Hulk

Leaving the peeps open allows water vapor (and later, several gasses - some rather noxious...) to escape, and hence some atmosphere in...
...not sure how much cooling the peeps provide.

It's coming up shortly. My studio is always closed for 2 weeks between Xmas and New Year's, and I usually do a good cleaning during that time, but this year it's going to be major! I'm making my students take EVERYTHING home with them- all their tools, clay, glazes, pots, greenware, etc. The studio tends to collect abandoned stuff during the year, so anything that's left in the studio goes in the dumpster during the break. This year I will also be clearing out some shelves full of kiln repair stuff to make room for more student work, adding in more shelving, moving old shelving, installing a 42" TV, and cleaning up all the glaze materials that have been donated to me throughout the year. It'll feel so good to get it all done.

Liberty Belle documentation indicates "...preset maximum temperature limit of 2350 and you will not see the “Maximum Temperature” option come up."
See section
  16.0 Options*
    16.1 Accessing Options (see item 4)
     16.2.2 Maximum Temperature (items 1, 2)
Here: BookLibertyBelle-2019-web.pdf
 

An older set of instructions (2007) indicates three options for max temp, 2350, 2000, 1700°F - see page 11:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjGmvL-gYyKAxWXEDQIHblGBOUQFnoECEMQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.potclays.co.uk%2Findex.php%3Froute%3Docdownload%2Frequest%26download_id%3D33%26language_id%3D1&usg=AOvVaw0_Vw7TR8NRKOSzNqp_fKC6&opi=89978449
Does that help?
/
*excerpts:
item 4
4. Then you will see 2350 if it is a Cone 10 control or 2280 if it is a Cone 6 control.
items 1,2
1. On a Cone 6 Version (School-Master): Maximum Temperature (Deg C) 1700, 2000, and 2280 are options.
2. On a Cone 10 Version (Liberty-Belle, Doll, Fuego, Robin): Cone 10 models have a preset maximum temperature limit of 2350 and you will not see the “Maximum Temperature” option come up.

That is what I need a intervention but  my husband is worse than I am.   He started taking over the storage space in the basement,  his space upstairs is a four car, a three car garage and a small garden shed.  He did sell a truck and finished a restoration project  so we had a empty stall in the garage.  His best friend started on a car  20 years ago and then developed  many health problems.  I decided that towing it to our house would solve two problems.  One was to keep my husband happy working on a car  and the other was to  finish his friends project.   When his friend is up to it he comes over and visits while my husband works.  They are having a great time,  his friends mood has also improved.     Denice

Liberty Belle documentation indicates "...preset maximum temperature limit of 2350 and you will not see the “Maximum Temperature” option come up."
See section
  16.0 Options*
    16.1 Accessing Options (see item 4)
     16.2.2 Maximum Temperature (items 1, 2)
Here: BookLibertyBelle-2019-web.pdf
 

An older set of instructions (2007) indicates three options for max temp, 2350, 2000, 1700°F - see page 11:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjGmvL-gYyKAxWXEDQIHblGBOUQFnoECEMQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.potclays.co.uk%2Findex.php%3Froute%3Docdownload%2Frequest%26download_id%3D33%26language_id%3D1&usg=AOvVaw0_Vw7TR8NRKOSzNqp_fKC6&opi=89978449
Does that help?
/
*excerpts:
item 4
4. Then you will see 2350 if it is a Cone 10 control or 2280 if it is a Cone 6 control.
items 1,2
1. On a Cone 6 Version (School-Master): Maximum Temperature (Deg C) 1700, 2000, and 2280 are options.
2. On a Cone 10 Version (Liberty-Belle, Doll, Fuego, Robin): Cone 10 models have a preset maximum temperature limit of 2350 and you will not see the “Maximum Temperature” option come up.

Last year my daughters staged an intervention and we reorganized my garage/studio by throwing out many things accumulated over three decades.  I just set up a shelf unit in place of a cabinet I had been stacking stuff on.  

