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irenepots

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About irenepots

  • Birthday 09/05/1952

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    Jersey Shore

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  1. I bought a Speedball a few years ago because they were the cheapest and I'd used them where I took lessons. But my wheel slowed down with over 2 pounds weight when I centered down and as suggested, I checked the belt, and it wasn't centered. Speedball diagnosed that I needed a new wheelhead assembly (not sure that's the proper term), and sent me one free, but it didn't solve the problem. I don't throw bigger than 2 pounds usually so it's not a big problem but I suspect it also doesn't rotate as fast as better wheels. I don't know how important that is. However I don't recommend the pedal. It doesn't change speed smoothly and also the cable is on the wrong side of the pedal, which just seems to be bad engineering to me. I wouldn't buy another one. It's a difficult decision to make when you don't have a chance to try the wheels and are essentially flying blind buying an expensive and important item. Good luck!
  2. Hey Pyewackette, I reuse plastic bags from the vegetable aisle, and I find they're great - softer and easier to manipulate than grocery bags but not as flimsy as dry cleaner bags. When one gets a hole I put a piece of tape on it. I also cut them open to use flat. Be sure however that they're not the compostable bags like Trader Joe's uses. Those do break down great in the compost pile I use them with a little newspaper in the bottom for my compostable stuff. But clay dries out quickly in them. I'm sure they'd be useful in some ways but not for very slow clay drying. Good luck!
  3. Neil, what size kiln do you consider to be small?
  4. After I posted, I checked out the firing schedule too. I thought the time difference would be greater. I've been pretty lucky lately avoiding pinholes and it may not be worth the risk for just those 2 hours. Thanks for your thoughts Min.
  5. Ah thanks for doing that Pres, it does make more sense for it to be here.
  6. Hi Roberta! Thanks for your input. I'm trying to get up my nerve to try it.
  7. I always use the slow bisque program on my L&L kiln, but I'm coming up to a deadline and would like to try a fast bisque instead. I fire dark brown, white and speckled light brown clays. What's your experience been with using a fast bisque cycle? Do you recommend it or not? I appreciate your input, thanks in advance.
  8. A while ago I sent a question to Technical at Standard Ceramic about their 630 clay and what they meant by something in its online description. Here's their answer. Hope it helps "We would recommend using 630 Stoneware if you plan on making bakeware or any product that might be exposed to heat regularly. The mullite "enhances thermal capabilities," which means that it will better withstand the repetitive heating/cooling that bakeware is exposed to".
  9. I like cornstarch too. I apply it to the slab then invert in on the mold.
  10. Congratulations! How wonderful that you have a built-in retail shelf to display and sell your wares. It's so satisfying to be able to do for a living what you love. Keep up the good work and enjoy!
  11. Babs, I get it. It's a mystery. Just to clarify, I did stop the first firing and let it cool overnight to about 200 degrees before I restarted it. There were 4 different types of clay in the kiln, including some reclaim. Most were probably from the same bisque load, and I brush glaze, and as usual I used a wide variety of glazes. I generally don't have any crawling in my firings. I can't think of anything else relevant, except maybe that the top shelf ended up a little cooler and most of the crawling was on that shelf. Well actually I only added a new cone to the top shelf, so the bottom cone might not have been as accurate as the top, but we're only talking a few degrees here I think. And the pots looked unfired before I started the second firing, that's what surprises me. I hope these clues help. I look forward to your next thoughts.
  12. My glazes are all purchased, mostly Amaco and Mayco. Maybe gerstley is what activated the crawling in the firing mishap, and it happened to be a perfect storm, especially for those 2 pieces. I'm grateful the issue wasn't more widespread and that most of the load came out fine.
  13. I wish I had noted that temperature, but I forget what it was. If the glazes had started to melt would I have seen that when I opened it before I started the refiring? I added a new cone, so I had the lid up but the glazes looked then like they did when I started the firing. At what temp do the glazes actually start to look different? Your suggestion makes perfect sense and I'll do that if it happens again. Hopefully I won't need to. Thanks!
  14. Yes Babs, other than my mistake everything was exactly the same. There were a couple test tiles of a new glaze on the bottom shelf but they were fine. What is glaze SG?
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