equipment repair Slip casting equipment question

[KID-IN-CLAY]

Hello Fellow ceramist  my name is Johnny and Im somewhat experienced in ceramics, I just recently graduated with a BFA. So I'm kinda knowable but this is out of my expertise a bit. I recently was able to purchase a sort of used equipment set up. This older gentleman explained that his wife who passed away about 20 ish years ago did ceramics full-time. and when she passed he couldn't get rid of her things and placed it in storage until recently.  it was a few molds a Manuel kiln that I was able to repair and upgrade. and a casting table.

https://imgur.com/a/govkJfd

Ive been searching online for a few days now trying to understand roughly what pieces are what and how it's placed together. ive attached some images of the casting table and the machinery. things I didn't take photos of but I have are the pouring device (kinda the same one you use for gas but all metal with no rubber on it) which I don't think works because it wasn't clean properly or maybe missing some lubricant. I also have one metal rod with 2 set of 3 bladed fans on them which I'm fairly sure is for spinning the slip around from the rough videos I've been able to find.  

Mostly im trying to find out if anyone knows the tools I have and if Its worth dedicate the time to fix them or if they are too old and should dedicate my time to getting more recent equipment instead of the machinery I have being problematic or prone to breaking more easily or if I'm missing some important items.

None the less thank you for your assistance 

Sincerely 

Johnny  

[Min]

@Jeff Longtin or @Mark C. (if you are back home again) can you help with this question?

[PeterH]

While waiting for knowledgeable replies ...

From this picture of a casting table


... it looks like the main parts are

* A table with rollers above the draining surface

* A drain/holding  tank

* A tank stirrer motor and its propellers

* A pump, hose and nozzle  to move slip from the tank into the moulds

You seem to have most of them.

PS  While the advantages of the table for mass-production look fairly obvious, I wonder if the cleanup overhead could become an issue for smaller batch sizes and/or lower throughput rates.

[Jeff Longtin]

Welcome to the Forum Johnny. What you have is a slip casting tank/pouring table. The parts are very simple mechanical parts. You may be able to find replacements at a Home Depot type store.  The motors are standard Dayton motors available through Graingers. (The tank/table itself is fairly unique and not easy to find a replacement for it.) 

To what degree you clean them, and use them, or buy new, is up to you. The market for tank/pouring tables is mostly a thing of the past. As a result they are much more expensive than they used to be. Cleaning what you have, and seeing how well it works, would be a good first step. 

When I first started casting, in the 80's, I was strongly encouraged to buy a casting/pouring table. I thought the design seemed logical enough so I was excited to cast up 1000's of pots. I soon found the design not so ideal. As I filled the table with molds at some point I chipped a few and plaster chunks fell into the slip.  That was annoying. Then I found that the little bits of hard clay that were left over, after draining the molds, would fall into the slip tank and need to be screened out. (as with the plaster.) I found that time consuming and inefficient.

In the end I found it easier to pour the slip into the slip tank and drain the mold away from the tank. Once the initial amount of slip is emptied out the mold is set aside and the remaining drainage is simply discarded. (In case plaster chips, and other stuff, contaminate it.)

Good Luck