Hrm, every year at least once if I can.  Usually in the spring, or I'll do it in the autumn if spring slipped by too busy.  I can't abide mess and I don't have a lot of space so I'm always making myself gut some area and clean it for more efficiency.  I don't always get to every single bit of it but I definitely hit the worst areas.  Also, I forget what I have and once in a while I need reminders!  Even so, things are rarely as clean or as organized as I'd like and some areas of the house don't get hit every year.   But my art studio space is pretty much a must.  If it's a mess I can't find things!  Also, dust is a health hazard so I do my best to clean it up constantly or avoid making it in the first place when possible.
I'm a bit of a neat freak but with a husband, son, cat, dog, and now chickens - I feel like I have been loosing ground the past few years.  I just don't have as much energy or time to stay on top of everything as much as I used to and still pay the bills each month.  But if I get into a funk, nothing calms me and puts me back into a sense of control of something as much as cleaning.  I get stressed and need a break?  I go clean something!

My Studio is functional ...and rather clean, err, clean-ish.
Keeping after the floor, work surfaces, wedging station, wheel, tool caddy - the parts that get "dirty" quick - is part of my wind up, and hence, at near "wow" level o' gleam, most the time.
The shelving, floor back underneath stuff, high spider webs, the window - these areas can get a bit funky 'tween cleanings.
Thanks (again!) to Lee, I'm doing the window today (the view out the clean window inspired me afore, y'see...)!!
The last "major" was the packing up to move, coming up will be two years ago.
...functional, but (still) temporary arrangement, for the wall isn't up yet.
When the wall and door are up, additional wiring and lighting are in, all is painted, and new shelving up, then we'll call that a major-major.

Two years ago I had to have my studio treated for termites on the two outside walls,  everything had to be moved to the other..  Now   I need to have my studio door rehung and I have to move some things to give the carpenter some room.    The slab has shifted and is causing problems,  we had a company come out and they gave us a bid of 30.000 dollars to stabilize it  but not fix it.  We decided not to have it done,  they were going to tear out my studio slab or my  front landscaping  and sidewalk.  The bid didn't cover any of the repairs.   Our house isn't affected by the movement,  we are old enough to know that we won't be here in 10 years.   Maybe they can come up with a fix.   Denice

Last Late December /January. I cleaned out and mopped out the throwing /green room and repainted the floor (special floor paint) also going into the main studio a bit (only the plywood floor sections) Which were painted with special floor paint when built in early 2000s. The main studio is redwood 2x12s from the early 70s natural and easy on the feet.Cleaned out about 8/10s of studio. Still need to tackle dry glaze material area(maybe this winter) in same time frame during my off season  which is coming up fast after a long week of glaze fires. Looking forward to time off from clay.I glazed a new to me form today which is rare thing around here.testing the market for new to me form this xmas season.Its extruded and is a kiln stuffer.We shall see how they sell soon.

UGH.....(no) thanks for the reminder!! Freezing cold here as well, and the QotW just reminded me of how hard I have been avoiding acknowledging that a deep clean and some re-arranging is not only way overdue, but is quickly becoming imperative. However-it "really is" way too cold. Inside work space is real chilly (due to fuel costs) and outside kiln room w/ storage is just plain frosty, being an unheated back porch. And it is getting colder & colder.  (Excuses, excuses). It will be a while before Spring is sprung--which is a good time to clean & reconfigure a studio, I hear. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. 
 
 

 

Here it is Winter again, in PA. I find that the shop is freezing cold, but at the same time it really needs a top to bottom cleaning. Last time I did this was years ago when I rearranged and replaced the furniture in the shop as things had gotten crowded. . . as it has once again. When the new kiln arrived a few years ago, I cleaned and rearranged half of the shop, but now the other half is creeping into the cleaned half!  Guess I'll heat the thing up and spend a few days cleaning it out, much as I would just rather wait until Spring.
QotW: When was the last time you did a major cleanup and rearrange in your shop/studio?
 
best,
Pres

When I glaze fire I'll monitor the temps to see how close the "soft fire" feature gets me to the Orton chart.  
 
 

Thanks so much Min. Lots of testing to be done.

Thank you, both Jeff and Hulk!
 
I managed to get the press at a reasonable price, and since the pressure can be adjusted, I’m hopeful it will work. However, I’m not sure if RAM would offer an online course since I didn’t purchase the press from them.
 
Jeff, have I understood you correctly regarding the steel ring in the updated illustration?
 
