes and making them brushable. Typically I would make a syrup out of them, but I didn't want to add too much water to the underglaze so I mixed it up like thick snot- 2 tablespoons of CMC and 1 tablespoon of VGT to 1 1/2 pints of hot water (normally would use 1 gallon of water). Let it soak (overnight if you have time), and mix it with a stick blender.
I added 1 teaspoon of the snot to a pint of underglaze and ran a dozen prints without any problems. I also thinned out the underglazes a bit and was much happier with the thickness on the paper. No need to let them stiffen up at all. In fact, Speedball underglazes are a bit too thick in the bottle. I'd seen people say it should thicken up to a toothpaste consistency, but I didn't find that to be necessary or desirable.
- I was concerned that the CMC gum would make it more difficult to transfer, since in a typical application the gum makes the underglaze hard and resists water (which is why I always recommend applying underglazes to leather hard and bisque firing before glazing if you're working with dipping glazes). With the transfers they worked much, much better with the added gum. Great release from the paper. I lay the transfer on the leather hard pot, dab it with a wet sponge, then lightly roll it with a little brayer.  I'm doing some bold patterns, not thin line work, so it's easy to control how complete the image transfers by how long I leave the transfer on the pot.
- The raw Xuan paper is very fragile when wet. You have to be very careful about rubbing it when it's sitting wet on the pot. I've got some half raw coming and I'll see if that holds up better.
EDIT: Forgot to add- I have tried making the transfers with newsprint before, but I don't like how much the paper wrinkles as it dries. The underglaze was also more likely to flake off when dry. I'll try it again with the new gum-added version later this week and see if it behaves any better. The good thing about the newsprint is that it's much more durable than the Xuan paper.

On the topic of your body being able to do the work: There's a very real possibility that one's business model will have to change (or even stop) well before you reach retirement age. I am at a point in my career where that is happening to me. I'm 51 years old, and after 30 years of making pots my hands hurt way too much to continue wheel throwing. It's nothing that surgery can fix for the most part, and I want to be able to use my hands when I retire some day, so I am now a hand builder! If I was making my living 100% from making pots, that would be a severe change in my production output and my business may or may not be able to survive that kind of change. Luckily for me, selling pots is only one of 4 income streams I have. That said, kiln repair work is also really hard on my body and I'm starting to see signs that I will probably have to stop doing it well before retirement age. None of this was an issue when I was 40, I'm just worn out. Once it starts happening it seems to build quickly, so you have to plan ahead for those changes. There's a reason you don't see many 64 year old guys framing houses or installing roof shingles.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday morning running some screen printing tests. I'm using a 110 mesh screen, Speedball underglazes, and raw Xuan paper. My findings:
- Speedball underglazes come fairly thick in the bottle, so with no modification they actually print pretty well for 1-2 prints. However, by the third print the underglaze would stop going through the screen and it would just print water. The thicker the underglaze the worse it got. If I washed off and dried the screen, then it would print again. I think the underglaze must be sealing up the screen.
- I don't have any guar gum or dextrin in the studio, but I do have CMC gum and Veegum T, which together are fabulous for suspending glazes and making them brushable. Typically I would make a syrup out of them, but I didn't want to add too much water to the underglaze so I mixed it up like thick snot- 2 tablespoons of CMC and 1 tablespoon of VGT to 1 1/2 pints of hot water (normally would use 1 gallon of water). Let it soak (overnight if you have time), and mix it with a stick blender.
I added 1 teaspoon of the snot to a pint of underglaze and ran a dozen prints without any problems. I also thinned out the underglazes a bit and was much happier with the thickness on the paper. No need to let them stiffen up at all. In fact, Speedball underglazes are a bit too thick in the bottle. I'd seen people say it should thicken up to a toothpaste consistency, but I didn't find that to be necessary or desirable.
- I was concerned that the CMC gum would make it more difficult to transfer, since in a typical application the gum makes the underglaze hard and resists water (which is why I always recommend applying underglazes to leather hard and bisque firing before glazing if you're working with dipping glazes). With the transfers they worked much, much better with the added gum. Great release from the paper. I lay the transfer on the leather hard pot, dab it with a wet sponge, then lightly roll it with a little brayer.  I'm doing some bold patterns, not thin line work, so it's easy to control how complete the image transfers by how long I leave the transfer on the pot.
- The raw Xuan paper is very fragile when wet. You have to be very careful about rubbing it when it's sitting wet on the pot. I've got some half raw coming and I'll see if that holds up better.
EDIT: Forgot to add- I have tried making the transfers with newsprint before, but I don't like how much the paper wrinkles as it dries. The underglaze was also more likely to flake off when dry. I'll try it again with the new gum-added version later this week and see if it behaves any better. The good thing about the newsprint is that it's much more durable than the Xuan paper.

