Hulk

As a Moderator, I am letting the Forum community know that there is an App out there for doing much of the organizational work for arranging classes, firing the kiln and measuring what is fired. Just do a google search and it may be yours at a price. Listing such is against the Terms of Use for the forum. Thank  you for your patience.
 
best,
Pres

depends on the tightness of the clay body(what cone 6 clay  body)-the absorbion rate? Usually clay needs a glaze unless it really a tight body.

Lately I have been using the stencils, stamps and branches etc directly on the slab after rolling, actually embedding into the slab a design. In the slab piece here, I used a large slab, decorated completely then cut to slabs for use so the design went around the piece. After bisque, cobalt and iron stains were used under the glaze,  
Glazing was completed using dipping, pouring and atomizing layers of opaque, and transparent glazes to build up the surface.
best,
Pres

Hi colormek8art,
Welcome to the Forum!
Wow, that kiln looks to be in good shape.
While waiting on responses, could you confirm the phase requirement; is it three phase?
Also curious, what are the amperage and max temp ratings?
To test/run safely, the wiring must be proper.
The max temp rating could be important; what temperature target/range do you work in?

Most glazes I’ve used benefit from slaking overnight before sieving. Given Tony says that Tile 6 “is relatively impermeable to water compared to other kaolins, it is thus the last choice for casting bodies,” I’m curious what the comparison is between the glazes a week later.  
Side by side, there seems to be a few more impurities in EPK than Tile 6. While the flux comparisons have some variation that might need watching in a glaze formula, the silica and alumina balances are close enough that part might not matter. 
Tile 6  is known for its plasticity in clay bodies, which I can confirm from personal use. The plasticity may have an effect on some high clay glazes where shrinkage could affect application, but that’s theory on my part, and if someone knows better, speak up. 
As to why a material might be washed and another isn’t: we have to remember that potters are a secondary market for almost all of the materials we use. EPK I think gets used to make glossy magazine paper. If tile 6 is mined for something else, the washing may not be necessary. 
Edited to add:
Links to Digitalfire materials pages for comparison. 
Tile 6 writeup
EPK writeup

State of Louisiana, City of Los Angeles, or?
There's Louisiana Mud Mavens Ceramic Art – Louisiana State Exhibit Museum (laexhibitmuseum.org)
and Current and Upcoming Exhibitions (nolaclay.org)
The drive through daquiri in Lafayette used to have "two-for" Tuesday (on Tuesdays) ...crawfish season is mostly over, but there are many other wonderful regional eats!

please check out www.amoca.org. - American Museum of Ceramic Art in Pomona, which is a stone's throw from Los Angeles. They have an event page that shows a couple of items during your stay. The museum in and of itself is well worth a visit. 

Good question!
I'd be tempted to widen the definition of "tools" to include track shelving* and a rolling cart.
Then a few more buckets.
The Studio needs (aah, I need!) the wall put up and mini-split installed; so, so hot!
I'm good for tools right now, looking forward to setting up and firing the new kiln when it arrives!
There's some open space in the Studio now, but still lots of organizing, demo and remodeling to do.
I'm getting lots of miles out of relatively inexpensive (it's $26 on ah maze on right now) US Balance "US-Benchtop-Pro" scale; it performs consistently and well.
Its max is 2000 grams, hence, for larger glaze batches, there are more steps.
If choosing again, I might go with the 3000 or 5000g models, maybe; the 3000g model can be had for less than $40 ...
 
*I like the metal tracks that screw to the wall; shelf support brackets snap into the track.
Higher up and on the end there, for glazes, glaze materials and some other stuff that's nice to have handy but aren't used every day; at "wheelhouse" level, green and bisque ware queue-up space.

Good question!
I'd be tempted to widen the definition of "tools" to include track shelving* and a rolling cart.
Then a few more buckets.
The Studio needs (aah, I need!) the wall put up and mini-split installed; so, so hot!
I'm good for tools right now, looking forward to setting up and firing the new kiln when it arrives!
There's some open space in the Studio now, but still lots of organizing, demo and remodeling to do.
I'm getting lots of miles out of relatively inexpensive (it's $26 on ah maze on right now) US Balance "US-Benchtop-Pro" scale; it performs consistently and well.
Its max is 2000 grams, hence, for larger glaze batches, there are more steps.
If choosing again, I might go with the 3000 or 5000g models, maybe; the 3000g model can be had for less than $40 ...
 
*I like the metal tracks that screw to the wall; shelf support brackets snap into the track.
Higher up and on the end there, for glazes, glaze materials and some other stuff that's nice to have handy but aren't used every day; at "wheelhouse" level, green and bisque ware queue-up space.

