Age of dry materials

[Roberta12]

A local potter passed away and his family is selling his house. The realtor knows me and asked if I would take a look at what is left in his studio to give the family an idea of value. The studio is neat and well organized and everything is well labeled.   As far as equipment, he has an electric wheel which he modified  but it runs very smoothly, he put a wooden board on the wheelhead and made his own wooden bats.  The wheel weighs a TON because he poured concrete in the recessed area.  But it would be a great wheel.  There are bags of Custer feldspar, Neph Sy, and then tubs of cobalt carb, copper carb, tin ox, zinc ox, RIO, Gerstley, Manganese Di.  I think I will make the family an offer and take all the dry chemicals.  I don't think the gentleman threw much the last couple of years.  The labels on the bags are from a supply place in Denver that is no longer in business.  So these materials could be 5-10 years old.  What would be the advice of this knowledgeable group as far as using these materials?  Shelf life??  I will try to attach some pics.....  Oh, and what is Ajax P?

Roberta

[Roberta12]

And....more pics

[Roberta12]

And two 50 pound bags of custer feldspar

 

[Mark C.]

These materials never go bad if kept dry-Some are off the market now .Keep the offer low as the value is low really.

I sent you a PM

[Min]

I would be looking at how much of the expensive materials there are, cobalt, tin etc. and base your offer on those materials. Ajax is a kaolin, low plasticity, about 1/3 less silica and alumina than EPK and minor other differences. One good thing is the bulk stuff is still in bags so less chance of a material mixup.

[Callie Beller Diesel]

Ask the family if he had some kind of glaze book he kept. Could be a starting point for some experimentation. 

[Mark C.]

 Cobalt, tin etc as Min says is the money-the rest is low cost stuff.

[Roberta12]

10 hours ago, Min said:

I would be looking at how much of the expensive materials there are, cobalt, tin etc. and base your offer on those materials. Ajax is a kaolin, low plasticity, about 1/3 less silica and alumina than EPK and minor other differences. One good thing is the bulk stuff is still in bags so less chance of a material mixup.

Yes.  I would feel fairly comfortable using supplies from this studio.  Everything was clearly labled and in sections.  There were a couple of tubs unlabeled, I will just pitch those.   Being a midfire person, I have never come across Ajax in a recipe.   What recipes use it?

6 hours ago, Mark C. said:

 Cobalt, tin etc as Min says is the money-the rest is low cost stuff.

Yeah, I was excited when I saw the colorants and tin ox and zinc ox etc.  

7 hours ago, Callie Beller Diesel said:

Ask the family if he had some kind of glaze book he kept. Could be a starting point for some experimentation. 

Hadn't thought about a glaze book.  I will ask.  

[Roberta12]

what do you think I should offer for the whole shebang?  $200?  Less, more??  I thought I would tell the son to ask for $50-100 for the wheel. How does that sound? 

[oldlady]

you found a treasure!   

had this happen to me before.  offer less than the $200, you are doing them a great favor in removing the items so they can concentrate on other things they have to do.   your labor in removing them is valuable.   this is the same situation i ran into years ago and one of the materials in a jar was uranium.  nightmare.............

the Ajax reference could be a brand name of  a mining co.  since there are only ten pounds in the bag, should be no problem disposing of that so you do not have to worry about what it is.  

those plastic tubs are great for storing material, all in all, you found a deal!

[Min]

2 hours ago, Roberta12 said:

I have never come across Ajax in a recipe.   What recipes use it?

To me it looks like a casting slip kaolin. In theory you could calcine it, do the math on the LOI then use it in place of calcined EPK / Glomax but you would have to adjust the silica, alumina etc in the recipe and I really don't think it would be worth the trouble given that EPK is so inexpensive.

I agree with OldLady, offer less than 200, might be a lot of stuff but how much of those materials do you actually use, plus you're hauling away a problem for them.

[neilestrick]

You can easily look up the current value of those materials on the web site of any clay and materials supplier. I wouldn't offer the full value, of course, especially since you'll be taking a fair amount of stuff you might never use. Be prepared to have to deal with the stuff you don't want. You could probably donate it to a local college program.

[Mark C.]

$200 is tops for the whole lot-and that would also include the wheel.

I have bought out a few potters for less (no wheels) materials only

[Callie Beller Diesel]

If the Ajax kaolin is not useable in any of your glaze recipes, it could go towards kiln wash. 

[Roberta12]

1 hour ago, neilestrick said:

You can easily look up the current value of those materials on the web site of any clay and materials supplier. I wouldn't offer the full value, of course, especially since you'll be taking a fair amount of stuff you might never use. Be prepared to have to deal with the stuff you don't want. You could probably donate it to a local college program.

I am the only potter in this part of the valley who mixes glaze.  Everyone else is commercial glazes.  Including the college.  But I did just email a friend in Steamboat with her own studio and teaching set up.  And yes, there are a few unmarked tubs that I will dispose of.  Thanks to everyone for their help.

