db3819 Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 Hi, i'm new here and starting to do test tiles in which i add different aggregate materials to my clay. i'm not the most scientific potter but i am doing research and keeping notes. i'm working at a studio that's not my own. we use a small electric kiln, cone 4-6 . i have chosen all hard materials that are non combustible. i'm wondering if anyone has experience with adding any of the following? my main concerns are any offgassing or sputtering/molten stuff that might damage the kiln or others' work. this is my list of test materials so far: feldspar, fine basalt, aluminum oxide both coarse and fine ,olivine, crushed garnet, bauxite and coarse silica. the ones i'm most concerned about are the garnet and aluminum oxides.my intention is to use the materials mainly pressed onto the wet clay as opposed to wedging it in. my research seems to indicate they're all safe ( except the garnet. i'm not sure about it)but i'm really concerned about causing issues with my experimentation. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 I have fired Feldspar, aluminum oxide, garnet, tourmaline, turquoise and rock salt. Feldspar, didn't melt at cone 6, clay cracked around it. Aluminum oxide, nothing happened at all, turns out clay has a significant amount of aluminum oxide naturally. Garnet, some exploded, some left a black mark, none melted even when fluxed. TourmAline did not melt on its own, but melted when fluxed with boron frit. Was indistinguishable from RIO in effect. Turquoise burned/disappeared? And rock salt left big gross warts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db3819 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 thanks so much for your response. it's really helpful. i feel less concerned now. so when you say nothing happened when you fired the aluminum oxide that should mean it's perfect for my purpose which is to provide surface texture. i've not tried fluxing anything yet. do you have a basic formula for fluxing such aggregates with a frit? i'm not aiming for melting but if it happens it's fine. from your results the garnet is a no go unfortunately. exploding is what i'm afraid of. btw , i see we're neighbors. how nice. thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db3819 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 Just now, db3819 said: thanks so much for your response. it's really helpful. i feel less concerned now. so when you say nothing happened when you fired the aluminum oxide that should mean it's perfect for my purpose which is to provide surface texture. i've not tried fluxing anything yet. do you have a basic formula for fluxing such aggregates with a frit? i'm not aiming for melting but if it happens it's fine. from your results the garnet is a no go unfortunately. exploding is what i'm afraid of. btw , i see we're neighbors. how nice. thanks again. "start where you are. use what you have. do what you can..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted February 27, 2020 Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 1 hour ago, db3819 said: thanks so much for your response. it's really helpful. i feel less concerned now. so when you say nothing happened when you fired the aluminum oxide that should mean it's perfect for my purpose which is to provide surface texture. i've not tried fluxing anything yet. do you have a basic formula for fluxing such aggregates with a frit? i'm not aiming for melting but if it happens it's fine. from your results the garnet is a no go unfortunately. exploding is what i'm afraid of. btw , i see we're neighbors. how nice. thanks again. I just mixed with frit 3134 to flux , was doing melt tests. I haven't progressed past that, I've been too busy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
db3819 Posted February 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2020 1 hour ago, liambesaw said: I just mixed with frit 3134 to flux , was doing melt tests. I haven't progressed past that, I've been too busy. Your help has been much appreciated. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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