Hulk

Per my limited experience, a hold at peak - adding heat work - may cause more fizzing. More heat work might clear things up for you, hmm. Are you firing same glazes, applied about same thickness, to other clays in same firing? Seeing same bubbling? In other words, any evidence that the problem is the clay vs. the glaze. Looks like very small bubbles, which mostly heal over, but leave an orange peel look - excepting for the four (or so) larger holes, which may be a dry spot (where the glaze didn't wet the clay fully going on), or a larger chunk of something in the clay off gassing, or? I found dropping and holding to help. No doubt you've already found links to Tony Hansen's articles, e.g. Drop-and-Soak Firing (digitalfire.com) and Glaze Bubbles (digitalfire.com); keep on it! Keep good notes on each case...

Likely as many takes on your/Bam's question as there are potters (plus those dreaming of being potters). While dreaming/doing can be exclusive - opposed on the "doing" continuum* - per the core o' this week's question, my thoughts on it keep veering toward the dreams that drive doing. I'm well into my third year of retirement, happy to be where I am, and looking back, gave up a lot for it - nights and weekends burned to complete my second degree, restore and remodel properties (our several homes) so we may be able to sell at a profit someday, and work, work, work (including working away from home - out o' town). In the world of 24/7 production, one must, etc. Now, the "must do" is between my partner and I, and no one else - no one that's a regular base human creature, that is. The dream, dreaming is important, whatever Hamlet say. Any road, to the question, I am competitive, to a fault, hence, to get "doing" going, a smidge of competition, whether real or imagined, doesn't matter, I'm all go. Pottery is a hobby for me; I don't see that changing. Motivation to do isn't a big deal for me. For those whom motivation looms larger, may I suggest looking at the big picture - decades down the road, what's your dream? Like the song says, "You gotta have a dream, if you don't have a dream, How you gonna have a dream come true?" Aaaand, balance, priorities. *pronounced continue-uhm; Webster on continuum: : a coherent whole characterized as a collection, sequence, or progression of values or elements varying by minute degrees "good" and "bad" … stand at opposite ends of a continuum instead of describing the two halves of a line — Wayne Shumaker

Hi Miriam! I'm re-rounding pots when a) they get a bit tweaked during the handling process - attaching handles, that is. There may be an ideal dryness where the clay is damp enough to take a handle attachment, but dry enough such that it holds its roundness. Yeah, well, sometimes I undershoot that by a bit. b) they start to go out of round whilst drying - perhaps due to the air moving from one direction, sunlight coming through the windows, a bit of uneven thickness; the first two can be ameliorated by rotating often enough. I use bats - plastic, treated powder board, plaster; am having fairly good luck with allowing the pieces to dry enough such that they can be wired off and moved without disrupting the shape. I've enough bats lying about that I'm not in a hurry to free one up. Wiring isn't needed when using plaster bats - the clay releases. The base doesn't dry as fast as the rim, being thicker, and sealed by the bat (excepting plaster bat!!), particularly the plastic bats. Placing the piece on a plaster bat will speed up drying the base. I don't mind the base being damper than the rim when it's time to trim, not at all - not trimming the top two thirds of the pot, eh? I don't throw off the wheel head - bat pins. When I do throw off the hump, careful handling and prod, jiggle, flex (as Neil suggests) gets it close enough to round. Plastic bats flex - this can be an advantage (or vexing)! Any road, here are three slightly tapered plastic vessels; the tall one fits my mugs, the cut one fits soup mugs, and the white one sees use for larger pieces. Typically, I'm finding bowls keep their shape fairly well - a glaze fired bowl can serve as a rounder, when needed... I'm still working on repeat forms - the two mugs on the left are within a millimeter or so, 450 gram mugs. The taller one is a 500 gram mug. Drying can be delayed/controlled. I will mist (spray bottle) and cover (with a bucket) to arrest drying.

Hi Miriam! Regarding 2) throw on my plastic bats You might try wiring the piece earlier - when it is starting to stiffen up, but not yet ready for trimming. Later, when it is ready to trim, you might need to wire it again, however, it will be easier. Before taking the bat off the wheel, trimming away the skirt at the base - leaving a groove may make removing the piece easier later on. Some potters wire the piece before moving the batt off the wheel, then wire again later. I'll typically wire pieces and remove them from the batt when they are stiff enough to move, but not yet ready for trimming. Timing! As for 1) throw directly on the wheel There are tricks, e.g. leave a thicker base reset to round via the way the piece is set down - takes practice reset to round when leather-ish hard using a tapered tool. I have a collection of tapered plastic containers I use. Here's a "rounder" that Bill Van Gilder demonstrates in a video. He used to have them for sale on his website as well. I prefer a steeper taper...

