Hulk

Unloaded second glaze firing Sunday last, looking forward to th' third!
From top left, clockwise
  Some bmix bowls, teal blue, light blue gloss, variegated glazes; chattering highlighted with underglaze and/or glaze, clear over. Clear glazes crazed on every bmix piece except one, ; the other glazes behaved well, except the light blue crazed some over bmix
  Some red clay pieces, teal blue, variegated, white, faux celadon and clear glazes, chattering highlighted with underglazes
  bmix  bowls, light gloss blue over bmix
  Closeup of variegated over red clay; looks bluer over white clay. I love this one - from Bill van Gilder's book (the blue teal is from his book as well*)
  Closeup of faux celadon over bmix, same highlighted chattering; this is variation of Marcia's recipe
 
The lessons, so far, fairly typical
  sieve them glazes
  adjust sg and jellyness of glazes to hit thickness without running and dripping
  cone pack on each level
  be able to see the cones when approaching target temp
  be careful loading and unloading
  toss flawed pieces into recycle pile - don't let them take up time, nor space
  don' expect glaze that fits this clay ok to also fit that clay :|
  test test, learn learn, repeat
 
*I'll post recipes if anyone's interested

really nice things, hulk, congrats!    i was taken back to the year 1961 by the first bowls.  the bottoms look exactly like the punch cards i used to work with to get the repairmen  paid when i worked at Michigan Bell.  

a few more
  variegated over bmix is bluer
  teal blue
  Lakeside Pottery clear blue really shows thickness differences - I've got some work to do here
  Aardvark light blue gloss
  variegated over red is greener
  faux celedon

Unloaded second glaze firing Sunday last, looking forward to th' third!
From top left, clockwise
  Some bmix bowls, teal blue, light blue gloss, variegated glazes; chattering highlighted with underglaze and/or glaze, clear over. Clear glazes crazed on every bmix piece except one, ; the other glazes behaved well, except the light blue crazed some over bmix
  Some red clay pieces, teal blue, variegated, white, faux celadon and clear glazes, chattering highlighted with underglazes
  bmix  bowls, light gloss blue over bmix
  Closeup of variegated over red clay; looks bluer over white clay. I love this one - from Bill van Gilder's book (the blue teal is from his book as well*)
  Closeup of faux celadon over bmix, same highlighted chattering; this is variation of Marcia's recipe
 
The lessons, so far, fairly typical
  sieve them glazes
  adjust sg and jellyness of glazes to hit thickness without running and dripping
  cone pack on each level
  be able to see the cones when approaching target temp
  be careful loading and unloading
  toss flawed pieces into recycle pile - don't let them take up time, nor space
  don' expect glaze that fits this clay ok to also fit that clay :|
  test test, learn learn, repeat
 
*I'll post recipes if anyone's interested

Unloaded second glaze firing Sunday last, looking forward to th' third!
From top left, clockwise
  Some bmix bowls, teal blue, light blue gloss, variegated glazes; chattering highlighted with underglaze and/or glaze, clear over. Clear glazes crazed on every bmix piece except one, ; the other glazes behaved well, except the light blue crazed some over bmix
  Some red clay pieces, teal blue, variegated, white, faux celadon and clear glazes, chattering highlighted with underglazes
  bmix  bowls, light gloss blue over bmix
  Closeup of variegated over red clay; looks bluer over white clay. I love this one - from Bill van Gilder's book (the blue teal is from his book as well*)
  Closeup of faux celadon over bmix, same highlighted chattering; this is variation of Marcia's recipe
 
The lessons, so far, fairly typical
  sieve them glazes
  adjust sg and jellyness of glazes to hit thickness without running and dripping
  cone pack on each level
  be able to see the cones when approaching target temp
  be careful loading and unloading
  toss flawed pieces into recycle pile - don't let them take up time, nor space
  don' expect glaze that fits this clay ok to also fit that clay :|
  test test, learn learn, repeat
 
*I'll post recipes if anyone's interested

a few more
  variegated over bmix is bluer
  teal blue
  Lakeside Pottery clear blue really shows thickness differences - I've got some work to do here
  Aardvark light blue gloss
  variegated over red is greener
  faux celedon

Very nice, hulk!  Hard to believe it's only your second glaze firing!

a few more
  variegated over bmix is bluer
  teal blue
  Lakeside Pottery clear blue really shows thickness differences - I've got some work to do here
  Aardvark light blue gloss
  variegated over red is greener
  faux celedon

Fred Flintstone said the same thing long ago
(no more fighting the ring and cone drive..)
Now enjoy the modern age of the Jetsons.

Ready for the road. Glazed, packed, and loaded in the car & an old pic of the kiln. Yee haw!! Workbench is now empty.

Moving along with glaze prep for wood fire. Need a smaller hand mixer though! 

But... But... My carefully honed tap centering skills and multitude of trimming Chucks would have their feelings hurt... Don't hurt Chuck. 

No worries, not all forms can be used with the Giffin Grip, so tap centering is still necessary.  And @Pres uses chucks *with* his Giffin Grip, for some of his wares. 

Hey folks, lets hold the replies until I post the Questions. . . .this is not to rebuke, just to say keep the thread clean for me to easily find posted questions.
best,
Pres

Thank you, Pres.  The temptation to comment (here) can be resisted, if one tries!!!  Not necessairly so easy, but it can be done. I am laughing becasue I am involved in another group that has a terrible problem with getting members to post their comments where they are supposed to, and to stop responding in the wrong place as well. 