I spent a couple of hours yesterday morning running some screen printing tests. I'm using a 110 mesh screen, Speedball underglazes, and raw Xuan paper. My findings:
- Speedball underglazes come fairly thick in the bottle, so with no modification they actually print pretty well for 1-2 prints. However, by the third print the underglaze would stop going through the screen and it would just print water. The thicker the underglaze the worse it got. If I washed off and dried the screen, then it would print again. I think the underglaze must be sealing up the screen.
- I don't have any guar gum or dextrin in the studio, but I do have CMC gum and Veegum T, which together are fabulous for suspending glazes and making them brushable. Typically I would make a syrup out of them, but I didn't want to add too much water to the underglaze so I mixed it up like thick snot- 2 tablespoons of CMC and 1 tablespoon of VGT to 1 1/2 pints of hot water (normally would use 1 gallon of water). Let it soak (overnight if you have time), and mix it with a stick blender.
I added 1 teaspoon of the snot to a pint of underglaze and ran a dozen prints without any problems. I also thinned out the underglazes a bit and was much happier with the thickness on the paper. No need to let them stiffen up at all. In fact, Speedball underglazes are a bit too thick in the bottle. I'd seen people say it should thicken up to a toothpaste consistency, but I didn't find that to be necessary or desirable.
- I was concerned that the CMC gum would make it more difficult to transfer, since in a typical application the gum makes the underglaze hard and resists water (which is why I always recommend applying underglazes to leather hard and bisque firing before glazing if you're working with dipping glazes). With the transfers they worked much, much better with the added gum. Great release from the paper. I lay the transfer on the leather hard pot, dab it with a wet sponge, then lightly roll it with a little brayer.  I'm doing some bold patterns, not thin line work, so it's easy to control how complete the image transfers by how long I leave the transfer on the pot.
- The raw Xuan paper is very fragile when wet. You have to be very careful about rubbing it when it's sitting wet on the pot. I've got some half raw coming and I'll see if that holds up better.
EDIT: Forgot to add- I have tried making the transfers with newsprint before, but I don't like how much the paper wrinkles as it dries. The underglaze was also more likely to flake off when dry. I'll try it again with the new gum-added version later this week and see if it behaves any better. The good thing about the newsprint is that it's much more durable than the Xuan paper.

I am also 70 years old,  I purchased a new Paragon Caldera test kiln a few months ago and I installed a new LL kiln with the same Genesis 2.0  controller on it this week in my kiln room.  I purchase the test kiln because the one I was using needed work and it was old and didn't have a controller or thick walls.  My old Skutt started giving me trouble at the same time.  I thought long and hard on whether it was a sensible thing to do at my age it invest in new equipment at my age.  Maybe I should give it up,  I just couldn't imagine myself doing anything else,   sure I could find something to piddle with  but I would lose interest quickly.   My interest lately is testing the same glaze on  eight or so different clay's.   I can see myself delving even deeper into glaze to put on small pots.  Someday I will have to quit working in my studio,  I will at least know that old age didn't stop me from doing what I love.   Denice

