Retxy

@HulkHahahaha the reward part made me laugh, thank yoh for that

Srry i hadmissedso many lovely replies, been sick as a dog and kind of on the mend. @Kelly in AK @Min i too thoight it was being overfired. This is a vitreous clay but even when i fore it a cone below maturity its bloating. My conclusion is my piss poor ability to wedge is leaving suoer concentrated pockets of frit in areas of the clay that are then causing the blaoting when fired due to the off gassing/inconsistencies to surrounding body... or at least thats what ive been able to glean frm the interwebs. If the better wedge/mix doesnt fix then more testing until fault is fixed will be pursued, if and when i can move again. Silly body. @neilestrick buying bags of clay, too science bound to touch anything without a reliable analysis at this stage. Also cant dig due to health so bags are serving all my needs... you know except the one where my stoneware recipe doesnt bloat hahaha. On a separate note, has anyone else had difficulty getting responses from bluebird? I asked them about warranty information on the machine as i have the original documents amd they were mum. Pug updates: before becoming ill i began my little restoration efforts. I was pleasantly surprised that the rust is coming up eith reltive ease over the majority of the machine. There is a cam associated with deairing chamber that is worn all the way through and if bluebird does not respond to replacement oarts request, i guess im going to have to get that heifer welded somewhere because im not sure the part for the 440 listed on their site will fit. In other news i have sourced a material which i believe will seal the metal and prevemt future corrosion. Its called Rust Grip. Its an expensive venture but all research indicates this will remediate and prevent this problem in the future. Or perhaps its wishful thinking. And it beats the 11k i woukd have to spend for a new machine. Will post update pics asap

Yes i can only hand build but for once or twice a year with a wheel ive used 20x since college 20 years ago. But since i have to mix my own clay and my dumb hands dont work, my clay is bloating super bad wven with extended blunging. Ive concluded its a mixing fault, and lack the power to mix/wedge properly. Hence the Rusty Pug. I cant wait to see what happens.

https://www.sciencealert.com/new-water-batteries-are-cheaper-recyclable-and-wont-explode Check out this nifty article on water batteries and join me in prayer that lithium becomes super cheap (well cheaper). And that maybe gerstley will rain like manna from heaven. Flux me. A girl can dream.

Im definitely in the boonies and getti g clY out here is impossible so i mix my own. If i bought bags i wouldn't need the pug. Im going to give it a whirl, if it doesnt work, well at least i tried!

But spelled right!

I too use cat litter buckets but hadnt noticed any discoloration. Have you experimented with other buckets tonsee if this happens there too? Ghanks for putting this on my radar

My father thought this too but inwas worried tracts would remain where xlay would wedge between origical metal and sheet. Clearly not a welder...hardly a potter either thanks to my body hence the need for the pug. There are a couple of half dollar sized holes in the barrel other than the holenin the deair chamber whixh may benefit from a sheet. Just unsure how big the slit which remains would have to be. I will post better pics when it makes it all thr way down to me as i had to leave it at a way station on the path to where i live. I will find a way to make it work. @Mark C. think you were right about the sand blasting upon further inspection. Will post back asap. If anyone has any recommendations on the size that little slit in de air chamber ought be, would greatly appreciate. Bluebird has basically said its unsafe, dont use it, so im notnsure they are going to give me this info. They want to sell me a new one and i cant afford it. Thanks again for all of the help yall.

@MinOh man thanks so much for this!! My arthritic wrists really hope i can rehab this thing!! Thanks truly

@neilestrick Would you happen to know how big the hole/slit inside a deairing chamber need to be where the lever setup swipes away at the incoming clay to prevent clogging? thanks so much again for all the help

@Mark C. Mark, do you think wire brushing would be more gentle vs sandblast? I know you say any adfitonal holes made can be welded, but just trying to get all options. Thanks again so much!!

Hi there! Can someone with a blubird pugmill please send me a picture of the insde of the deairing pirtio of your pugger? I bought an older model but not sure what that area should look like as the opening on mine is corroded. Thanks so much D

@Mark C. Ignore the holes part of the last question i see you answered!! Thank you!

Would these intervention potentially make these holes weaker? I will definitely not leave anything open in the barrel. I wonder about replacing the barrel altogether but unsure how i could repliate or who i might get to do this. Again thaks so much for your help!!

Does anyone have a picture of what the inner chamber of the deairing portion of a pugmill should look like? Google is failing me here. Thanks!

@Mark C. Thanks Mark!! I hope it turns out to be useful to me but we will see. There are parts of the metal that make me nervous to sand blast as I fear opening more holes. I wonder if welding might do that too but dnt know enough about welding to say if this is a rational fear. I guess we will see but thanks for your adviceon the external parts. Im so excited about this. Its going to suck if its a fail but at least i tried

Oh its definitely rugh in there and there are some holes in the drum. There are some reports that the pinholes therein can be loctite sealed which wont last forever but will be sufficient for me for now. The larger holes are going to be an issue. Cant sand blast it for fear of opening more holes honestly. But the auger works a dream and so im going to patch and even if tbis old beauty can last me a few years i will consider it worth it. Looking into barrel replacement but bluebird says they dont make either barrel or auger anymore... does anyone know alternate options if motor is still good? Thanks again to you all!!

@neilestrick perfect. Thank you so much!

@neilestrick Thank you so much! Woukd you recommend a rust halting spray hust to stop/delay the corrosion? Thank you!

I just found a place nearby that can both sandblast and powder coat but if cheaper alternatives exist, I welcome them. Thanks!

And sorry for all the typos!

Hello smart pottery peeps. I found a really old bluebird pugmill for sale. It looks like an a400 but much older version. He issue is its badly corroded with he seller stating there are three pinholes in the barrel and recommending the auger be sand lasted (which of course i dont know how to do.) My rheumatic joints really need this pugmill to work out. Seller assures me little holes are weldable, and this i believe. My cncern is the rust inside the barrel and on the auger blades.... how do i deal with that and can these be relia ly sealed so my immunocompromised handsies dont get the tetanus from rust ending up in my clay? I have seen others paint their pugs but no mention of what paint wont flake with all the moisture involved. Have also looked into rust stopping sprays available at the big boxes but wanted to see if anyone has tried this with successs. Thanks in advamce! Retxy

Min I will and thank you for this awesome advice. I'm super pumped, feel like knowing you can play with clay body chemistry in glazy is going to make a difference. Can't wait to see what kind of explosions I cause bwahahaha

Thank you so much everyone for your help!!

Oooh thanks @Min for the copyright info!! @neilestrick To sub c&c in a recipe do I need to juggle the chemistry of the new body in glazy the way I would for a glaze to make them as similar as possible? Is that a good rule of thumb for experimenting with clay body formulas? Thanks!! D