CactusPots
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Posts posted by CactusPots
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Got to thank Mark for the recommendation for the crystal wax. Might even be better for my application than his.
I'm applying wax with a brush super heavy over high variation texture. Think of tree bark. The crystal wax has a really high surface tension, so first off, it stays on a really loaded brush very well and lays a complicated line nicely. Second, it pulls into the deep texture and leaves the high points with a thin coating. When I dip a glaze, the heavy load in the valleys keeps the glaze from loading up.
Didn't know if I would like it, but based on Mark's recommendation I bought a 5 year supply (Seattle Pottery). Good call.
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3 minutes ago, Bill Kielb said:
Current Peter plugger website for the vpm 30. Maybe a current feature and yours at least auto senses?
Off the website:
Variable Speed Control: Optional
Mine never sounds like it down shifts. Same old granny gear all the time.
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1 minute ago, Bill Kielb said:
According to the features published it can automatically and also has a speed control.
Pretty sure mine doesn't. Just start, stop, pug and vacuum on the control. I can see where it would be useful. Maybe the doc you're looking at is a new upgrade model.
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14 hours ago, Hulk said:
NVS-07
VPM-20
VPM-7
...and all PP, it seems. I wouldn't consider any others, hence ah'm done.
I don't think my PP VPM 30 has a speed control.
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On 1/6/2021 at 6:57 PM, Bill Kielb said:
Slower speed, better mixing, less bypass, likely more uniform moisture content. Wonder if he even has to mix longer. Hmm, might be a cool lesson here as aging would tend to even out the moisture content as well. Maybe we really don’t need to hope for foul smelling clay? Maybe I can take that warning sign down that says no bad mold spores allowed! Just some food for thought.
What kind of pugmill has speed adjustment?
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25 minutes ago, Min said:
Interesting thoughts here. To rule in or out the microbes or vacuum theory I'ld try taking the scrap, misting it lightly with water then hand wedge it and see how plastic it is. If it's plastic then it would point to the vacuum being the issue. I can't see how the microbes would decrease in the pugger unless it was being pugged for so long that the clay gets hot enough to kill off the microbes. Doubt it would get hot enough though.
Or taking a fresh bag of clay and running it through the pugmill. I've not tried this, but I suspect if it was hand building firm and not throwing soft, it would come out short(er).
The process SBSOSO is talking about dries the clay significantly by the time it gets back into the pugmill. It's an interesting question why they were able to get away with immediate use after pugging scrap and now they can't.
Lots of ins, lots of outs and lots of what have yous.
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I noticed the exact same problem with my reclaim clay. I called Laguna and asked their clay "expert" about it. Their reply was that the commercial pug mill they use has so much more powerful vacuum that my Peter Pugger. I don't know if I fully buy their explanation, but I don't have a better one. The working solution I'm using is to pug wet and age. Very nice clay that way. I think Sorce may be on to it. By the time I get around to a session with the pug mill, the scrap has been sitting in bags wet for quite a while. Sometimes even a touch of green. It's definitely not short coming out of the pugmill now, but it's really soft and needs to age to be ready to use.
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I've had this problem a lot, as it's just part of my work. I think what's happening is that the outside clay layers dry and trap moisture in the slip layer. A good solid connection is the first part as everyone notes. An extended time in plastic bags equalizes the moisture between the layers. A slow dry to basic dry and and then extended dry to get the internal moisture. Easy for me in the summer time, not so much now.
The bisque cycle should be slow to 200 with a soak before moving on. Even if the bisque is perfect the attachment can peel up on the edge sometimes. I think it's just part of the process to have some failures. My stuff has gotten much better in this regard with time and practice.
This problem is the number one contributor to my shard pile.
Also, I never liked Rod's Bod. Much prefer Soldate or S 60
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1 hour ago, Min said:
I re-read this thread and couldn't find anyone arguing against the Giffin Grip. Advocating learning to trim without one and then making their own decision whether to use one or not in their own studio seems sensible and was brought up a couple times.
