Hulk

Clay responds to pressure, aye. Volume changes, I'm not believing.

Like your adjustable pointer, also the inverted for drying choice, which slows drying at the vulnerable rim, and exposes the thickest part - da footring - to speed drying there, whilst capturing atmosphere within, to temper/slow the overall rate (haven't watched the vid yet :O )...

I'm still not believing volume of clay changing (much) due to pressure exerted; volume of clay changing due to percent water reduced, of course! …"much" as in significant, like water itself doesn't compress much either - lots of volume change related to temperature - pressure alone, very little, "Water is essentially incompressible, especially under normal conditions." Clay responds to pressure, aye. Regarding sun and/or air movement whilst drying, avoiding both as I typically don't want to do the turn turn turn that's required - indoors (in my studio), the sun comes from the side and I don't want any air currents (dust); outside is another ballgame, entire. As for surfaces and/or positions, the foot ring being thicker than the rim portion and the center portion, I'm looking to help it along, that is, dry faster, hence the plaster bat (else fiber bat, else newsprint) - yep, absorb water from the foot ring. Slowing down drying rate on the rim and center portions, similar strategy there, imo.

Thanks Lady, been putting off new cutting wires - I want some useful length ones, as you described, with rings, and a few framed ones as well.

Hi Rick! fwiw, I place trimmed plate on a plaster slab; I'm trimming a wide foot ring, hence only the ring is in contact with the plaster. A light spin and a look assures me the entire ring is in contact with the surface - no high spots or curling. I'm putting all wet/damp pieces in a still spot where the sun doesn't shine (oh stop!). Compression is the word, however, I'm not believing that exerting pressure on clay causes any reduction in volume, hence not actually "compression" imo. No, what I believe occurs is more along the "alignment" line. Any road, several of the forum regulars point out that "compressing" in to out should be complimented by out to in. Other factors I) allowing water to accumulate and sit in the vessel is bad, many say II) variance in thickness; the portion S cracking should be about the same thickness as the walls, eh? After trimming, I'm thoroughly burnishing the foot ring, all three sides, and the space within the foot ring as well, with a metal rib and/or the rounded edge of a loop tool. Burnishing makes smooth - also stronger? It don't hurt. From there, I'm interested to see what others may offer. No doubt there's much to read here inna archives as well...

Still curious what mentor/mentee experiences others have had with regard to throwing? I started at the local JC Ceramic lab, where short demonstration introduces skills required for upcoming assignments, then practice. From there, anyone struggling and/or having questions and/or asking for help would get some one on one or small group. I as (still am) ok with that. I have/am learning by practice, making mistakes, and observing others. Isn't it interesting what we see when observing others - particularly what we didn't see earlier? ...aha! That said, having designed and delivered structured practice for skill development, aaand having received structured instruction in skill development, I believe expert guidance and instruction can be very positive (can be - what works for some does not work well for others, see Bernice McCarthy's 4mat ideas, which blow up sensory learning models...). My guess is most throwers observe, practice, and make mistakes...

Two utensil holders (cylinders), one for throwing tools, the other trimming tools - tools that I actually use - switch places in the wheel's built in tray, right next to the one gallon water bucket; next to the holder are three tools that are used for both activities, needle tool, flexible metal rib, cut piece o' sponge. Right next to the wheel, a small table supports a slop plate (pie plate) that receives bits to be recycled, also a pen, pencil, and a dirty piece of paper to write notes on't'. In front of the wheel, a milk crate supports the other utensil holder, and two polishing/smoothing tools. Most other tools are on tool shelf - spares/duplicates, rarely used tools, glazing tools …in utensil holders, small plastic toolbox. Wire tool (used to have two, hrrmm, have to get another one) sits next to wedge board, mostly, else next to slop plate. Key for me being put the tool in "its place" - and when done for now, cleaned as well. In the machine shop, in the building trades, at the steel mill, in the local JC ceramic studio - have seen, on one hand, folk casting about for a frequently used tool (which may or may not be ready for use), as it/they are put down in different places, depending; on the other hand, folk who snap up the ready tool, as it has "a place!" ...big difference, imo. That said, the extremes of tool organization are demonstrated by beginners through the most experienced and skilled, it seems...

Could you post some pics Denice?