[oldlady]

roberta,  one more thing.  i notice that the labels on the plastic containers and the metal ones are written on masking tape or some other tape.   take a sharpie when you go to pick the stuff up and label everything on the containers themselves.  you can see that tape gets useless after a long time and it is a nuisance to have labels fall off.   

sharpie or other markers ink comes off plastic if you use hair spray and a cotton ball.  have done so for years and must have some containers whose contents have been different dozens of times.  it is great for marking tests so you do not put the wrong lid on the bucket of clear or white,    some will say use acetone but it does not work.

[Fred Sweet]

Roberta-

Try rubbing alcohol to remove the marker. Works well for most permanent markers, and is substantially less expensive than hairspray. You also won’t have to worry about overspray.

Fred

[Roberta12]

On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 2:57 PM, oldlady said:

roberta,  one more thing.  i notice that the labels on the plastic containers and the metal ones are written on masking tape or some other tape.   take a sharpie when you go to pick the stuff up and label everything on the containers themselves.  you can see that tape gets useless after a long time and it is a nuisance to have labels fall off.   

sharpie or other markers ink comes off plastic if you use hair spray and a cotton ball.  have done so for years and must have some containers whose contents have been different dozens of times.  it is great for marking tests so you do not put the wrong lid on the bucket of clear or white,    some will say use acetone but it does not work.

I will not keep those red tubs. They are old lard buckets.  Old is the word here.  They are beginning to deteriorate.  I think I have the wheel sold.  Selling off some of the big bags o stuff just because I don't need all of it and limits on space.  I am thinking of offering the family $100 for the dry materials and maybe see if I can get $50-75 for the wheel?  I have to ask, do we all have plans in place for our pottery supplies and equipment if we are no longer around to use it??   I jokingly told our kids that my business and equipment was ALL THEIRS if I was gone.  All I got was eye rolls.  But, I guess I should think about someone to help them make good decisions.  

[Mark C.]

I do not have any plans to move my stuff once I'm gone other than donate it to our local ceramic shop.I am in next few months going thru a good friend who passed ceramic materials and sorting out what I can use and what other may want.

The hardest part of this is the labeling of materials and clay-especially if you work in several temp ranges as he did.

If you cannot figure low or mid or high fire than its just trash-true with mixed glazes or clays.

Myself -I have purged all low fire products. My assistant also know's  this .

[LeeU]

Not to be overly serious, but if you want any of your possessions to go to anyone specific, make a will (do it now--not "someday"). Even if you are making donations and everyone "knows" what you want. Just a hand-written one in simple language that is notarized should prevent the state from stepping in and taking everything--and states do indeed do that if there is no documentation of your wishes.   Verbal comments  and promises to relatives /friends/organizations are meaningless if you don't put it in writing. The simple fill-out-your-own-will forms from legal sites (around $75) are sufficient just to have something in place (or copy one from soemwhere and reword as you wish). Any clear written directive labeled as a will offers some protection so your stuff goes where you want it to.  You can always change it later. It's also a nice thing to do for those you leave behind, making your passing a bit more managable.  (Lee's thought for the day-I am allowed at least one LOL).

[Mark C.]

Actually I forgot that it's spelled out to who to disperse to in our living trust-just a sheet added` to the trust papers.

Still going to be a mess.You could not believe how much ceramic stuff one can collect in 45 years having never moved.

Maybe counting all the bricks, kilns ,materials-wheels-25-30 tons?

[Roberta12]

6 hours ago, Mark C. said:

I do not have any plans to move my stuff once I'm gone other than donate it to our local ceramic shop.I am in next few months going thru a good friend who passed ceramic materials and sorting out what I can use and what other may want.

The hardest part of this is the labeling of materials and clay-especially if you work in several temp ranges as he did.

If you cannot figure low or mid or high fire than its just trash-true with mixed glazes or clays.

Myself -I have purged all low fire products. My assistant also know's  this .

oh yeah, I did NOT mention the bags of clay at the gentleman's studio.  No labeling, no boxes, nothing.  A HUGE container of hard, very white clay.  Just looking at it I would assume it is porcelain, and I know he mostly high fired, but unfortunately, I will probably have to pitch the clay.  Labeling, yes, a very good idea.  

And Lee, we have made out a will, which is when we had the conversation with our kids.  I am a labeler, but I think I will talk to a couple of other potter people that I could trust, and leave phone numbers for our family.  I don't even have 45 years in this business and I still have a lot of stuff!!!!!  

[LeeU]

Off topic---I asked my daughter what in particular she really wanted after I've boogied on outta here, and she said she didn't want any of my stuff, I've got too much, she doesn't want to go through it, she has no place to put anything, what would she do with a kiln, and since I already sold off all of her grandma's "good stuff",  I have nothing good anyway. So there---so much for that part of my will! But I am clever--in my will I have a friend committed to getting the things I have already labeled for my daughter and offering them to her at the time---bet she changes her tune! LOL

[Rae Reich]

Lately, a request from my 16-yr old granddaughter, "Granny, can I inherit your kiln?" Warmed my cockles!!

[Roberta12]

I picked up the rest of the supplies from the studio I was cleaning.  There were some kiln shelves stacked up, rectangular, and black.  I think they are for a gas kiln.  Can you tell me what the material is?

Also, there was a bucket of Colemanite.  I looked it up and it is different from gerstley borate.  Is colemanite used in cone 10 glazes? 

Roberta