BTW there are alternatives to clay wads, wet wheel head or the Giffin Grip for securing the pot down. I use a neoprene disc on the wheelhead, it gets a swipe with a damp sponge and then I put the pot down. It works so well that often I have to "burp" the neoprene to get the pot to release. It costs less than $10- and I've been using the same one for about 30 years. For pots with uneven rims (like my avatar) I use a chum or chuck. What works for me might not work for you but I'm sure you could say that about many of the practices we use while making pots. I'm glad you find your Giffin Grip useful, I've never felt the need for one even though I make a lot of pots.
Neoprene like wet suit material? How would that work say on a pot 3" wide and 10" tall? Seems like the leverage and pressure would make the pot want to move.
It's like the KeyMaker in the movie Matix says, "Always another way".
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1 hour ago, ronfire said:
The only thing I still have to figure out is how to keep more of the trimming off the floor. Built a shield for the wheel that helps but still does not get it all. I see in the above picture the use of a towel draped into the wheel pan, will try that as well.
I have a big table on the wheel. It's actually a counter top with a back splash cut to fit right under the back pan. That catches most of the trimmings. As I trim, I'll stop the wheel and corral the trimmings. It makes a big difference how wet the pot is. Too dry and they shatter and come off in little uncontrollable pieces. Too wet and they reattach themselves and are a pain to pull off. Just right, and I can keep 95% off the floor. Always escapees, though.
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On 5/28/2020 at 6:13 PM, Callie Beller Diesel said:
. At the time, I tended to pull too quickly in the beginning stages and the rims didn’t have the same centre point as the shoulder or the foot.
I'm a sloppy enough thrower that occasionally I'll have a pot in a trimming session like this. I use a couple of little pieces of the rubber grippy shelf liner stuff to get the foot part centered and never mind the rim.
I know it works fine for everybody else (again), but griping the pot by the rim with wads of clay does not appeal to me like the riser arms on the GG. It just stands to reason that securing the pot closer to the force applied by the trimming tool makes more sense. Plus the fact that the rim will be much more fragile that the foot at this point. There are 5 working heights of the arms, plus reversing the sliders to give the best position on the pot. I just can't get over the idea that anyone would argue against the GG. Unless you just make so few pots that it doesn't matter or you like the tradition of doing things the old way. I guess that's why the kick wheel doesn't go away.
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2 hours ago, cstovin said:
rubber stop/disk of sorts doesn’t help; I slow the wheel down slowly, I knew about the wheels tendency to stop too fast; I can center, tighten the GG and have it immediately off center, so frustrated; it doesn’t matter if it’s a cup or a 5 pound pot; same resulted
Sounds like the 2 pieces of the grip don't have the necessary friction. If I hold the top of the grip and power the wheel, it takes some torque to tighten the arms on the pot. It doesn't just slide. I have never lubricated the 2 main pieces, I don't think anything more than cleaning is required.
There is an O ring and spacer on the bottom holding the 2 pieces together. Are they there on yours?
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1 hour ago, neilestrick said:
So learning how to trim without a Giffin Grip is no longer a useful skill? I should require every student to buy a Giffin Grip if they want to learn how to trim in my classes?
See, that's the difference between a shared environment and a personal one. As a teacher/instructor, you're in the position to require procedures that might or might not not have a direct translation to a personal environment. When I began setting up my studio 25+ years ago, the GG was probably the first purchase after the wheel. It's just a skill that I don't care to invest the time in. I didn't learn basics in a structured environment with a director that required anything. They didn't have GG either. He probably demoed it.
I have tools that have earned their keep and ones that haven't. GG is definitely a keeper.
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4 minutes ago, Dick White said:
An issue with the GG and a Shimpo wheel is that the mechanism of the GG is that counterclockwise torque (assuming a typical US counterclockwise wheel) on the base of the GG causes the inertia of the sliding top to press clockwise with respect to the base, which causes the arms to move inward on their spiral tracks. This is exactly the same as the initial tightening on the ware while putting it in the center. This keeps it gripped during the trimming. However, the Shimpo wheel stops very quickly when you back off the pedal, much faster than other brands. As a consequence, the top of the GG tends to keep some of its counterclockwise momentum with respect to the now stopped base, which has the effect of very slightly loosening the arms. It is at that point where the ware moves off center, but you probably didn't notice it happening.