Hi Morris! ditto on pics, and approximate the thickness on both sides o'th' footring - if you trim rings, else both sides of the cracks - my guess would be the bottom is much thicker than the base of the wall?

magma, see https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/19956-yellow-saltblue-salt/?tab=comments#comment-159652

Hi Travis! Any failing/failed bits that are dryer than what I like to throw with go into scrap bin to fully dry and await recycle. Failed blobs/lumps that are wetter than what I like to throw with may end up in the same bin, else dropped on a plaster bat - especially if sticky - or just left on the wedging board if not sticky. Plaster absorbs water quickly! I'll knead that clay periodically, until ready for wedging, then re-throw when it feels about right. If I'm not around to monitor, I'll cover the clay, or just throw it in the recycle bin to dry out completely. A very wet blob could hang around for quite a while before getting too dry... A rib or wood knife is handy for scraping sticky clay off one's hands and fingers. Drying up smaller bits of wet clay (smaller than a bag - twenty five pounds) for reuse - about the same as the end of the recycle process. Crucial, imo, is thorough wedge, such that result is homogeneous, that is, no dryer or wetter threads of clay hiding in thar to wreck the next piece! If the blob gets a bit too dry, cutting into bread sized slices, misting, re-wedge, repeat... it's a bit of effort, but it does work. Still key is thorough wedge.

Hi Liaemars9! I haven't opened that one bag of Aardvark Cassius Basaltic yet... there's some reading available in archives here, e.g. https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/15631-black-clay-advice/#comments https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/3856-super-dark-clay-body-and-glazes/ The first includes a link to firing schedules - important related topic. ...try searching "Cassius Basaltic" in Google images... have fun!

"...penciled out...to make it work..." - aye, that's key, based on what little I've seen in small business ventures (the stats aren't particularly good, new small biz launches that stick). There are a few small studios in our neighborhood, all ran out of homes. In town ("town" being SLO, largest town nearby) there is an open type studio. Per my eye, the in between would be running the venture out of owned/mortgaged property vs. rented, where a big part of the long term is owning the property (however, much bigger risk). Old friend of mine put together a string of group homes and drew a modest salary; long row - once hoed, nice retirement, as the properties were carefully selected...

A bit of silicone grease don' hurt. In the early 50s, a contract Electrical Engineer working on the "electric boats" (nuke subs) for the US Navy was brought before some suits for using silicone grease - which wasn't per procedure - chasing shorts between hulls (notoriously damp), clean, grease, reconnect, grease, wrap ...that connection won't ever short again. US Navy changed "the book" ...the EE was my Dad. Two unguents to have alway handy in the workshop: i) anti-seize (for threaded connections - the correct type is important...) and ii) silicon grease

omg

Five hun' pounds, wow! Make friends with a pugmill owner - give them a hun' pounds and leave it clean when you're done? I'm reclaiming three to four gallons at a time - slake in a five gallon bucket; mix, wait, mix, wait ...in same bucket (half inch drill moter+grout mixer); when it peaks like a meringue (days in summer, a few weeks in winter - what's the hurry?), hand out onto plaster slabs, waait; turn and wedge each lump periodically until just a bit wetter than ideal; bag it. From there, wedge, wedge, wedge before use - doesn't take long to dry up just a bit more... no doubt your current (deferred) procedure is similar. If you start with a smallish batch - perhaps as much as you have plaster slabs for - and keep at it, you'll whittle it down. What I'm curious 'bout, do you keep the various clays separate, or lump'm all together? Oooh, how long it takes to dry down from slake slurry to final wedge would be much longer where you are, hmm. I'm using large cake pan plaster slabs, over two inches thick - not much surface area on the sides, hence set on 1"x1"s to allow air to circulate underneath seems key (faster, and else there's damp shelving and mold!). Any chance you can set your slabs in living space, up high where warmest?

Hi Karen, Is it the big pivot bolt? Given the bushings are in good shape, matching new bolt very likely available at hardware store - however, new bushings and washers a good idea. You might save the worn ones for down the road. I'd grease the moving parts with my best grease! My guess is the bolt is galvanized or stainless, clay being wet... You might cut away the part with a Dremel tool fitted with a cut off wheel if it's not possible to grip both ends and JohnnyK suggests - safety glasses, hearing protection, good light, steady hands.