I understand the gutter is a critical part of the die, but I’m unsure how to design it for optimal performance. Would it be possible to share some insights or dimensions for the details in the second close-up sketch?
 
a) If I’m correct, this acts as an additional outlet for clay if the gutter overflows but also influences back pressure(?). How narrow should the gap to the male die be when the press is closed?
 
b) How should the gutter be designed, and what dimensions are typically ideal?
 
c) I assume this detail is also significant. How wide should the gap to the male die be when closed? How narrow can the edge be? In my illustration, it looks rather fragile.
 
If it’s not too much trouble, a simple hand sketch with some dimensions would be incredibly helpful.
 
Once again, thank you so much for your help—it’s truly invaluable!

Can you confirm the spelling? I've failed to find it, including in: https://tinyurl.com/3szyt78c
Shell has, over the years renamed their range of greases, but the overall composition of the grease remains the same. Please use the following table to find the modern day name for old Shell grades.
OK the name is  right, found a picture of a very old drum:

Failed to find Simnia in: https://www.epc.shell.com/Product/ProductList

From: https://www.nyelubricants.com/need-to-know-grease-consistency

...  also see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NLGI_consistency_number

Hi Mats,
Welcome to the Forum!
Interesting project, looking forward to learning more about ram processing and design...

I'm in a bit of a time crunch and needed a fast way to wax about 160 little kiln filler pots. These are just super quick pots, thrown and done, no wheel trimming, I just smooth the bottoms with a rib and stamp my name on them.
I usually use a small piece of foam and wax resist, dip the foam into the resist and wax using one hand while holding the pot in the other. (I can't use soy or paraffin wax where I live, neighbours complain about the smell) For the glazes I will be using on these I prefer to wax rather than glaze all over and remove glaze with a damp sponge.
Usual method takes too long so I thought I would reverse the process and gave it a go. Piece of thin foam (from cone box), cut a small circle of it, wet with water and squeezed out. Poured some wax resist onto it. (foam in the lid of a yogourt container) Couple fingers holding the foam down with my left hand and pot in my right, turned the pot on the foam with just a very slight bit of pressure. My stamp didn't always fill with resist so I did need to swipe that with a brush but overall very fast.
About 30 minutes to do all the pots.
Works really well, I only messed up 5 pots out of all the ones I did.

Welcome to the Forum Mats. 
Not alot of people using 100 ton presses so you will need to engage in a little trial and error. RAM themselves used to hold classes for buyers of presses. Have you contacted them about online classes? 
I've made molds for a 30 ton presses. Mostly flat objects. Ring shape doesn't matter, steel thickness of 1/4" seemed to hold up just fine. 
Your suggestion for mold depth seems good. The metal mesh sits 1" above the mold surface and usually 2" above that was best.  (In other words, a mold about 3" in depth produced a durable mold, thinner molds, say 2.5" in depth, sometimes cracked after a few uses.)
In your diagram the surface of the bottom mold rises above the metal ring just a bit. In my experience, with a 30 ton press,, that would wear away pretty quickly. Best to keep both mold surfaces below the level of the metal rings. (That way metal rings are coming into contact with each other not cement surfaces.)
Good luck! Presses are amazing tools but also very challenging at times.
 

Ok, that was quite useful, thank you. I still don't own a kiln, so I think my friend fired it at cone 7, or maybe 8, since the max temp is 1260°C stated by the manufacturer. The bloating was in the glaze, not the clay. Also, with some transparent glaze it worked fine, but with this specific (Mayco turquoise stoneware) glaze it didn't work. I'm still in the experimentation phase and just trying out things, getting used to failures and lowering expectations  

The black clay we use in my studio, Standard 266, tends to bloat at cone 6, so that could be the problem here. When you say it bubbled, do you mean the glaze or the clay? If the clay is bubbling, then it's being over-fired. Use some cones in the next firing to make sure it's firing accurately. With the 266, most commercial glazes work well with it at cone 5, especially some of the Amaco glazes like the Potter's choice series. It will definitely take testing, though, as the black clays tend to make the glazes look a bit differently than you'd expect.