Use a piece of rubber shelf liner material to reinforce the ability to hold center. Also protects the possibly over dried rim.
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This thread has brought up another interesting comparison that I don't doubt has been covered before. The teaching/shared workspace environment and the solo studio. Whether the solo studio is a production potter or someone like me who is something else, the focus and requirements just are not the same. I can confidently say I've never needed to tap center and others can cry heresy. I guess both are true.
The GG is the simplest, most durable, effective tool for the job. IMO (as always)
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35 minutes ago, Mark C. said:
Learning to tap center is a skill I have used for 45 years -still use it every month even though I own 3 griffen grips
Having more skills is better than less skills
If you want to really get it here is one
driving a stick shift and an auto-you might say well all my cars are auto and I do not need to know that stick shift stuff but wait you are in a small third world contry and all the rentals are stick shift -maybe it even in a new world country .
I call my clutch Jeep "Millennial Theft Proof".
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2 hours ago, neilestrick said:
That was probably from me! I'm not a big fan of tools like the Giffin Grip if they're being used in place of learning a skill. I don't allow them in my studio because it causes too many problems between the advanced students and the beginners, and my studio is supposed to be a place for learning, not just doing. I really push mastering the foundation skills, including centering for trimming. But if you've learned how to center and trim well without one, and it makes your life easier, then go for it. Personally, I've found that there are too many limitations with the Giffin Grip to make me feel like I need one.
Respectfully
Couldn't disagree more. In our age, probably hundreds of skills are discarded every year in technology. I don't know how many people drive a stick shift (as an example) or learned this year, but fewer all the time. I guess all firing in your studio is not some kind of wood fire kiln, cause that's a skill probably none of have from start to finish. Skills are only retained as long as they are useful, and then forgotten. It takes me a lot longer to tap on center, because it's not a useful skill for me. Otherwise it can only become an object of affection for anachronistic purposes.
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I agree, the grip should be directly on the wheel head and tight. It should run true. If you put your finger on the rim and rotate the wheel, it should run true all the way around. With the pot centered and tightened up, it should run true. There should be no play between the 2 main pieces of the grip. The choice of grabbers should be close to the top of the pot.
This is a bitchen tool, something is wrong that can be corrected.
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I use a diamond disk on my wheel also, but I tapped the catch basins and ran tubing to a bucket so I could use a hose to get a steady stream of water on the grinding disk. I know a potter who has a regular rock grinding setup for polishing off glaze drips. If I found one used for cheap, I'd certainly do that.
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So, anyone need me to post post pics of BT, or ya'all following along?
- LeeU and Marcia Selsor
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For me, the all time favorite is Brother Thomas. Every page in the 2 published books of his work that I have make me feel like the village idiot. He had a huge range of glazes that were just masterful. Besides which, his porcelain throwing skills were beyond my comprehension. I don't know how much more art can do for you than that.
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When I redid the inner most bearings, there is a set of 2 bearings. I didn't realize until too late that there should be a space between them for a zerk fitting. Putting them in together doesn't leave room for the grease to enter. I left it that way and I'm not sure if it's a big problem or not. The only real maintenance item I have run across is keeping the oil topped off in the hydraulic pump. Plus the recommended oil was like $20 quart. Mine was used also, from a hobbyist, not a production shop. Works great.
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Mark, Have you ever seen a fix it video on Peter Puggers? I think you and I have the same unit VPM 30. I went through mine and replaced all the bearing and seals. I wish I had some advice before I did mine, as I learned a thing or 2. Next time I do this, if ever, I'll make a video if there isn't one.
Crystal wax
in Studio Operations and Making Work
Posted
Even if you live in a frost free area, you still can't buy wax products in the winter. The dealers simply won't ship then. Make sure you have a supply by fall.