Mark C.

I'm still doing Pt daliy at home on hand myself-I found throwing small sponge holders helped seed up PT recovery for me and I then worked up size wize to 2# forms and then tried to center using other parts of left hand on  6# bowls. My Pt pl;ace cut me loose last Tuesday and now my only restrictions is not to pug on thumb palm and I cannot pinch for 12 more days with thumb.Turns out I can make pots without pinching at all.Clay work really brought my hand back around fast.The hand will not be 100% until late July than zero restrictions

I'm still doing Pt daliy at home on hand myself-I found throwing small sponge holders helped seed up PT recovery for me and I then worked up size wize to 2# forms and then tried to center using other parts of left hand on  6# bowls. My Pt pl;ace cut me loose last Tuesday and now my only restrictions is not to pug on thumb palm and I cannot pinch for 12 more days with thumb.Turns out I can make pots without pinching at all.Clay work really brought my hand back around fast.The hand will not be 100% until late July than zero restrictions

I'm still doing Pt daliy at home on hand myself-I found throwing small sponge holders helped seed up PT recovery for me and I then worked up size wize to 2# forms and then tried to center using other parts of left hand on  6# bowls. My Pt pl;ace cut me loose last Tuesday and now my only restrictions is not to pug on thumb palm and I cannot pinch for 12 more days with thumb.Turns out I can make pots without pinching at all.Clay work really brought my hand back around fast.The hand will not be 100% until late July than zero restrictions

I clean up and reorganize between projects,  I started cleaning my studio before I hand my hand surgery.   I  go out their and move a few things around but my hand doctor wants me to take it easy.  He even cut back on my physical therapy to once a day.   I will see him again in a couple of weeks I hope I am ready to get back to work.  Denice

I clean the studio and ware boards with water once a year-after Christmas -usually during my break .I tend to wash kiln shelves in spring when its getting sunny and warm out to dry them outside.Summer is gas kiln repair usually-bag walss etc . every 10 years or so in summer I grind flat any wonky palster bats outside on a wheel with a mask on.60-80 grit stuck to a bat does nthat fast-really dusty job.
I vacuum the shop on Sunday afternoon weekly with central vac system that also our trash out  and recycling day so  I deal with cardboard in recycle tub and trimmings  collected in buckets 
If its warm and sunny I empty my two tub clay waste system early in week to dry out in clay boxes for Sundays trash as well.
I have been on this schedule a long time now but its noit fixed in stone.
same is true with glazing and firing certain days.

I clean the studio and ware boards with water once a year-after Christmas -usually during my break .I tend to wash kiln shelves in spring when its getting sunny and warm out to dry them outside.Summer is gas kiln repair usually-bag walss etc . every 10 years or so in summer I grind flat any wonky palster bats outside on a wheel with a mask on.60-80 grit stuck to a bat does nthat fast-really dusty job.
I vacuum the shop on Sunday afternoon weekly with central vac system that also our trash out  and recycling day so  I deal with cardboard in recycle tub and trimmings  collected in buckets 
If its warm and sunny I empty my two tub clay waste system early in week to dry out in clay boxes for Sundays trash as well.
I have been on this schedule a long time now but its noit fixed in stone.
same is true with glazing and firing certain days.

(Similar to a comment I made yesterday you can also minimize warping if you remove the piece from the mold and THEN cut the rim. My cup forms come out of the mold with the sprew still in place. I place the clay form on a banding wheel and cut the sprew with an exacto knife. I then place the cone form back into the cup and allow it to set up for awhile. )
This would be pretty slow for production casting .
When we had hundreds of molds going we designed the spew to be longer (you must do this always anyways) and cut the top inside spew with a plastic slip knife.(which does dot injuge the plast as much. Then demolded the piece and finished the cut with a sharp metal blade many at a time. This mold was a three-piece mold. We where making thousands of aroma therapy lamps for a decade
The  fill hole in the front was also the spew. The top is cupped to hold the oils the bottom was flat.These where all cone 10 porcealian.Still have the masters if anyone is interested.

