Rick Wise

Min -- thanks for the reminder re coning. I do sometimes forget. Will re-double my efforts. Also am trying this: I cut a circle of cardboard a little larger than the plate, then cut out the center of the cardboard so that I have a ring. I coverthe ring with aluminum foil so that it does not absorb. The ring goes on to the plate while drying. Center of plate is exposed and while rim is covered. Hope this promotes even drying.

I lose a lot of plates during the time after trimming them and before bisque firing. They develop S cracks while reaching the bone dry stage. I know the usual cautions about good compression, slow drying, even drying, etc. What I need advice on is this: 1. Should the plate be face up or inverted while drying, and 2. What sort of surface should it sit on? A bat? A wire rack to allow air underneath? Sand or powder to prevent "drag" as it shrinks? Thanks so much for any help! My wife is going to kill me if I dont get these plates done on time.

CactusPots -- what is the metric size I would be looking for?

Do they make foot pedals that have pre-set speeds rather than (or in addition to) the standard accelerator type mechanism? I waste a lot of time trying to get my wheel spinning at just the right speed. It tends to resist minor adjustments - over shooting or undershooting what I want. I usually only need about 3 different speeds -- full out fast, slow, and a reasonable "throwing" speed. I wish I could just "click" to some pre-sets. Are such things available?

Many thanks to you all ....

Advice needed on glazing small irregular items: (As an example of the problem) I have made some small "spoons" for honey pots. They look like a short pencil but with a flattened end on it. Is there some way that I can glaze fire it so that it does not stick to the shelf? It has no bottom on which to rest. There is glaze all over it. It wont stand on its end. I have read about "wadding". Is wadding a way to handle this sort of problem? Or is there some device like those little 3 prong holders that I can use? If wadding is the answer, how do you make it? (Glazing to cone 6 in an electric kiln)

Thanks Bill. Interested in what you say here. If I am following you correctly, I could try to fire matte glaze higher which might result in its full melt (and thus a smooth no-line look) but might also make it gloss instead of matte?

Hulk -- that is correct: same glaze. The problem is just that the final product shows the fact that it was dipped in 2 motions.

I regularly use 2 base glazes shown below -- one a gloss (Fat Cream) and the other a matte (Val Cushing VC 71 Matte Base). If I have a large piece and have to dip with an overlap using the Fat Cream -- no problem. The overlapped double dipped line disappears in the firing. But if I try the same thing with the VC Matte, I get a distinct line on the finished piece where the 2 dips overlapped. One melts away in the fire. The other wont. Can anyone help me understand why this happens and how the VC Matte recipe might be adjusted to make the overlap disappear? Neph Sy 45 Gerstly Borate 25 Silica 20 Ball Clay 10 Zircopax 8 Rutile 1 VC Matte Custer Feldspar 40 Silica 16 Whiting 16 EPK 10 Frit 3124 9 Talc 9

Many thanks to you all for the ideas!

Minor problem but irritating nonetheless. Perhaps someone has a solution? My plastic Speedball bats seem to get a wobble in them after a few years of use. I think the problem is the holes get "stretched" so that they have some "play" in them and dont fit snug on the pins. As a result, the bat shimmeys on the wheelhead while I try to center clay. Anyone else have this problem? Any solutions other than "new bats"?

Bill may have confused my question with an earlier one. I repeat: To clarify, this happens in the final glaze firing. The glaze is my glaze -- not a commercial glaze. There is no sign of bubbles or other problems when applying the glaze -- the pinholes appear only after firing in the finished pot. And, as I said, only on the side nearest the elements.

I get some pin-holing but only on the side nearest the electric elements in my kiln. I'm sure that is telling me something but I dont know what. Too hot? Suggestions for avoiding this?

Jafa5 -- Have you tried a simple ash glaze made up of 50% ash and 50% red clay? This is a recipe given by Simon Leach and works very well for me. My ash is usually a wet slurry so I just estimate equal parts of ash slurry and red clay slip. Very stable and looks great.

Your post caught me eye because it sounded just like me a few months ago. I too was having trouble getting the right "look" with the pots and glazes I was using. My taste was not quite as rustic as yours but somewhat similar. All of my results looked like summer camp projects - shiny and bright, but no character. I have now found some good answers that I offer for your consideration: Go to glazy.org and look around. Look at the nuka glazes and ash glazes and stoney glazes . Consider making your own glazes. Its not hard. You can order what is needed from the pottery supply stores. I recommend trying ash glazes. A good ash glaze can be made very simply by mixing equal parts wood ash and red clay slip. Try oxides as additives to a base glaze. I highly recommend a matte base glaze called "V C matte base" (see glazy.org) it has a great texture, stable, and can be mixed with different oxides and mason stains to produce a wide variety of subtle colors. Dont be afraid to "rough up" your wheel thrown pots. They can be made to look like handbuilt by warping and altering them after thrown. Good luck!