$130-40 might seem like a lot for a Giffin Grip, but it's well worth it.  They will essentially last forever, and definitely speed up the process, especially with the health concerns you mentioned.  Definitely a justified "splurge" purchased.

Tools, that a good'n, e.g. banding wheel - which was just thinkin' (uh-oh) yesterday has moved from someday to need it now* - which most all can be done on the wheelhead, but anywhere one wishes to move the banding wheel to, e.g. at eye level.
I'd like to try a Giffin (or Bailey's version? discuss?); that said, my nerves/damage don't do tap centering, however, line up visual, then turn/scribe, move, repeat is gettin' faster for me, typically one or two moves does it.
 
*now that I'm glazing/waxing dozens of pots at a go instead of a few at a time...

Finally got the side bowls on, I'm pleased with myself.
Now to see if it survives drying and firing ha
 
I also made myself a new wedging table today, my old setup was a little too high for me and was making my back hurt.
 

i gave up using red clay because of the mess.   i could not get it out of my many wrinkles without bleach.   white clay is so much neater,   (unless you put the throwing water on top of the wheelhead and accidentally hit the pedal.)   do not ask how i know this.

Tools, that a good'n, e.g. banding wheel - which was just thinkin' (uh-oh) yesterday has moved from someday to need it now* - which most all can be done on the wheelhead, but anywhere one wishes to move the banding wheel to, e.g. at eye level.
I'd like to try a Giffin (or Bailey's version? discuss?); that said, my nerves/damage don't do tap centering, however, line up visual, then turn/scribe, move, repeat is gettin' faster for me, typically one or two moves does it.
 
*now that I'm glazing/waxing dozens of pots at a go instead of a few at a time...

For teaching, I wish I would have known about the Giffin Grip earlier.  It's invaluable, in my classroom.  I want the students to have experience trimming, but we don't have time, for them to get good at tap centering. 
I had never heard of the Giffin Grip, until my second teaching job, where they had one.  I said, "What is that, and why am I just finding out about it?!"
When I took the job, at my current District, I bought one, within the first year. 
 
Also, Xiem makes a bevel cutter, which is amazing for the slab boxes, my students make.  Prior to that, students either eyeballed the 45, or I had wood templates, they set on the slab, and then ran their knife along to cut the angle.  The Xiem tool is WAAAAAAY easier and more intuitive.

I recently bought a new wheel, going from a 1960s shimpo rk-2 to a new tank/Skutt prodigy, which is their entry level wheel.  The difference in throwing between the two is like night and day.  Previously I was quite happy with my rk-2 since it was the only wheel I had used in school and once I bought my own, but its got me wondering now... What else am I missing out on?  Is there some piece of equipment or tool that made such a huge difference to the quality of work, and quality of time, that you wished you had found out earlier?  

You gonna like dat'n! ...err, you prob'ly a'ready do; your foot's gonna like't too!
,)
My experience, Skutt honors the warrantee from time of shipment to retailer; they can tell you the date, should you wish to ring'm up.
Should you ever get clockwise, it can be done simply enough - reverse'n' wires.

This  work is hard on a sad heart, but he knew it would be you doing this, ultimately, and likely found that thought a comfort.

Work bench is now empty after packing two kiln loads-packed up my small toyota bed full with pots in boxes and dolly and took a dozed boxes in to two outlets (both consignments)
Also finished  up packing a Large whole sale order which I droop off in Santa Rosa. on way south to SF to take my wife to her 6 week doctor check up after hip surgery.
I'm also taking down 1bout 1200 # of scrap metal sorted into 17 different sorts-red brass-yellow brass-100 # lead ingot -400#s of wire -clean to insulated-all sorted well
dirty brass clean and dirty copper-you get the idea no steel all higher qualities -wire is from 30 years ago working as a sparky.
Lots of the brass is from shipwrecks over the past decades-all scrap no nice items.
I did this sort last summer and my electrician friend has yet to take it so I'm making this a multi pot's .metal, doctor run, also bringing back a copper dive helmet and some fish prints.
 
Liam said (I mixed up a couple new glazes and sacrificed a few pots to see what they'll look like.)
test tiles are easier than pots especial for 1st tests
I lost a good friend about over a year ago and yesterday I finally started to empty his pottery shop. He was my salt kiln partner.
I am cleaning it out for his widow. mush of whats there came thru me to begin with. I worked on his glazes for many hours and brought home what I can use and we poured the water off the rest to dry them out. I am going to take the whole lot so she can have a two car space back in a ship building.
I processed a large truck bed full today at my studio.This is a huge job and since he once was doing raku and low fire it complicates the mix. I am going to try to donate all the low fire to a school and will give some clays away as well. I found him the Geil kiln and we will deal with that later-I also brought him a small electric from one of my AZ show trips 10 years ago and he has a 3 zone new skutt electric which  will also sell in the future  year after the shop gets cleared out and some time goes by.All the kilns are in a new connected large kiln room-finished out with painted sheet rock.He fired the gas kiln twice.
This is familiar as I have bought out 2-3 living potters in my past but this is good friend and much of what I'm moving I have handled before. It sad but I promised when she was ready I would do this for her.
The clay and glaze and material alone will be 4-5 truck fulls.I will take a month  or more to work thru this.
My work bench today had all his stuff on it but now its found a new spot in my stuff.