I spent a couple of hours yesterday morning running some screen printing tests. I'm using a 110 mesh screen, Speedball underglazes, and raw Xuan paper. My findings:
- Speedball underglazes come fairly thick in the bottle, so with no modification they actually print pretty well for 1-2 prints. However, by the third print the underglaze would stop going through the screen and it would just print water. The thicker the underglaze the worse it got. If I washed off and dried the screen, then it would print again. I think the underglaze must be sealing up the screen.
- I don't have any guar gum or dextrin in the studio, but I do have CMC gum and Veegum T, which together are fabulous for suspending glazes and making them brushable. Typically I would make a syrup out of them, but I didn't want to add too much water to the underglaze so I mixed it up like thick snot- 2 tablespoons of CMC and 1 tablespoon of VGT to 1 1/2 pints of hot water (normally would use 1 gallon of water). Let it soak (overnight if you have time), and mix it with a stick blender.
I added 1 teaspoon of the snot to a pint of underglaze and ran a dozen prints without any problems. I also thinned out the underglazes a bit and was much happier with the thickness on the paper. No need to let them stiffen up at all. In fact, Speedball underglazes are a bit too thick in the bottle. I'd seen people say it should thicken up to a toothpaste consistency, but I didn't find that to be necessary or desirable.
- I was concerned that the CMC gum would make it more difficult to transfer, since in a typical application the gum makes the underglaze hard and resists water (which is why I always recommend applying underglazes to leather hard and bisque firing before glazing if you're working with dipping glazes). With the transfers they worked much, much better with the added gum. Great release from the paper. I lay the transfer on the leather hard pot, dab it with a wet sponge, then lightly roll it with a little brayer.  I'm doing some bold patterns, not thin line work, so it's easy to control how complete the image transfers by how long I leave the transfer on the pot.
- The raw Xuan paper is very fragile when wet. You have to be very careful about rubbing it when it's sitting wet on the pot. I've got some half raw coming and I'll see if that holds up better.
EDIT: Forgot to add- I have tried making the transfers with newsprint before, but I don't like how much the paper wrinkles as it dries. The underglaze was also more likely to flake off when dry. I'll try it again with the new gum-added version later this week and see if it behaves any better. The good thing about the newsprint is that it's much more durable than the Xuan paper.

On the subject of one’s body wearing down … I’m 52 now, approaching the 30 year mark of my pottery-making life. When I am going through a busy stretch with work, I have a nightly appointment with my heating pad, to soothe my aching elbows, wrists, and back. The past few years, I have been taking a 2 month break after the holidays. Pandemic forced me to do it, now I choose to do it. The recovery time makes a big difference. Throughout the year, I prioritize my physical health, knowing that my job depends on it. Running, yoga, sleep, healthy diet. Last year I started taking a collagen supplement, and that seems to help with my chronically sore elbow. Maybe the most important advice I have for a younger potter is to make sure your throwing clay is nice and soft. 
I hope to retire with my hands being functional enough to do things like cooking and gardening. 

Shimpo USA  is still in business mybe a old fashion phone call is in order?

I turn 70 on the 15 of March. Pottery full time since 1976 for the most part  Yes a few jobs as an electrican and a plumber and a commercial diver but the most part its clay bringing in the income..I consider myself a full timer and am  was  simi retiring slowly (started at 64) until this coming year we are in. I married quite late  in life (mid 90s) and my wifes state insurance has helped a lot but that said its my income that has paid most of my way thu my life so far.
Pottery has been brutal on my hands /wrists. Yes back issue as well but knock on wood good last 20 years. Its kept me strong and worn me down at same time. (On the topic of your body being able to do the work) one needs to think about this a bit .
I read these discussions with very mixed feelings.  And coming from a place of knowing  whats needed and what the cost will be on oneself i have a different take on things. Mea points this out well. I agree with most of Josephs statements  although I never considered scaling up or even being in business-it was all an organic process not thought about much in the old days.It jusat happened from the love of making and firing pots.
I did have a slip cast friend who scalled up and I saw maganaging people was not for me in the 80s
Most I have learned are just not cut out for the production side of things . 
The next is sticking it and out figuring it out over time. This takes time and 10-20 years is not  what most are willing to give.
The body not holding up to the work is another big one. 
It's the individual that holds the key -do thay have what it takes to cut thru all the above and become successful ?
A few points for me are It has never been a hobby-as a collage kid coming out of school and working in clay I did not have the money or time to play with clay as a hobby so I have see the hobby part as a detriment  to those doing that thinking wow lets make some $$$ at this-this will not be full time in so many ways
The success is a judgment call on so many levels-as noted  a few extra $$ is all that needed or expected is fine for some and falls short for others.
What I made in the 70s-80s is not ok in the 90s-2000s-sure it paid the bills and house payments but I just got by for a long while. Now a show thats 6k for me is a disaster and not worth doing-back then it was on fire so thats a moving target as well. All this knowledge takes so much time to learn meanwhile your body is slowing getting ground down. That's a fact
If one wants to sell a few pots on instagam and feel like its full time I say go for it. But I know whats thats about -more the hobby deal as an upgrade
If one want to sell 6 figures a year I say go for it as I really know whats that about as well
My suggestion and its really been thru dumb luck is find a few good people to help you if you want to go big and long. In my case they found me  about 30 years ago and are just part timers and help me out in so may ways. They also have been with me that whole time (one is thrower 6 hours a week)  The other is a do it all studio assstant doing whats needed when needed and she has been terrific . Its been possiable to stretch this into a 50 year career body wise. You need to pay them well to keep them by the way and share in the sucesss as it comes-more pay
Its worked for me so know its possiable
Whats my biggest unknown in my future is wrist fusion ,so Neil pay attention now and give it real thought.
 