Looks like Cobalt Carbonate price has dropped recently!
Petalite price hasn't...

I have some old china dolls and a few newer black clay pieces. I’ve always cleaned them with mild soap and water. I imagine that large, pale Parian surfaces which are not cleaned often might acquire some stains that could be hard to remove, but the relative non-absorbency should prevent most permanent staining. There are removers for rust stains that should work on Parian (test first on inconspicuous spot) and other types of dedicated cleaners for other stains. Vinegar and water would be my first attempt. Hydrogen Peroxide solution also, for mild bleaching without damage. 
The beautiful Wedgewood dinnerware is made of Parian, with no additional glaze. I wouldn’t leave my blueberry cobbler sitting on it overnight, though. 

Tough question!
Parian* is generally defined as a "self-glazing porcelain" which appears to have nearly zero absorption.
How are you using Parian?
Do your finished wares absorb water, at all?
 
*Composing a Workable Parian Clay Body (ceramicartsnetwork.org)

Tough question!
Parian* is generally defined as a "self-glazing porcelain" which appears to have nearly zero absorption.
How are you using Parian?
Do your finished wares absorb water, at all?
 
*Composing a Workable Parian Clay Body (ceramicartsnetwork.org)

When I google PA clay manufacturers, Standard comes up as one of the first ones, and several forum members here use that brand. Hopefully one of them chimes in. They have a big ‘ol list of cone 6 clays here, with about 7 options that have 1.5% porosity or less* and are some shade of white. They also appear to sell some kinds by the dry bag, which would be very useful for making coloured clay with, if you want more than just a yogurt container full for decorating. On the Standard distributor page, there’s a place called R.I.CH  Inc in Bernville and The Ceramic Shop in Norristown that seem to be the closest to Easton.
If accessing cone 10 firings is an issue, and it can be for some, there are options. If you have easy access to a gas kiln, never mind the above and carry on. 
Amaco is great for bottled glazes and underglazes, but their clay selections seem to be geared towards teaching scenarios where final porosity isn’t a primary concern. It also seems to run a few dollars more than some of the ones from other suppliers.
*whichever clay body you go with, you should do a porosity test under your own firing conditions to verify claims made by any manufacturer. You may be doing something different than they did for their tests. 

Looks like Cobalt Carbonate price has dropped recently!
Petalite price hasn't...

LED lighting might be worth a look - long lasting bulbs, high efficiency wins back the initial cost, and then more from there.
We used LED fluorescent tube look-alike replacements at the last house, particularly in the garage and Studio.
The round ones ("canless" recessed) that go into the ceiling are very reasonable now; we used them in our Son's bathroom remodels last summer. The light "temperature" is even adjustable! 
Our new house has them in the garage.
On the Studio side, I plan to chain in several more.

Example of cobalt concentration vs depth of colour
Cone 6 Ultramarine Cobalt Blue Glaze (Glossy Clear plus Cobalt Carbonate)
https://www.thestudiomanager.com/posts/cone-6-ultramarine-cobalt-blue-glaze-glossy-clear-plus-cobalt-carbonate

Tst
... but it doesn't have the cyan-ish tinge.

Thanks Peter - the 1% cobalt is close. Agree with you that a little more green needs to be added to get a blue closer to cyan. A good starting place though. May throw the question over to Glazy. Perhaps an Italian potter knows the formulation. I have Londi's bio, which I haven't read yet - may provide a few clues. Will report back if I nail it.

Hi Jacquie and welcome to the forum.
Are you going to have control over the firing of the busts? Have a look at the drying and firing schedule Beth Cavener Stichter uses as a very safe firing drying and firing schedule. (note she goes to cone 2 though and drying the clay out is included in the schedule) What you are aiming for is the evenness of the drying to prevent stressing the clay and getting cracks.
I know Toronto can be really humid in the summer, whether it's humid enough for the busts to reabsorb moisture from the air enough to make a difference in the firing I don't know. To be safe you could candle them overnight. (hold the kiln at a low temperature for 12 hours or so)
Beautiful work!

Hi BlueSky, 
Welcome to the Forum!
I like that clay*.
If you pluck a bit of kiln wash, it does come off fairly easily.
I'm not seeing the IMCO Red Velvet Classic pluck any more that the other clays I use.
I smooth and polish pot feet with round diamond pad that I have glued to a bat - wet the bat, work the pot around flat, then tip up to round off the edge a bit, voilà, done!
Before getting the diamond pad, I used fine sandpaper - the "wet" kind - taped down to a board, same principle, more work (the spinning bat helps!).
Wet, to control dust.
For a big chunk, I'll dremel it off to get close to flush/flat, then finish with the diamond pad or sanding board.
Four hundred grit is likely fine enough, yet still works fairly fast.
Dremel makes dust, so I'll head outside and put the respirator mask on...
Hope that helps! Check back for more responses in a day or so.
 
