Mark C.

I use a glaze eraser to rub finished bottoms of finished pots(sold thru kilnshelve.com ) . As well as a rubbing stone (white fine grit 2x3 stone) sold thru most ceramic outlets

wet sponge the pots no sanding-no dust

You have to do the absorbsion test to anything about the end results. Underfired leaking clay is good for nobody no matter what the cost.

You either do the absorption test to see what your clay is doing (on the test bars)-but knowing that you are shortening the element life. I as Neil said just drive the 3 hours and get the right clay Using cone 10 clay at cone 8 is not a good idea . The absorbtion test will tell the whole story-except the shortened life of elements One note in ceramics a 10,000 things can go wrong (and you will find some do no matter what)and you are starting out with a few of them right off the bat. This can be issues with glaze and body issues righ tout of the gate. Take the drive and start r

ITC also made an element coating in fact I think regular ITC is ok on elements-but I would not bet on it as my memory is a bit fuzzy on that.They did make a special element coating for sure at ITC.Back in the day I bought amny many gallons of that stuff. The whole deal went sideways for me when Fritz sold it after his wife passed away. The price tripled and the product variety went away

For me electric kiln firing was a stepping stone in my progression. I leaned to use them and bought one in collage (used) and have always had one around working in some form. Out of school I used to bisque in mine now and again and would do luster and decal fires in one. I made my own beer bottle labels for a spell and fired them on in my electric as a 20 something . When I was starting I wanted to leartn about all kilns and electrics wherte in the mix. Now in my area electricity is very high price and tahst be a constant here a swell for my life. But the heart of ceramics in the long ru

It will add a bit of protection to electric kiln soft bricks. The one I sprayed I sold before much firing so its a toss up. I think 3 protection tubes are a better investment. If you do use it on soft bricks a few things to do first spray the soft brick with a mist of water first and only apply a very very thin coat so it does not get heavy and spall off the brick. This is best practice . If you fire constantly it may be worth it. It does add bit of strength to soft brick surface-keep it thin and wet the bricks 1st.

Tell me more about what you plan on coating? Hard Brick? soft Brick? How hot are you firing to? I have coated electric kilns-salt kilns ,reduction cone 10 kilns soft brick ,hard brick.kiln shelves. advancers,dry pressed high alumina shelves ,mullite shelves. I need a bit more info. ITC has gone to the moon price wise . I can address the pros and cons but need to know ,more on what your are thinking of coating and how hot you fire

Grind the bottom flat then use epoxy

We hot wax in a large electric pan (I posted a thread on this old brand found on ebay once here that is teflon coated and super wide) I think you are to hot. It should never smoke . I use paraffin -buy it by the case and as oldlady said have used thrift shop candle wax as well. I use so much the case thing works well. I always have a spare case at ready-like i said we go thru the stuff. Any pot with a trimmed foot I use the other liquid wax I have written about here a lot. I can sponge the feet very fast with that turning in my hands in a few quick motions. That wax is a little slower dryin

I'm a production potter down to only-8 tons of clay a year now as I slow down (My questions: What is the difference between production potter and hobby potter? Is there a definition? If you are a production potter do you still get to play around with things that intrigue you?) Its not a grey area-I make pots to sell and that is most of the focus. I am not keeping them or attached to them-they are pigs going to market if you will. Yes I care about them and want them to be the best they can be but they will be somebodys baby not mine . Yes I still play around but not on producti

Since its alreadt established-why not just add a shopping cart and go from there -weebly and all the major servers have this as an option these days. Not much to think about really if its already an established business-They just need to start telling their customers about the e-part

I have friends who sell pots thru Etsy and they said last week that the platform is Not what it used to be sales wise. That market has been diffused they said. If you go it alone with your own CC I would expect 5-7% in fees thru a processor . Thats all I have on advice as I'm not a web sales guy-I only sell to existing customers mostly wilh my web page which is not a sales site.

MMR I have felt this way about it as you said (The composition of the atmosphere inside a cylinder is likely to be somewhat different than the more open and connected volumes. movement of atmosphere in a combustion kiln is different in many ways from the atmosphere in an electric kiln. Composition for one; constant movement another. ) That this is more the root cause of inner pinholes say in a mug just down inside the cup near the lip-thats where I see this in reduction fires. I have a very standard application of liner glazes using a glaze jet for 99% of liners. The applic

I have handled to much drywall to want to help. I like simi smooth wall. After taping and sanding then sealing with drywall sealer I like to roll a thicker than cream mud nap super light texture with a 3/8 nap roller then paint. On the cup inside pinhole topic 99% of pinhole for me is the insides of any form from cups to bowls-the lack of atmosphere as well as temps are the causes I had felt. Now I'm firing in reduction but it does not matter as lack of oxygen or atmosphere difference is what causes this and temp can play a part as well. It very complex and longer firing can help or more