Coffee Food and drink. I'm believing the cautions taken are sufficient. There is some dust generation - however careful I'm bein' - hence food and drink is sometimes covered, and I've a bucket of clean water just for second rinse against clay prints on things, including food. Check the handle/outside of that coffee cup/door handle/light switch - touched things. As for testing/measuring for airborne dust, still watching the horizontal surfaces for accumulation, particularly accumulation rate; interesting how it can vary, likely not all clay related, there's the usual living dust(), plus what wafts in the rollup door. I'm not seeing any difference between aged reclaim and just reclaimed, so not aging. The clay, heh. Having overlooked element <> ware spacing suggestions, I'm leaving more room now, but still less than what's typically recommended; am also cramming ware fairly close together in glaze fire. Interesting how the red sometimes picks up blue, am thinking from the neighbors.

I'm also: recycling clay (adding some of Nerd's reclaim mix), which isn't particularly rare - it all goes in there, excepting what's been on the floor retaining and recycling glaze dribs, drabs, etc. - first batch came out grayish blue, and behaves well enough that I've started on next batch sharpening trimming tools - the bladed ones, which I've been making from hack saw blades turning clockwise - the wheels I started on have reversing switches, hence, I tried both ways; clockwise is easier for me

Searching dust threads, found "What things you do that most others don't, that you ain' gonna stop doin' neither?" Perhaps "What studio habits/practices do you remain committed to that most other potters do not practice?" For example, I wipe out the wheel's pan after each session, and start each session with fresh water in the bucket (freshish - I pour off the mostly clear, wash the sludge out to reclaim, pour back the mostly clear, then top it up).

Hi Nics! Potterycrafts is carrying an Alsager (out of stock). 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..."

Have been daydreaming a round robin workshop - where each participant shares some of their techniques - of folk from this forum; how interesting it would (very likely) be to meet you all!

Jerry Marshall, the guy turning out lids offa mound in the You Tube vid. Bill Van Gilder, because his book, articles, vids and that ancient (1986) cbs interview were (still are) helpful and inspiring - it'd be worth the trip just to thank him; Hsin-Chuen Lin, also because - his vids so helpful and inspiring and I'd like to just say thank you; Bunzy Sherman, err, I'm happy to wait a very long time for that ...when I get to meet alla people I miss or never met; ditto Warren, Ruth, Ziesel, and others. Someone who is an expert thrower who (somehow, amazing, right?) also clearly recalls the learning process and has the incredible knack of teaching and communicating, oh, and toss in a biting and insightful sense of humor please. ...and I hope the presenter is both small and a woman, just to turn gender bias on its ear, and the big strong thing at the same time.

Hi Pir! Agreed that checking sg is just for repeatability - do a thorough stir, getting all/any gel on the sides and bottom. The value would be significant if one were sharing results with others (who may use the different equipment, eh?), I suppose. Are you able to get repeatable sg using same equipment? Watch the level, and any drips stuck on thar. I use a cheap plastic graduated cylinder, looking to get within a gram on repeated measurements o' same glaze... I'm trying for same sg, very nearly same thixotropy as "last time," unless I didn't like how the glaze went on - if going on thick, lower sg; if running and dripping, more gel! Each glaze is a bit different, that's where the notes help somewhat... I go wetter on account of it gives me more control of the thickness of the layer, and it also wets the nooks and crannies, any carving, etc much better - it covers better. I say more control because the same dip time as a "dryer" glaze yields a thinner layer; I don't have to be precise with the dip or pour time - the time window of success is bigger. Also, wetter on account of a "dryer" glaze that doesn't gel well - low thixotropy - will be unmanageable goop when jelled, won't it? The Epsom salt or vinegar increases the thixotropy (gel); the glaze sheets off the ware, then stops moving. The glaze behaves as a liquid when moving; when not moving, it gels. It Just Stops. That's the revelation in my glazing - the glaze doesn't just run and drip ...and drip and drip. Staying suspended better is a side benefit for me - I want help with applying the glaze in an even well behaved layer. I don't mind that it takes a bit longer to fully dry.

