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Min
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Posts posted by Min
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I haven't used them but this place has been mentioned on the forum in the past.
https://www.milestonedecalart.com/custom-decal-shop
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6 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:
But I’d lay good money the number of us that have ADHD of some flavour is pretty high.
Really? I haven't thought that before, hmm, I wonder?
Do people who work with clay have a tendency towards certain personalities or ?... (nudge nudge @Pres, maybe a QotW in there somewhere?, not that it could be a loaded question or anything
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99.999% of my customers have been lovely but there are exceptions. Not trying to tear down joe public but there are cases where customers are anything but lovely. Have had two customers at an outdoor summer market who were complete jerks. Doing things like picking up a berry bowl and very loudly saying things along the line of "well this isn't going to hold cereal", ha ha ha. Then going over to a large platter, removing it from it's stand and pretending it was a steering wheel of a sports car. Another time I had a fellow take some of the blueberries he was carrying (bought from a farm vendor) and start whipping them into my swirl dish (type in avatar) seeing if he could get them to go around the outside then land in the center cup. They finished being jerks, laughing loudly at what I guess they thought was being brilliantly clever then moved on.
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If it's coming from the bead bars you could try alumina rods instead if the loops on your jewellery are large enough. Image below is from Aliexpress, you can find separate rods in various sizes there also. (longer ones on the river in South America but they are out of stock)
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Thanks for posting this question Pres.
Like anyone, working with clay for many years has given me more strength in my shoulders and arms than I would probably have had otherwise. Wear and tear injury of tearing off long head of a bicep was probably the worst I've done (exacerbated by tubing with a niece and not letting her beat me, my fault). Back aches don't happen much now that I stand while throwing and am more mindful when loading kilns and getting help for the really heavy things like loading stock into the vehicle etc.
So far no arthritis anywhere which I'm very grateful for!
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2 hours ago, Hulk said:
I use masking tape for the sharp line at the foot...
I've seen wide rubber bands used too, the kind that come on bunches of broccoli. Haven't tried it, think it would have to be pretty snug to stop leaks.
I have had to give up using hot (soy) wax because of the smell of it burning off. (we moved recently, closer to neighbours now) I now only use a local oil based wax resist and Forbes. Oil based one smells a bit but not as strong as the soy wax, Forbes seems to smell the least but I have to order it in. Anybody have a cold wax they can recommend that works well plus doesn't smell much when burning off?
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Adding to what @Jeff Longtin said about little teeth plate grippers, a pair of large size staple removers work well for gripping edges too. They leave little snakebite marks that need rubbing down but otherwise work well also. Using a single one for tiny bowls works too. I like that they are spring loaded so they are easy to let go of the pot once dipped.
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2 hours ago, kswan said:
There's way too much weight in the middle of that piece to be supported by those ends. If you can leave a part unglazed in the very middle, you can support it from underneath. For example, take a small shelf post and top it with a rolled or rounded piece of clay in the same shape as your curve. Since the sculpture will shrink you could make the support a half centimeter or so lower than your sculpture, which would still support it when it wants to warp downward.
+1
Fill the gap under the middle 2 downward dips then the ends won't be pulled up.
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23 hours ago, JennaReneeCleary said:
Would I need to coat the gingerbread cookie with anything? I thought about making the molds out of silicone, creating them out of clay, and then using the the clay pieces to make a plaster mold but that seems overly complicated.
If plaster sticks to the cookie then yes you would need to seal & soap it. I've bought gingerbread house kits that have plastic trays / boxes that the pieces come in, if yours does then another option would be to fill those with soft clay then cast it upside down on the plastic. Is making the gingerbread slabs with clay and then casting those while the clay is still damp an option for you? Wouldn't need to soap the slabs.
Welcome to the forum!
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10 hours ago, High Bridge Pottery said:
Calcium can help reduce porosity, or I just messed up the tests
Are these 20 gram tests?
10 hours ago, High Bridge Pottery said:I don't think I can get Ferro Frit 3249 here in the UK for the zero4 glaze. There is one low expansion frit that comes with zinc and a white frit that could maybe have low expansion?
Ferro 3249 is just under $500 / 50 lb bag here. (I've changed my glazes to remove it, too expensive now and I can make do without it)
Comparing the 3 frits, if you need a low COE one I'ld go with the 2279. If you are aiming for Hansens recipe increase the amount of 2279 to match the magnesium then tweak the silica etc. Might not need it at all. Would be interesting to see the melt difference between fritted magnesium vs supplying it from talc or dolomite, thinking it could be significant at low range. COE figure on the 2270 probably doesn't represent real world tests given that zirconium will in theory increase COE but as it doesn't melt it acts as little road blocks in the glaze and decreases the chance of craze lines propagating.