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

I would not do that-we have burr grinder for fresh beans every day-an expresso maker -a half dozen Italiain expresso pots-drip coffee maker-a few steamers-untold drippers, aeropress for travel-a complete travel coffee making outfit for shows and on the road.A turkish brass bean grinder andbrass pots for turkish coffee (this Turkish coffee is how my brother hooked me with coffee in my 30s)-underrate coffee-never
I have told my Doc you can take everthing away except coffee

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

In California around the 3rd to 5th grade elementary school we studied the missions that dot California from Mexico to just north of the Golden gate a piece. Those missionary's spread them out to a days walk between missions. They (white men ) settled the territory 1st in a big way. Working or torturing (believe what you may)  the Indians who had always lived here.
From that  history we made small pinch pots like the Indians did as well as cardboard missions. That pot I still have a white body low fire pieve with cobalt on it.
This did not get me thinking ah ceramics thats for me.
The next was seeing my older brothers ceramic two foot owl he made in high school . Still have it somewhere?
That did not do it for me but later when I got the bug was high school at a place that I could with a friend make pots . We both liked it so much we took private night  throwing lessons in Seal beach for some months. That was in 69 if I recall.I bought a Brent wheel from Robert Brent at that time-he was just starting out as well.
I went to JC in 1971  and then I already could throw pots (not well) They where building kilns and just starting a new campus so I landed at the right time to build kilns make pots and so on.
I built a catenary arch kiln at my rental where I lived and made a throwing studio lean to off the back-soon I need a bigger place.-1st kiln the inspector ever saw-he lit a match looking for leaks (wow even then I thought that was a bit off)
I bought a house in 73 with a small loan from my mother and immediately turned a one car shack into a studio and built a kiln.The gas Company ran a 1,000 foot main to house for free -kinder times back then (since then they have made a small fortune selling me gas at commercial rates.)
Within a few years I transfered over to Humboldt state-1973-and there some new hires from Alfreds where teaching glaze and clay making. I sponged that up. They had a salt kiln-right time for learning that as well.  They where on fire with recent clay  learning from the greats at Alfreds.They taught mold  making ,low fire ,high fire ,hand building-I soaked it all in and then some. I got a work study job at school pot shop-made glazes-fired kilns -cleaned the place -ground shelves-built kilns. I took it all in 24/7 for 5 years straight . I lived and breathed clay  while chasing  an art paper degree .After graduation with said Art degree I was making pots at home . I was 22-by then I was selling them anywhere I could find in our county. 12 years slipped by. My mother asked me at age 35 what I was going to be doing with my life in terms of work. I had never thought about it as I was paying the mortgage and eating with pottery money never thought it as a  living then.-it just all worked. Never considered much else -like other work-sure i picked up some stray jobs to help along the way but clay was the way as it felt great. Later in life in my 40s I realized I was a potter and that was my path and livelyhood. Along the way I worked as an electrician as my best friend had a electrical contractin g business and needed help on big jobs where I learned on the job-same dael with a plumber friend he tought me and hired me a bit a swell all during my slower winter times with clay .Same with diving and clay I could help out doing commercial dive work with some dive contractor friends but only if it worked with show schedule. Then another 20 years slipped by again with pots.
I will say those other skills really helped to make kilns and studio and homes and I suggest all the other skills for any potter these days .Runing gas pipe or wiring kilns -all good stuff to know.
All my life I m the guy who wants to know HOW IT WORKS-that worked well for me.
So for me I never had an ahah moment clay slowly did its magic on me and really until age 35 when my mother asked I had not considered it a job or the rest of my life. Looking backing I think I was 17 when clay got me. From that moment on it was like breathing air-I never had a chance. Today I feel like clay got me not the other way round.
Clay has been very good to me and as a sit here doing exercises on my hand that just had a bone removed in thumb due to overuse clay also has been hard on me. Its a mixed bag really. Killer on the body on the scale I choose to pursue but mind and spirt  its been very good indeed..
Need to check my kiln fires now

