Cold Wax

[Clay17]

I sell a lot of garlic graters during a garlic festival every August. Last year I sold 150+/- during the two day show.

My method of work is to fill each indent with wax so when I dip glaze the wax rolls off. The problem is the wax I use sinks after it dries and I need to pick out the glaze which as you can imagine, is time consuming.

I was gifted a gallon of a generic brand that takes overnight to dry. I use it mainly mixed with alumina to prevent jar lids from sticking to the pot when glaze firing. It works great for this. 

I've tried many combinations of mixtures including Elmer's glue and beeswax to no avail but they all seem to sink.

Is there a commercial cold wax that will remain proud of the indent when it dries and easy to pipe through a  very small 1mm applicator tip? 

[neilestrick]

I think that just about any wax is going to sink because it's going to shrink as it dries. Please post a picture of your garlic grater, as I'm not really sure what you're describing.

[Mark C.]

I use a brand of  cold wax with a small piece of wet sponge to apply to the lid and seat-its fast  never comes off until glaze fire -never gets into glaze

Your can add alumina but that will sink much better to dip waxed up  sponge into a small bowl of alumina and do the lid edge with that alumina on sponge . But the way I wax many hundreds of lidded forms and this system is bullet proof and fast

this was 5 years ago but I think they still have some -you need to call and talk no email and make sure its the wax I said as they sell a few kinds

lick on the links below

 

 

 

[Clay17]

On 3/19/2022 at 5:37 PM, neilestrick said:

I think that just about any wax is going to sink because it's going to shrink as it dries.

I was afraid of that, thanks for your input Neil.

I still have a few ideas, back to the drawing board.

 

@Mark C. I'm confused, how do I buy a product that's been off the market for 6 years? What am I missing?

[neilestrick]

14 minutes ago, Clay17 said:

I was afraid of that, thanks for your input Neil.

I still have a few ideas, back to the drawing board.

 

@Mark C. I'm confused, how do I buy a product that's been off the market for 6 years? What am I missing?

Post of pic of what you're doing. Maybe there's another solution.

[Mark C.]

4 hours ago, Clay17 said:

I was afraid of that, thanks for your input Neil.

I still have a few ideas, back to the drawing board.

 

@Mark C. I'm confused, how do I buy a product that's been off the market for 6 years? What am I missing?

Call Seattle Pottery and see if they have some left -last I heard they did-It was Laguna that ran out not Seattle Pottery-what you are missing is great wax

[Clay17]

22 hours ago, neilestrick said:

Post of pic of what you're doing. Maybe there's another solution.

 

This isn't mine but the indents are similar , I sold out of mine in December and I'm just starting to make them again

 

 

18 hours ago, Mark C. said:

Call Seattle Pottery and see if they have some left

Yes they do, $16 for a quart and $22 to ship, ouch (gallon is $50 + $29 shipping)

[neilestrick]

2 hours ago, Clay17 said:

This isn't mine but the indents are similar , I sold out of mine in December and I'm just starting to make them again

So what are you waxing? I don't see anything on there that would need wax.

[Mark C.]

Well Seattle is a long ways from the East coas no doubt. I have about 10 gallons left as I buy it 5 gallon containers. If 1 gallon lasts your lifetinme its still a steal . In one of those posts someone said Reeds wax is good. This wax is the best I have ever found and been using it for over 40 years. Tried every kind I ever saw and this still is the best by Far.

69$ a gallon delivered-and thats with prices rising on everything .

1 gallon of Axner wax is 40$ so $50 seems in the ballpark -shipping fluids is always costly

My guess in the differance is less than 25$ for gallon of Axner wax  shipped or the great wax in gallon shipped

Throw 2-3 more garlic shredders before xmas  and the wax is free

 

[Clay17]

12 hours ago, neilestrick said:

So what are you waxing? I don't see anything on there that would need wax.

My indents are a lot thinner. The potter that made the grater in the image probably used the Steve Tool. I use something similar to a sharpen pencil. When I dip glaze it floods the indents.

9 hours ago, Mark C. said:

Throw 2-3 more garlic shredders before xmas  and the wax is free

I hear ya! I understand the cost of shipping all to well and the current state of things in this new normal. It's just a pet peeve of mine to pay more for shipping than the price of the product.

I was planning on getting a quart to try @ $16, and if it worked I was then planning on purchasing a gallon.

[neilestrick]

2 hours ago, Clay17 said:

My indents are a lot thinner. The potter that made the grater in the image probably used the Steve Tool. I use something similar to a sharpen pencil. When I dip glaze it floods the indents.