 
 

On the topic of your body being able to do the work: There's a very real possibility that one's business model will have to change (or even stop) well before you reach retirement age. I am at a point in my career where that is happening to me. I'm 51 years old, and after 30 years of making pots my hands hurt way too much to continue wheel throwing. It's nothing that surgery can fix for the most part, and I want to be able to use my hands when I retire some day, so I am now a hand builder! If I was making my living 100% from making pots, that would be a severe change in my production output and my business may or may not be able to survive that kind of change. Luckily for me, selling pots is only one of 4 income streams I have. That said, kiln repair work is also really hard on my body and I'm starting to see signs that I will probably have to stop doing it well before retirement age. None of this was an issue when I was 40, I'm just worn out. Once it starts happening it seems to build quickly, so you have to plan ahead for those changes. There's a reason you don't see many 64 year old guys framing houses or installing roof shingles.

On the topic of your body being able to do the work: There's a very real possibility that one's business model will have to change (or even stop) well before you reach retirement age. I am at a point in my career where that is happening to me. I'm 51 years old, and after 30 years of making pots my hands hurt way too much to continue wheel throwing. It's nothing that surgery can fix for the most part, and I want to be able to use my hands when I retire some day, so I am now a hand builder! If I was making my living 100% from making pots, that would be a severe change in my production output and my business may or may not be able to survive that kind of change. Luckily for me, selling pots is only one of 4 income streams I have. That said, kiln repair work is also really hard on my body and I'm starting to see signs that I will probably have to stop doing it well before retirement age. None of this was an issue when I was 40, I'm just worn out. Once it starts happening it seems to build quickly, so you have to plan ahead for those changes. There's a reason you don't see many 64 year old guys framing houses or installing roof shingles.

In the off-chance that any needs to replace the infinite switch - I just replaced mine with this and it works a treat. Very easy to fit, just take out one plug at a time and match it up to the new one. 
 
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141185298305?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=4uGYTVfwQOK&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=iC-XyCNQT4W&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
 
And very cheap, cost me £8. 

You can get bat pins in any length at Ace Hardware or any store that carries a decent selection of nuts and bolts. They're called hex cap screws or socket head cap screws. You need 1/4-20 size in whatever length.

I picked up a little Evenheat test kiln last Fall and finally got around to getting it up and running this week. It was in brand new condition, only fired a handful of times to low fire temps, but it was a cone 8 kiln, not ideal for all the cone 6 firings I'll be doing in it. So I talked with Euclids and had them make me some custom elements that bumped it up from 2000 watts to 2700 watts, a 35% increase in power. It should have great element life now. It was originally set up for 120V service at 17 amps, and with the new elements it's set up for 208V 1P service at 13 amps (wired in series). I gutted the control box, removing the Kiln Sitter and wiring, and installed a terminal block that connects the elements directly to the power cord. I don't need the sitter since I'm using a wall mounted digital controller. The controller has a Genesis Mini controller and a solid state relay- you can see the heat sink on the left side of the control box. I've been using this box for a few years now and it works great. It was originally an Orton Auto-Fire, but I modified it a couple of years ago to work with the SSR. I also put the thermocouple in a protection tube.
I had a successful bisque firing yesterday, and I'm running a cone 6 glaze firing today. I don't expect any problems, but it's still a bit stressful since it's a new setup. Fingers crossed!