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

In California around the 3rd to 5th grade elementary school we studied the missions that dot California from Mexico to just north of the Golden gate a piece. Those missionary's spread them out to a days walk between missions. They (white men ) settled the territory 1st in a big way. Working or torturing (believe what you may)  the Indians who had always lived here.
From that  history we made small pinch pots like the Indians did as well as cardboard missions. That pot I still have a white body low fire pieve with cobalt on it.
This did not get me thinking ah ceramics thats for me.
The next was seeing my older brothers ceramic two foot owl he made in high school . Still have it somewhere?
That did not do it for me but later when I got the bug was high school at a place that I could with a friend make pots . We both liked it so much we took private night  throwing lessons in Seal beach for some months. That was in 69 if I recall.I bought a Brent wheel from Robert Brent at that time-he was just starting out as well.
I went to JC in 1971  and then I already could throw pots (not well) They where building kilns and just starting a new campus so I landed at the right time to build kilns make pots and so on.
I built a catenary arch kiln at my rental where I lived and made a throwing studio lean to off the back-soon I need a bigger place.-1st kiln the inspector ever saw-he lit a match looking for leaks (wow even then I thought that was a bit off)
I bought a house in 73 with a small loan from my mother and immediately turned a one car shack into a studio and built a kiln.The gas Company ran a 1,000 foot main to house for free -kinder times back then (since then they have made a small fortune selling me gas at commercial rates.)
Within a few years I transfered over to Humboldt state-1973-and there some new hires from Alfreds where teaching glaze and clay making. I sponged that up. They had a salt kiln-right time for learning that as well.  They where on fire with recent clay  learning from the greats at Alfreds.They taught mold  making ,low fire ,high fire ,hand building-I soaked it all in and then some. I got a work study job at school pot shop-made glazes-fired kilns -cleaned the place -ground shelves-built kilns. I took it all in 24/7 for 5 years straight . I lived and breathed clay  while chasing  an art paper degree .After graduation with said Art degree I was making pots at home . I was 22-by then I was selling them anywhere I could find in our county. 12 years slipped by. My mother asked me at age 35 what I was going to be doing with my life in terms of work. I had never thought about it as I was paying the mortgage and eating with pottery money never thought it as a  living then.-it just all worked. Never considered much else -like other work-sure i picked up some stray jobs to help along the way but clay was the way as it felt great. Later in life in my 40s I realized I was a potter and that was my path and livelyhood. Along the way I worked as an electrician as my best friend had a electrical contractin g business and needed help on big jobs where I learned on the job-same dael with a plumber friend he tought me and hired me a bit a swell all during my slower winter times with clay .Same with diving and clay I could help out doing commercial dive work with some dive contractor friends but only if it worked with show schedule. Then another 20 years slipped by again with pots.
I will say those other skills really helped to make kilns and studio and homes and I suggest all the other skills for any potter these days .Runing gas pipe or wiring kilns -all good stuff to know.
All my life I m the guy who wants to know HOW IT WORKS-that worked well for me.
So for me I never had an ahah moment clay slowly did its magic on me and really until age 35 when my mother asked I had not considered it a job or the rest of my life. Looking backing I think I was 17 when clay got me. From that moment on it was like breathing air-I never had a chance. Today I feel like clay got me not the other way round.
Clay has been very good to me and as a sit here doing exercises on my hand that just had a bone removed in thumb due to overuse clay also has been hard on me. Its a mixed bag really. Killer on the body on the scale I choose to pursue but mind and spirt  its been very good indeed..
Need to check my kiln fires now

