kel-kay

That could be too, when she handles the mug, it might be where its cracking since she has to apply some pressure to hold it in place while she does the add ons. It causes a hair line crack not visible to the eye and when it dries it opens up. Another idea for having the mug dry evenly is flip on its top then put a big enough container over the mug to help prevent air flow. It obviously will take longer for a dry time but the less you handle it the less possible for hair line cracking.

Okay, but what about the interior of the S&P? I seen various "how tos" for dipping the outside but nothing informative about the inside. I figure a customer would eventually wash the entire thing, dipping it down into water with out the plug in it. So basically thinking ahead for cleaning and food safety.

Well I got this brainy idea to turn figurines into Salt and Pepper shakers, they will be acrylic with clear coat on the outside. Yet I have no clue if one should glaze the inside of them or not since washing them in soap and water would be a typical scenario by someone eventually. Thanks for your wisdom in advance.

I noticed the cracks are consistent to either side of the handle, not with hand or its opposite side. So try one new mug, plastic wrap around the top of the mug where cracking begins, flip the mug up side down to allow the bottom to dry more quickly and be sure to support the weight of the handle if there is room between the rim and the top of the handle to so. The weight of the handle could cause additional stressing. Also check with your supplier of the clay to be sure the recipe did not change. I have had the same issue with slip casting on a recipe that failed for glazing, and noticed if I do not put something on top of the mold to where the top dries faster then rest of it, it begins to pressure crack before I know typically when to pull the piece. So seems like the same issue just one is hand thrown/made the other is from casting mold.

I gave Evan's Ceramics in Kansas a call. He let me know it basically is an error in the slip recipe of the batch I received and not a kiln or firing issue especially so with Mayco's Wonderglaze since it it extremely forgiving - so much so it be painted on greenware and then fired. I called him to see if one can add feldsar to already mixed slip and that was a no, so I have 30 gallons of slip I have to use for none glazed works of ceramic art Since my main product line is mugs it will be awhile, like 2 years, to use 30 gallons yet at least I got a straight answer about this issue.

Good day, I am suddenly getting shivering in earth-ware mugs ::: My scenario is I coned fired 11 mugs, 5 mugs from the per-made liquid slip I purchased from my supplier in December21, the other 6 mugs were from the per-made liquid slip I purchased at the beginning of May 2022. I use Mayco's Stroke and Coat glaze which is pretty versatile and can tolerate a lot, never had any other issue with it other then color moving on highly textured bodies (best fix was add another coat of glaze). I even fired the clay to cone 05 bisquewith it and it still has never defected. I called the supplier to let them know this suddenly became an issue and asked how to fix it. They suggested to rack up the firing temp from cone 03 (1950) to 2000 using the ramp hold and re-fire any pieces not already glazed. Then glaze one of those pieces and test again for shivering. I am doing that now but I have doubts that will fix the issue since again my knowledge that Stroke and Coat on an 05 fired bisque previously did not shiver. They said they test all their slip mixing using a clear coat, which is also a Mayco brand also just not Stroke and Coats Colors (obviously), they fire at 1950-2000 degrees with this new slip they changed to due to the talc shortage. Doing my own online research nothing ever states firing at a high temp of the clay body will fix shivering it is based on silica and other ingredients of the clay and/or slip, correct? Since I have over 30 gallons of slip to use, would adding an X amount of felspar to it provide correction in the clay expansion? Or does the felspar need to be mixed in with the initial creation of the slip to its liquid form?