Six years JohnnyK? Gettin' any mold yet? I'm using plastic one gallon size planters - drain holes taped- over pieces to slow drying, two and five gallon buckets over larger pieces; periodic spray of water arrests drying - mold begins to form after a week or so. The weight of plastic sheeting can distort/mar wet pieces - then I'm sad. Plastic sheeting, so many perils! ...wind, falling things, bump - oops, stick to wet clay, drying clay flakes off and blows aroun', etc. I do like the wet box idea, hmmm ...which involves removing from the bat. Other equipment/tools: Commercial grade mop, bucket and wringer Large (Hulk sized) sponges ("grout sponge" and/or large clean up sponge, car washin' sponge, etc.) - sees all sponge work except where small and/or purpose cut piece of sponge is required Credit Bill Van Gilder on purpose cut sponge bits Inexpensive plastic calipers (leave the spendy metal ones in their case, in the drawer) handy for many things! "Standard" gallery/lid sizes (e.g. on the half inch - the only standard unit measurement in my studio!) - Bill Van Gilder on this one as well No guess foot trimming; get rim to inside bottom (millimeters for me), invert, trim - subtract overall from initial to get base thickness. You can tap, feel, just "know" if'n't works for you. Straight edges - an old hacksaw blade is about the right size for me, for most things. If straight, they stay straight (very little sag), light, rounded corners... handy! Rulers - six and fifteen inch stainless, inches and mm Hacksaw blade trimmers and chatterers - grind off the teeth, heat and bend, grind shape and edge(s), voila! A file touches up the edge just fine. Credit Hsin-Chuen Lin on repurposed hacksaw blades Pointer/pin tool ground from an old screwdriver. I like the handle, it's shorter than the pottery tool, it doesn't roll around, and easy to pick up. Light! Repurposed articulated arm desk lamp and clip on utility lights put the light where I need it; overhead two tube eight footer doesn't hurt. Buckets and bins, lots. Each clay has slurry bucket for reclaim, a bin for dried/drying reclaim. There's a settling bucket for wheel and clean up water - use, reuse, reuse reuse… Ditto on shelving, lots! I've built one big heavy shelf along one side, which I've set two large bookshelves on (and pinned to the wall); there's enough room under said shelf to store five gallon buckets. Above that, track shelving; on the other three walls, more track shelving - adjustable, no floor footprint, strong. Quality dust mask - use it! Medium size "French" kitchen whisk fitted with pin for chucking up in the battery powered screw driver - whip that glaze! Medium size straight scraper for corners of glaze buckets, where that ^ whisk doesn't quite reach, corner and edges broken just enough such that glaze bucket isn't scratched. Tile grout mixer chucks up in half inch power drill, makes reclaim almost fun (open doors and windows to vent the ozone) - don't be huffin' ozone! Oooh, there's prolly more, but I'd have to go look. :O

Perhaps clean/neat studio and opening up a glaze load will coincide, eh? Happy days, congrats! My kiln is 7cf, so my mess is a bit smaller... I am my own novitiate - he does get a bit peeved during glazing, lol! Usually, promise of a bowl of Our Little Rebellion Popcorner chips an' a beer shuts him up tho' (local discount grocer has the big big bag on rad sale). I do set lids on glaze buckets, sponge up all the dribbles off the counters, clean tools, and run a mop on the floor after each session, as I don't want dried glaze laying around poofing powder into the air when it gets agitated. ...hard to see how much stuff is floating around in the air, however, monitoring accumulation on slick flat surface (e.g. a shelf at face level) tells the tale.

...perhaps similar, usually run four shelves/levels, aiming for $x per level this season - hence 4x per glaze fir, $x+ next year, and reach target the year after. That "x" value resonates - the mix of pieces, more discards (to reclaim!), etc. Looks like my target numbers are somewhat conservative...

Where my folks lived - Tennessee river valley - everything outdoors is either alive or molded, if not both.

Hi Elise, "Cone packs" on each shelf may give you an idea how much variance there is in peak temperature. I'm finding that the top level runs cool; adjusting the load (how much ware, and shapes...) and staggering shelves helps a lot. More to your point, if you can see a cone through the peep (does your kiln have peeps?), reset your sitter button and monitor until the cone sags, then shut off. Be (absolutely, 100%) sure to get and wear kiln glasses to protect your eyes before ever looking into a glowing kiln. If you don't have guide and guard cones to make up a full cone pack, just set your target cones up where you can clearly see them through the peeps. I paint an iron oxide stripe on - bit easier to see. I set cones in a strip of clay and block up at least one set right in front of a peep. Pyrometer could be helpful - I depend on mine quite a bit!

Good question! ...however, regarding published ratings, per Neil: "The horsepower rating doesn't mean much. The 1/4hp Soldner can center as much as a Skutt 1/3hp, which can center as much as a Brent 1hp. The controller and pedal have a lot to do with how the power is put to use, as well as the type of motor." Most modern one horsepower wheels will have lots of twist - not, however, the same twist!

Hi Simon, If the wheel runs in one direction only, the head could be threaded in the opposite direction (use tightens). Are "Ratcliffe" and "Wenger" associated? Try contacting Potterycrafts? They carry a few wheels that look (kinda) like a Wenger - Cowley, Alsager, Staffordshire... Excerpted from https://www.potterycrafts.co.uk "Potterycrafts was formed in 1983 with the merger of the craft supplies businesses of three industrial companies Podmore, Wenger and Harrison Mayer following their purchase by Cookson plc. Potterycrafts became an independent company in 1988..."

Current model Brendt B may be more comparable to (current model Pacifica) GT-800 than the GT-400 - not apples to apples, imo. For ~$300 more, the B looks good - do you need/want that much wheel? ...oh, you did say 800, hmm, well, I'm seeing the b for just under $1300, so still say for 2-300 more, the b