- High Bridge Pottery and Hulk
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46 minutes ago, neilestrick said:
I looked at that, and was wondering why 03 with him, too. Hansen's recipe is crazy expensive even if you use grolleg.
Yeah, for sure still too expensive for production level of work. I’ve been tempted to mix an earthenware with a brown midrange and aim for cone 1-2 but not sure if the work involved would outweigh the cost savings in electricity and kiln wear. Hansen has an article on that too. https://digitalfire.com/glossary/cone+1
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2 hours ago, neilestrick said:
I was just wondering why cone 03 when most low fire glazes are formulated for 06-04?
Hansen's Zero3 was the precursor to Zero4. Link here to his recipe for that plus a couple glazes for it. When I was coming up with a ^6 casting porcelain I tried NewZealand Halloysite (what Hansen used for his Zero4), it's a funny material to work with. Needs a lot more mixing than grolleg or EPK, when I read up on the particle shape I found that it has a spherical or tubular shape rather than the plate like structure of grolleg and EPK. I probably didn't mix it enough, had little hard bits in the fired tests like Hansen speaks about in that link. Unless you need a super white I don't think halloysite is worth the cost and extra work needed to make a good slip.
Your charts and all the testing you are sharing are great Joel! Silica level looks better on the middle one in your post above, or maybe add some silica + lithia spar to the third one and see what happens?
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Do you have the CEC/MBI numbers for the Hyplas, Hymod and kaolin you are using? Given that you will be deflocculating the casting slip I would go with the ball and kaolin you have access to with the lower exchange rates.
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Did you try subbing kaolin for some of the ball clay to see how it effects drying time?
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No silica added to help glaze fit?
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Let us know how it stands up it you use it.
Another option is to glaze the pots all over and fire on them on stilts. This means grinding little plucks of glaze from the stilts after firing. Or you could use terra sigillata on the feet. It won't make them waterproof but will cut down on the absorption. Or make some planters with it.
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4 hours ago, LouiseD said:
The ingredients for some glazes includes Lead bisilicate at up to 60% and Copper oxide 1 to 3%, what does this mean?
Lead bisilicate is a fritted form of lead, this means it's less soluble (until fired) than raw lead. It definitely shouldn't be inhaled. Copper oxide will make a green glaze. There are National standards for the allowable amounts of leaching of lead. We don't know if the ceramics from the place you work are leaching, samples would need to be tested to ascertain the amount of leaching.
Immediate issue is for employees working there with the type of working conditions you have described. This isn't safe practice.
Second issue is the potential quality of the glazes after firing, this we don't know.
Third issue is the ethics of using a lead glaze under any circumstance.
If there is any chance you are pregnant there is an added urgency to not expose yourself to this workplace.
- Hulk, Pres, Callie Beller Diesel and 1 other
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1 hour ago, High Bridge Pottery said:
I am planning to cast
@Jeff Longtin, have you used any lowfire vitrified fritted casting slips? Any suggestions?
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Ha, we posted at the same time about the price of spodumene.
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What's the going price for spodumene where you live?(or the lithia equivalent amount of petalite) I can get a 50lb bag of 3110 frit for $215 (Canadian dollars) vs $392 for 50 lbs of spodumene. Petalite is a bit cheaper but since you need more there isn't savings.
I used a claybody years ago that had wollastonite in it that I really liked except it irritated my hands so much I had to give it up. Think it was because of the wollastonite particle shape.
Thanks for sharing your testing, interesting results.
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7 hours ago, l.mourad6663 said:
Is a certain concentration of sodium silicate solution required in the casting process?
If you use liquid sodium silicate (+ soda ash) from a ceramics supplier it should be the proper concentration. Concentration is measured in degrees Baume or Twaddle.
(moving this thread over to Slip Casting section)
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1 hour ago, Babs said:
If the lead is in a fritted form, apart from unsafe env. lead or no lead, would it make a difference?
Frits containing lead are safer for the potter while using the raw glaze but once a glaze is melted it depends on the glaze chemistry just the same as if using a raw lead glaze.
If this studio is allowing and asking employees to spray lead glazes with inadequate PPE and practices I have to wonder what other infractions are happening. Where is the exhaust going? Landing up in the environment? What temperature are they firing it to? (lead volatilizes over 1170C) Silica dust control etc. Is there excessive copper being used in any of the lead glazes? (copper increases lead release) and so on.
- Callie Beller Diesel, Babs, Mark C. and 2 others
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Kiln firing differences
in Studio Operations and Making Work
Posted
Another factor that could make a huge difference in what type of fuel your kiln uses is insurance. Absolutely no way I could get home insurance for a gas kiln, it was hard enough to find an home insurance that covers electric kilns for a home based business. (I use BCAA in Canada) Also, where I live wood burning wouldn't be allowed. Even open wood fireplaces will be banned within 3 years.