need a good white cone 6 clay on east coast

[oldlady]

OK,  i have to give up my formerly wonderful all-purpose clay because it is so hard to use now.   does anyone have a recommendation for something that is cone 6, white, works well as a slab or wheel thrown and dries fast?   i do not add appendages to anything except an occasional flat slab handle on a tray so drying fast to get it out of the way of making something else is important to me.

my old clay would do anything i asked it to do.  and everything i made was dry the next day.  it is now floppy and very wet so it takes 2-3 days just to dry enough to trim.    and slabs slump instead of standing up, needing constant attention until dry.

if you are using something that works well, please let me know.  i think i remember that neil has suggested standard 181 but i am not sure it was as all-purpose as little loafers.

any advice will be considered, especially if you use the clay for both throwing and slab work.  

thanks, all of you.

 

[Pres]

I'm using SC 630 right now. It handbuilds and throws well. Seems to work well with the glazes I had been using, and is not a yellow white, almost a cool white.

 

best,

Pres

[neilestrick]

Standard 630 is the cone 6 version of 181. Great stuff! 

[oldlady]

thank you both for the suggestions.  in looking at Standard's clays i find there is a cone 6 grolleg porcelain, 365.   anybody use it?   anybody not like it?

i have over 500 glaze tests for my little loafers and at my age, i really do not want to do much more testing for a new clay.   181 has a range of firing temps and we have discussed that before.  if i am going to try several to see which fits my needs best,  i need some more suggestions.   it is a long way to the supplier and i would like to have several white cone 6 clay names or numbers before i go.

so far only 48 members have seen my original post, not a very wide sample.

[Joseph Fireborn]

I have used standard 365. It is fine. Throws well and feels like a good clay. Glazes came out as expected. Nothing out of the ordinary.

[dhPotter]

Laguna 609 is a very nice white firing clay. Easy to throw and do slab work. Has a strength to it while throwing. Push the clay where you want it, it has a little push back so you have a feel for it instead of being mush that gets pushed around with no feedback. Easily attaches with no issues of pulling apart. Smooth clay.

[Mark C.]

Did you call the little loafers clay folks and ask about recent changes to the body or are you just fed up with it. Sometimes ingredients or water supply changes and so does the body-maybe thay had a bad batch and you got some???

I have never been a loafer kind of guy 

on a side note the view count is low as the site is rather slow now that school is out everywhere.summer slow down has begun

[GEP]

@oldlady have you had any changes to your studio’s HVAC system in the last year or so? Anything repaired or replaced? Or, is it possible that your air conditioner needs to be repaired now, because it is not properly dehumidifying your space?

[oldlady]

thanks for the concern you have shown.   yes, i have been having glazenerd examine the clay and compare it to pieces i had not fired from before the problem began.    his results strongly suggest the ballclay ingredient is tainted with smectite.    it is possible the mine it comes from just ran into the stuff.   i waited for 2 years to see if it gets better but it has not.

i wrote to highwater and explained his result and have had no answer for 20 days.   each time i try someone's new little loafers it is the same way.  cannot cut it cleanly from the bag, it sticks to the cut surface and lifting it results in deep fingeremarks and a tiny amount removed.     i still have several boxes and will use it for throwing.   

but my income depends on the slabwork.    if the things i used to make in one afternoon now take 3 days, i cannot continue to use it.

thanks, joseph for the affirmative on 365.    i know someone who uses it but she is out of the country for another week, thought i would ask here for second, third, etc opinions.  you use such lovely glazes that i think it might be just what i want.   a transparent green is paramount.

i will look for laguna, john, thank you.

[Joseph Fireborn]

Neil also uses 365 if I remember right? @neilestrick ? I am pretty sure he was the one who recommended it and I tried it based off his recommendation. It is probably the best porcelain I have ever used to be honest. I tried many different glazes on it and translucent glazes needing that faint white hue underneath never disappointed. I made several slabs out of it when I was doing Currie grid tiles and it didn't warp bad at all, considering I took zero precautions against warping. The blue faux celadon glazes I was doing a while back were also on 365 is that helps any.  Here is a pot my son and I did together for reference of the look of a transparent glaze?  

I hope you figure it out! Supply problems are a disaster. Good luck to you!

[oldlady]

that is darling!   i have things my kids made over 50 years ago.   they still make me smile.    

be sure to keep them all, they grow up fast.

[Joseph Fireborn]

Yes! They do. I need to do more work with his chickens on them. I was using chicken decals for a bit, then I realized his chickens are the best.

I single fired 365 as well and had no issues, I know you single fire also, so I forgot to mention that.

Let us know what you think when you end up with it. I honestly preferred it over little loafers, which is the clay I learned to throw with.