Hi Jamie, Try a .pdf reader? If you are running windows, Sumatra is free, simple, easy Free PDF Reader - Sumatra PDF (sumatrapdfreader.org) I can read the file ok. Likely you will be looking at disassembling the pedal and troubleshooting from there; good luck!

I've gone wetter and jellier. My post, copied from Uneven dipped glaze application - Clay and Glaze Chemistry - Ceramic Arts Daily Community I'm having better dipping results after employing Tony Hansen's suggestions, here https://digitalfire.com/4sight/library/thixotropy_and_how_to_gel_a_ceramic_glaze_73.html I'm thinning my glazes (I have some white and light blue premix powders, the rest are mixed from raw ingredients in my studio) to ~1.41 to 1.47 specific gravity (I'm keeping notes on each glaze), then adjusting thixotropy with Epsom salts ...then, much easier to apply glaze in even layer, not too thick, and they "gel" (that is, not run and drip!) better. When piece is lifted out of the glaze bucket, a good grip helps, for a few sharp shakes helps to lose any drips, then wait for the glaze to mostly gel, and finally, smooth any drips with a wet finger before they set up, where the trick is to not smooth too soon, else the glaze will be thin there, and not too late, for the drip won't smooth. Viola! Hope that helps. and from White glaze problems - Studio Operations and Making Work - Ceramic Arts Daily Community How "wet" the glaze is - ratio of water to solid matter - can be expressed in terms of specific gravity: Specific gravity (digitalfire.com) I'm running between 1.39 to 1.47 (per my notes - keep notes!!) for the several glazes I use, mostly mixed from raw materials (I don't plan to buy any more premix, but do plan to use the premix I do have until gone - a powder blue, bad clear, and a matte white). A wetter glaze allows a wider (longer) "window" of dip time to achieve desired thickness, but will take longer to dry. A wetter glaze may also be more prone to running/dripping, however, the undesirable movement can be ameliorated! A less wet glaze typically goes on too thickly. How the glaze moves can be adjusted: Thixotropy (digitalfire.com) This is the hot tip! A wetter glaze that has been adequately "gelled" goes on like a dream! I'm not having to rush to avoid a too thick glaze layer; a shake or two takes care of drops at the rim; any remaining drops I'll just run around the rim; any other remaining drops, I'll wait several seconds for the glaze layer to loose its sheen, then smooth the drop with a wet finger*. Glazing (almost all dip/pour - very little brushing, no spraying) is much more fun for me now. As I typically don't glaze fire twice a month (if that), I start out with thorough mixing, sieve, then check/adjust specific gravity, leaving thixotropy check for last. Turning the glaze with a large kitchen whisk (clockwise, easier on my hand, elbow, etc.) to the meter of "Positive Vibration" (Bob Marley's 1976 album), when stirring is ceased, I expect: the glaze to turn as a mass, with very little shear (iow, not much currents of differing speeds); the mass to continue turning for about three to four turns; the mass to slow and stop all together - again, very little currents of differing speed; the mass to "bounce back" a bit when it stops. The desired behaviour - liquid when moving, gelled when not moving - is much more conducive to successful glazing than the "liquid until it dries" extreme (imo). Inadequately gelled glaze will exhibit currents of differing speeds as it turns in the bucket (use round buckets; square buckets are bad, heh) - a portion of the glaze will just keep on spinning for quite some time, whilst shearing against the portion of glaze moving at a slower speed. *Some prefer to allow droplets to fully dry, after which they can be levelled by "fettling."

Interesting, the focus that departments/institutions take on - fine art vs craft brings to mind the the long down the nose toward programming/industry vs research and academics in the grad program ...all those years ago. I went to industry, way fun.