*I really like IMCO Red Velvet Classic; it's plastic, dries well (better than other reds I've tried), has a nice color.
I also like the DC 3-5 (white-ish stoneware)
My experience with red stonewares - they can be sensitive to over firing, even firing right at the high end of the range - with fizzing/bubbling, turning purple-ish, and sticking/plucking. The Classic seems to tolerate a cone 6 ok; I haven't pushed it higher yet...
 

LED lighting might be worth a look - long lasting bulbs, high efficiency wins back the initial cost, and then more from there.
We used LED fluorescent tube look-alike replacements at the last house, particularly in the garage and Studio.
The round ones ("canless" recessed) that go into the ceiling are very reasonable now; we used them in our Son's bathroom remodels last summer. The light "temperature" is even adjustable! 
Our new house has them in the garage.
On the Studio side, I plan to chain in several more.

Holy wow! On your way, looks like.
I found out about anhydrous borax by accident. I had a bag labeled “borax” among a bunch of stuff I bought from a retired potter. I went to put some in solution and the dang stuff didn’t dissolve! 

The raised clay bins are really smart, and the light is really nice in there!
As a fellow small space user, any time you can build wall shelves, do it. 
If you ever decide to go for making up some larger buckets of glaze, I keep mine in 5 gallon buckets and stack them on each other behind my studio door. I also made a conscious decision to keep the number of “big bucket” glazes to five or less. 

@Kelly in AK I do feel very lucky, and not just with clay! Almost all of my equipment was free or cheap! Free kick wheel, free clay mixer, free wareshelving, an old skutt KM1227 for $1000 with furniture, free space in our shared garage, etc etc. Most of it needed a lot of love but ultimately it was much cheaper than buying new/used. I've made a few trips now to IMCO to talk clays and ingredients and they've been very generous with their time and information about material sources and compositions (even compositions of their "proprietary" clay mixes).

@PeterH I did read about anhydrous borax and ended up on several welding and knife making forums! Turns out borax can be used for surface prep in those fields. There was questionable information about cooking borax decahydrate into your own anhydrous borax but that would be a last resort for me. I'm not yet interested in making my own frits :D. That said, there is a little hope on the Borax Decahydrate page on digitalfire. It seems that the granular borax (which is what my source is) might not be very soluble. Either way, I've got 50lbs of it and I intend to find out what's what.

@Callie Beller Diesel Interestingly, I've share a few emails with John Britt  with questions on information (or, as you say, concise information) from his midfire book. He's been quite patient with me but I don't really want to push it. Besides, I think I'm a little bit outside the standard glaze path and that necessitates testing on my end anyway. That said, good to know table sugar will probably work. I was headed in that direction already :). I'm glad I decided to sign up here, you've all been incredibly welcoming and helpful!

@akilpots You're spot on. Originally, I had pulled the 4% zinc oxide in the recipe you likely read from Val Cushing's Transparent 3. I read all about Zinc and it's interesting effects on color changes when used with coloring oxides and didn't really want to use it. I've since been on a Borax kick, which is in the direction of the advice you've given if not exactly the standard choice. Thanks for your reply!
@Kelly in AK and @Callie Beller Diesel I've attached a photo of my space in it's almost finished state. Callie, the rolling stand for my mixer brings it to where I barely have to bend over to reach the bottom of the mixing bar, and my clay bins with the red stripes on the left are even with the top of the mixer so I'm not breaking my back scooping out clay. Also, you can see that aside from a little space to the left of the window there isn't much room for buckets of glaze to hang out without perpetually being in the way.. I've been thinking on building another rollie cart for buckets but I'm going to wait until I experience that problem before I put together a solution. Kelly, aside from the bench on the left everything else was pretty much donated by friends and strangers alike. I am extremely lucky and it's helped me want to keep working hard. I'll be waiting a week after I hydrate those clay tests before I roll them into shab bars and test cups so I expect to have an update for you all in 1.5 to 2 weeks. Thanks again for all the awesome feedback.

A tiny amount of chrome plus cobalt can make a really nice teal colour in washes, slips and glazes. 
@rabbethouse, have a look at June Perry's Wash Recipes, lots of good wash recipes. They are written for cone 10 but if you swap out the feldspar in a recipe for gerstley borate or Ferro frit 3134 or 3124 they should work at cone 6. For lowfire you would need to increase the amount of g.b. or frit.
 http://johnbrittpottery.blogspot.com/2013/03/june-perry-oxide-wash-list.html