Hello Matka,
I wouldn't recommend a black stoneware as a beginner, I say that with a lot of conviction as I went down that path. It was a path of frustration and resistance. Pick an easy to use stoneware that is reliable and glazes come out nice on, and progress from there. It won't take long until you are more comfortable and feel ready to try black clay again. Just be prepared for a letdown. I honestly don't even think the product should be sold without some warnings on it. The only black clay I have ever found to work well is Black Ice by SIO2. It is very expensive but absolutely stunning and the black part has no effect on the glazes on top of it. I will say it is an absolute mess to throw well if you are a wet thrower. It requires learning to throw porcelain that is not really sturdy first and foremost, then move into black ice. In the end I stopped throwing black clay entirely and got much smarter and decided to throw a really reliable brown stoneware and coat that greenware with black slip that I formulated from dried out black ice porcelain  with additives to give it the surface results that I wanted. All of this was years of testing and hundreds of firings to achieve a simple pretty basic result.
If I could do it over, I wouldn't start with black clay. I would start with whatever I find gives me the best results when I open my kiln so that I can be happy. I opened 25-50+ kiln loads with black clay that were bloated or blistered no matter the bisque schedule, no matter the amount of oxygen I sucked into the kiln during the bisque, no matter how long I held the bisque etc. Frustrating.

Hi Matka, Welcome to the Forum!
Experimenting with a bag* of black stoneware (cone 5), a few points from my experience:
Thorough bisque, with oxygen throughout, long hold at around 1500F, and peak a bit hotter than my usual cone 04.
No thick parts!
Drop and hold glaze fire.
Just hit cone 5, no more, not even a tiny bit!
I did have luck with a liner glaze, also a red and blue. I'll circle back with details later today.
Dense and durable when fired, very nice - the un-bloated wares with good glaze
...but not worth the problems, for me...
*just one! ...by request from a friend. Expensive, finicky, maybe again, some day.
 
...and later.
Thick parts, more prone to dreaded bloat.

I had good luck with "Wollastonite Clear" - it cleared the bubbles better than the other clears I tried, not perfect, but very serviceable.
"Chrome Red" and Lakeside Pottery "Clear Blue" worked fairly well for me.
The green I like frothed up; I don't remember trying my other glazes.
"Wollastonite Clear" credit Bethany Krull
Found the recipe in a book. It's not in my lineup now...
There are images and the recipe in this thread:
Seattle Pottery Supply - Midnight Black Clay - Page 2 - Clay and Glaze Chemistry - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
"Chrome Red" is in John Britt's book.
The color can wash out some, but I like the look. I got the recipe from the Ceramics lab I took Wheel I and Wheel II in...
Chrome Tin Red | Glazy
 
"Clear Blue" found the recipe on Lakeside Pottery's website
Clear Blue | Glazy

Hi Matka, Welcome to the Forum!
Experimenting with a bag* of black stoneware (cone 5), a few points from my experience:
Thorough bisque, with oxygen throughout, long hold at around 1500F, and peak a bit hotter than my usual cone 04.
No thick parts!
Drop and hold glaze fire.
Just hit cone 5, no more, not even a tiny bit!
I did have luck with a liner glaze, also a red and blue. I'll circle back with details later today.
Dense and durable when fired, very nice - the un-bloated wares with good glaze
...but not worth the problems, for me...
*just one! ...by request from a friend. Expensive, finicky, maybe again, some day.
 
...and later.
Thick parts, more prone to dreaded bloat.

I had good luck with "Wollastonite Clear" - it cleared the bubbles better than the other clears I tried, not perfect, but very serviceable.
"Chrome Red" and Lakeside Pottery "Clear Blue" worked fairly well for me.
The green I like frothed up; I don't remember trying my other glazes.
"Wollastonite Clear" credit Bethany Krull
Found the recipe in a book. It's not in my lineup now...
There are images and the recipe in this thread:
Seattle Pottery Supply - Midnight Black Clay - Page 2 - Clay and Glaze Chemistry - Ceramic Arts Daily Community
"Chrome Red" is in John Britt's book.
The color can wash out some, but I like the look. I got the recipe from the Ceramics lab I took Wheel I and Wheel II in...
Chrome Tin Red | Glazy
 
"Clear Blue" found the recipe on Lakeside Pottery's website
Clear Blue | Glazy