Just happen to remember Mark posting 'bout them/these Bailey Thermal-Lite Kiln Shelves Cone 16 - Equipment Use and Repair - Ceramic Arts Daily Community

Is that Michael Casson on th' cover of early edition The Potter's Dictionary of Materials and Techniques? I'm paging through my copy of Peterson's The Craft and Art of Clay again - lots of pictures and ideas in there. Her treatment of unity is the best (my opinion). I'm also looking at the Studio Potter magazine that Mark posted a link to (Summer/Fall 2008 - Thurston's article, in particular - will turn through alla pages tho', eventually), and since that's fun, will pick up where I left off paging through the dozen Ceramics Monthly .pdf files I've tucked away ...the oldest Oct65, newest Oct99). Local JC Ceramic lab instructor loaned me a copy, which I damaged, hence I obtained a replacement copy (very reasonable via Buy New & Used Books Online with Free Shipping | Better World Books); it's the one of the two or three clay themed books I own that I'll keep. BWB offers an ongoing stream of percent off deals - subscribe to receive notice...

Thanks for the follow up Brandon B, and good work!

NVS-07 VPM-20 VPM-7 ...and all PP, it seems. I wouldn't consider any others, hence ah'm done.

me hungry now

All glass aren't same, methinks; frits are glass, but may not behave same as bits of a soda bottle, as not made of same stuff. Our glazes may be called glass as well, and we see they are formulated to melt at various cones, etc. - different.

There's at least one young full timer here in the neighborhood - standalone dedicated shop/studio in their back yard; her friend, also young, is a serious part timer. Met several young folk at the local JC Ceramic lab (a few years ago) on the road to full time potter (wouldn't expect them to all make it there, however), and a few building their portfolio for graduate applications...

A wiring diagram might help - am not finding one with any specifics other than "Petal Pot .7M" not sure if that's helpful. For future reference: Brent part number 22143G for "Replacement speed control and cord for foot pedals that connect to silver face plate control boxes made before 2000..." ($123); Brent part number 22858R depicted above right, "A replacement sub assembly for Brent Potters Wheels. This part replaces the speed control sub assembly in Brent foot pedals." ($81). Bill wrote (in an earlier thread): "Probably best just to measure them. The schematic above may not apply to your version and the trim pots are unlabeled in the diagram. The pedal pot says .7 meg but I would measure to be sure. Measure across the two non wiper leads. Often they will be stamped with a value on them as well. The problem with measuring is you might have to disconnect them from the circuit else risk getting a false reading."

Soon, a new year, that after one we'll likely remember for a very long time, err, perhaps forever, hence, perhaps a New Year related question? Some, perhaps, are looking to ramp down after decades of process refinement, market research and targeting, thousands of pots, adjusting for wear, and so on; others may be looking to ramp up in the same (and other) areas. What do you think 2021 may bring to your potting life? I'd like to: explore a few more forms, particularly the teapot (have initial trial and first design adjustment under me belt a'ready), sets of lidded forms, and "smalls"; fill the kiln more efficiently; throw a lot more pots, hence more time at the wheel, and more efficient use of time; get out and see/feel others' pots, and interact in person with other potters - missing this, big time; improve culling (am getting better at it); participate in another show or two - first ever closes today (great experience). And more...

Cool sculpture Lee! All the other joins survived ok? fwiw (I don't do much joining - handles, knobs, sprigs), I wet the clay on the receiving end a bit before scoring - just a wet fingertip, damp brush, or sponge; the sheen dissipates as the water is absorbed into the clay, then I'll score. Typically, I'm not joining bits that are exactly the same wetness. I'll also wet the piece to be applied if it's a bit dry, depending. I apply slip to the piece to be applied after scoring, and that only so that it will squeeze out to then be smoothed into the crease, for if both pieces are dampened just right, they'll join without slip. Uhm, I said without slip, however, others may point out that it depends on the clay. The older gentleman in the Ingleton videos points out in his teapot making clip that scoring isn't necessary (for his process), which I misremembered as slip isn't necessary (about 8:40): Throwing / Making a Pottery Teapot on the Wheel - YouTube There are variables, to be sure. Van Gilder, in some of his vids, wets, but doesn't score or use slip. That your scoring is so clear (with a few exceptions, where the breaks are) - tells us somethin. Will you post back with more pics of your cool sculptures?

Ah went there in my response to the drawing line against technology QOW - lots of tech in my studio already that I don't want to work without; of the items listed there, media (radio, streaming audio, archived sound files) would be first tech to axe, however, I'd miss it. ...headin' out there now, for it's Morning Cup time (local public radio)! I'm sidin' with the no. P.S. technology advanced -> technologically advanced