I would either make your indents deeper so it's not an issue, or thin out the glaze in that area. Could you wipe down the glaze a bit in that area after glazing?

[Clay17]

Good Thoughts 

6 hours ago, neilestrick said:

make your indents deeper so it's not an issue

I wind up making strainers instead of graters 

6 hours ago, neilestrick said:

thin out the glaze in that area

Looks ugly, thinner glaze turns an ugly brown 

6 hours ago, neilestrick said:

Could you wipe down the glaze a bit in that area after glazing

That's why I'm looking for a commercial cold wax that remains proud of the indent.

 

@Mark C.

I think they must be reading this forum, today the shipping cost dropped to $15.96, just below the product price.

[Mark C.]

You could wet the grater area just before glazing so it absorbs less glaze and the rest of pot would still look great.

Remember to order that wax from a real person on the phone not the web so you get the right wax as they sell many types

[neilestrick]

Making pots and selling them requires a balance between form, function, and production. They have to look good and function well, but you also have to be able to make them quickly enough that the effort is worth the sale price, so there are concessions that have to be made to all 3 elements, especially form (aesthetics). There are several pots that I sell that I don't make the way I would really like to make them because it would take too long and I can't get the price I would need to make it worth the time. There are other designs that I simply don't make because they are so time consuming. My favorite pitcher design would require me to charge double  to triple what I could realistically expect someone to pay for a pitcher. Little things like spoon rests, garlic graters, sponge holders, etc, that you sell a lot of, should be the fastest things to make, especially because you sell them in large volume (150 at a show is amazing!). The profit margins should be huge. So I think it's worth doing whatever it takes to speed up your process and do away with applying little drops of wax, whether that's making the dents differently, or using a different glaze that can go on thinner without turning ugly, or whatever. It'll take some testing and practice to get it right, but in the end it will be worth it.

[Clay17]

Neil, 

I understand that you are trying to help (thank you).
Maybe you are hoping to inform others that read this in the future of what they might do (good idea, but maybe there is a better place to do this).

You are preaching to the choir. If you reread what I have written you would find that I've been doing exactly what you are suggesting.
I was offended.

I also realize that you don't know me.  I was the kid people always asked to do difficult jobs because I was too lazy to it their way and always found a quicker and easier solution to accomplish the work at hand.  In my professional career of over 30 years I was tasked, without compromising quality, of finding quicker, easier,  less expensive ways to get products to market. I was very successful.

This is part of my nature and the way I work with clay and sell pottery is no different

On 3/24/2022 at 4:00 PM, Mark C. said:

You could wet the grater area just before glazing so it absorbs less glaze and the rest of pot would still look great

That is something I need to try, thank you. When I'm using my glaze fountain and a liner glaze I do something similar with the rims of my pots when I want the outside glaze to roll over slightly into the inside

BTW I ordered the wax today.

[Mark C.]

These graters are very popular the past 5-10 years. I know a west cost potter who specializes in them. Good luck with the new wax-I think you will be pleased.

[Babs]

On 3/26/2022 at 5:12 AM, neilestrick said:

Making pots and selling them requires a balance between form, function, and production. They have to look good and function well, but you also have to be able to make them quickly enough that the effort is worth the sale price, so there are concessions that have to be made to all 3 elements, especially form (aesthetics). There are several pots that I sell that I don't make the way I would really like to make them because it would take too long and I can't get the price I would need to make it worth the time. There are other designs that I simply don't make because they are so time consuming. My favorite pitcher design would require me to charge double  to triple what I could realistically expect someone to pay for a pitcher. Little things like spoon rests, garlic graters, sponge holders, etc, that you sell a lot of, should be the fastest things to make, especially because you sell them in large volume (150 at a show is amazing!). The profit margins should be huge. So I think it's worth doing whatever it takes to speed up your process and do away with applying little drops of wax, whether that's making the dents differently, or using a different glaze that can go on thinner without turning ugly, or whatever. It'll take some testing and practice to get it right, but in the end it will be worth it.

Or @Clay17 don't glaze the central area. Would grate better imo ad an easy wax jobbie.

Comments and advice given on these forums are given in an Ibjective dispassionate manner, content similar.

Take it or leave it and egos outside the door.

Life smoother that way

[neilestrick]

On 3/28/2022 at 10:19 AM, Clay17 said:

If you reread what I have written you would find that I've been doing exactly what you are suggesting.
I was offended.

No offense intended.  I was just trying to help. Since the wax is the most time consuming part of the process, I was simply recommending that getting away from it would be a good solution.