liambesaw

Absolutely. It can be done with a "keyed" inner 5 piece. This means 4 inner wedges with a center "key" to hold them in place. It is not an easy task, would be much easier to texture by hand afterward. 500 units you'll probably want at least 5 molds made. At 3 pours a day, you could run through all 500 pieces in 35 working days, rounded up to 40 (two working months) to account for failed pours, etc.

If you're set on using it, it would probably be a good idea to have a mineral assay done on it so you can determine the levels of silica, alumina, iron, calcium, potassium, sodium, etc. And then you can formulate a good plan on how to amend it. At least that's what I'd do if I were sitting on a big pile of clay. The downside may be that your back yard will not last forever as a source and will never look the same once you start digging

I will say it because it needs to be said.... ANYTHING can be slipcast. There's no issue at all slipcasting any form. The issue is with how much work you want to do with plaster. You can spend a month making the perfect mold, but it still takes a whole day to make two or three pieces once the mold is made. And the mold does not last forever. It will always be faster to figure out how to throw a form than it is to make the item, make the mold and slipcast a few units a day. The benefit of slipcasting is exact duplication, there is no benefit for speed or ease, unless the molds are manufactured ahead of time in quantity.

It's the pedal cord. But she also mentioned that the sound happens with or without the pedal attached. Seems like a waste of copper to have a third unused wire in there, but these things are all off the shelf parts, so doesn't surprise me.

Some clays are plastic, some aren't. Yours doesn't sound plastic. You can try adding some ball clay or bentonite to increase plasticity. Clay is not clay is not clay if you know what I mean. Commercial clays are mined and blended, containing a mixture of primary clay, Feldspar, silica, and ball clay or bentonite. In other words, they are engineered to have specific properties such as workability, plasticity, firing temperature, vitrification, expansion. When working with clay you've dug up from your yard, you are working with secondary clays, which is the basis for earthenware. Very fine clays that are washed into place, settling in layers, and for the most part free of gravel and sand. However with all of this washing, the clay becomes contaminated with things like iron and fluxes, which lower the melting point. How this affects your clay is entirely based on location, and even in the same location, many layers of different secondary clays can be found. You could have ball clay and a high iron clay laying right on top of eachother, you never know. That would be lucky for you, since your clay lacks plasticity! So anyway, the short answer to your questions is that commercial clay is engineered for specific properties. Your clay you've harvested is lacking plasticity. You can fix that specific property by blending in small amounts of a highly plastic clay.

You thinking of @GreyBird? And her Hudson River clay?

They do have a steel frame

Bisque to 06-04 and glaze fire to 6, you're correct

I have seen one in real life. They're about half the size of a normal wheel and the electronics are a mess. The one I saw was ungrounded as well, which is a no-go for me considering the wet environment we use them in. Not even CE listed, let alone UL, CSA or ETL. Technically illegal to market in the USA, which explains why it is relegated to third party sellers (eBay, amazon, wish, AliExpress). I hoped upon hope they were any good, but let's face it, a decent brushed DC motor is twice the price of one of these wheels. If you follow the tool standards for price markup these are costing the factory less than 50 dollars to make and ship across the pond. Woof.

I think he means the literary sense, it usually means someone does things the most needlessly complicated and frustrating way possible. I take it as a self-deprecating joke in this context Either that or it means his horses ate him alive during a chariot race.

Ahh. If it's for coloration I usually just do the strontium swap

Yikes, I've heard horror stories about those Chinese wheels. One big problem is you're going to have a hell of a time tracking down any parts or diagrams. If it works great besides the beeping, just plug the beep hole, I wouldn't look too much deeper into it

Cone 10 reduction is also exactly where barium would be functional. What is the barium used for in the glaze?

Here's why barium is not recommended. If barium is fired without carbon monoxide, it doesn't enter the glaze melt. Instead it acts as an opacifier and stays outside of the melt. When it is underfired or fired in oxidation, it leaches barium oxide which is... That's right! Toxic! And most barium glazes are oxidation cone 6 glazes that use the barium as a refractory/matting agent or opacifier. Which is exactly the wrong application. It's one of those ingredients that when properly used by industry, are invaluable. But when left to the hands of hobbyists and craftsmen, it's better to avoid it altogether. Same with lead oxides. Lead is still used by the dinnerware industry in their glazes, but it's engineered to be done safely. I don't see anyone recommending people use lead in their glazes because it can be done safely, so why barium? How about cadmium, is there an acceptable limit to that? Vanadium? Uranium? Yes there are! But not for everyone.

Just throw a round form, trim it, and then beat it down, or use a surform, or add a slab, many ways to skin this cat