In California around the 3rd to 5th grade elementary school we studied the missions that dot California from Mexico to just north of the Golden gate a piece. Those missionary's spread them out to a days walk between missions. They (white men ) settled the territory 1st in a big way. Working or torturing (believe what you may)  the Indians who had always lived here.
From that  history we made small pinch pots like the Indians did as well as cardboard missions. That pot I still have a white body low fire pieve with cobalt on it.
This did not get me thinking ah ceramics thats for me.
The next was seeing my older brothers ceramic two foot owl he made in high school . Still have it somewhere?
That did not do it for me but later when I got the bug was high school at a place that I could with a friend make pots . We both liked it so much we took private night  throwing lessons in Seal beach for some months. That was in 69 if I recall.I bought a Brent wheel from Robert Brent at that time-he was just starting out as well.
I went to JC in 1971  and then I already could throw pots (not well) They where building kilns and just starting a new campus so I landed at the right time to build kilns make pots and so on.
I built a catenary arch kiln at my rental where I lived and made a throwing studio lean to off the back-soon I need a bigger place.-1st kiln the inspector ever saw-he lit a match looking for leaks (wow even then I thought that was a bit off)
I bought a house in 73 with a small loan from my mother and immediately turned a one car shack into a studio and built a kiln.The gas Company ran a 1,000 foot main to house for free -kinder times back then (since then they have made a small fortune selling me gas at commercial rates.)
Within a few years I transfered over to Humboldt state-1973-and there some new hires from Alfreds where teaching glaze and clay making. I sponged that up. They had a salt kiln-right time for learning that as well.  They where on fire with recent clay  learning from the greats at Alfreds.They taught mold  making ,low fire ,high fire ,hand building-I soaked it all in and then some. I got a work study job at school pot shop-made glazes-fired kilns -cleaned the place -ground shelves-built kilns. I took it all in 24/7 for 5 years straight . I lived and breathed clay  while chasing  an art paper degree .After graduation with said Art degree I was making pots at home . I was 22-by then I was selling them anywhere I could find in our county. 12 years slipped by. My mother asked me at age 35 what I was going to be doing with my life in terms of work. I had never thought about it as I was paying the mortgage and eating with pottery money never thought it as a  living then.-it just all worked. Never considered much else -like other work-sure i picked up some stray jobs to help along the way but clay was the way as it felt great. Later in life in my 40s I realized I was a potter and that was my path and livelyhood. Along the way I worked as an electrician as my best friend had a electrical contractin g business and needed help on big jobs where I learned on the job-same dael with a plumber friend he tought me and hired me a bit a swell all during my slower winter times with clay .Same with diving and clay I could help out doing commercial dive work with some dive contractor friends but only if it worked with show schedule. Then another 20 years slipped by again with pots.
I will say those other skills really helped to make kilns and studio and homes and I suggest all the other skills for any potter these days .Runing gas pipe or wiring kilns -all good stuff to know.
All my life I m the guy who wants to know HOW IT WORKS-that worked well for me.
So for me I never had an ahah moment clay slowly did its magic on me and really until age 35 when my mother asked I had not considered it a job or the rest of my life. Looking backing I think I was 17 when clay got me. From that moment on it was like breathing air-I never had a chance. Today I feel like clay got me not the other way round.
Clay has been very good to me and as a sit here doing exercises on my hand that just had a bone removed in thumb due to overuse clay also has been hard on me. Its a mixed bag really. Killer on the body on the scale I choose to pursue but mind and spirt  its been very good indeed..
Need to check my kiln fires now

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

My workbench (all of them looked like this yesterday-today the kilns are glaze firing). Today benches are empty
One  and half handed glazing takes time
My new temporay cast can take a xxxl rubber glove over it now. 
Going to rain some it feels like.
 

Add 5% EPK (dry mix) to a test before wet mixing and since you are testing do a 10% EPK. This will stiffen the body just a bit. Maybe enough -cast a mug with handle on each test and see if the 5% or 10% works.
I assume this is cone 6 as you did not say-just a guess
 
This will stiffen the clay body just a bit and is an easy cheap fix.  I have done this with cone 10 porcelain laguna slip dry body myself years ago with great results.

Whats a dreamer? Always been a doer-I think some dreaming skills may help me-lets see drinking my expresso now I'm dreaming of finishing all my work today-only have one hand so work is slow.I am dreaming about this cast coming off-only 5 days left then it a tempory cast for two weeks and rehab on the thumb will start. clay throwing still a long ways out-wait thats a dream.
I do dream about being underwater if that counts

Whats a dreamer? Always been a doer-I think some dreaming skills may help me-lets see drinking my expresso now I'm dreaming of finishing all my work today-only have one hand so work is slow.I am dreaming about this cast coming off-only 5 days left then it a tempory cast for two weeks and rehab on the thumb will start. clay throwing still a long ways out-wait thats a dream.
I do dream about being underwater if that counts

I would not do that-we have burr grinder for fresh beans every day-an expresso maker -a half dozen Italiain expresso pots-drip coffee maker-a few steamers-untold drippers, aeropress for travel-a complete travel coffee making outfit for shows and on the road.A turkish brass bean grinder andbrass pots for turkish coffee (this Turkish coffee is how my brother hooked me with coffee in my 30s)-underrate coffee-never
I have told my Doc you can take everthing away except coffee

Loading pots to close so they cannot (breath). In my reduction fires I pack them as tight as one can-always have. Yes in my salt kiln pots need to breath so salt gets on them but in reduction its a myth for me.
I can occasionally throw handle and fire pots same day. Its all about timing and knowing the limits of your materials and work.
Washing pots that where bisques -This I do with less than .001% of my studio production. Again only if they have months of dust on them which for me never happens. Pots are like mild around here they get processed and out the door. no need for washing .
I did wash a mug the other day as I am one handed for spell I dropped on in the glaze bucket and it need washing off and drying them reglazed and fired-that the .001% this year
I do not consider these habits but workflow

I was 18 when I got hooked-lifetime of woes
worse than coffee for sure