sawdust in clay body

[Lbraddock]

I was wedging  Clay on my board without realizing there was a dusting of sawdust on the surface.  As I wedged I realized the presence of fine sawdust particles in the clay.  Should I dispose of this clay or could it be used?

[Denice]

The sawdust will burn out,  it depends on how coarse it is on the texture the clay is after firing.  It depends on how sensitive your skin is when it comes to throwing it,  I threw a large bowl with large grain sawdust in it,  wasn't to bad.   I had a teacher that demonstrated throwing clay with broken flourescent bulbs in it.  He got the vase thrown and had tiny cuts all over his hand that were bleeding.  He wiped off the blood and said no big deal.    Denice

[Min]

1 hour ago, Denice said:

I had a teacher that demonstrated throwing clay with broken flourescent bulbs in it.  He got the vase thrown and had tiny cuts all over his hand that were bleeding.  He wiped off the blood and said no big deal.

Maybe not the brightest bulb?

[Bam2015]

21 hours ago, Denice said:

I had a teacher that demonstrated throwing clay with broken flourescent bulbs in it.  He got the vase thrown and had tiny cuts all over his hand that were bleeding.  He wiped off the blood and said no big deal.    Denice

But, why?!?!?

[Callie Beller Diesel]

That kind of move right there is why Gen z isn’t wrong for thinking the Elders need therapy! Hi and welcome to the forum, @Lbraddock! We don’t usually lead with stories like that, but it’s never dull here.

After my left eyelid stops twitching, we should get back to the sawdust. 

Okay. A little bit of fine sawdust that you hadn’t initially noticed on the board likely won’t hurt anything. If it’s wedged in thoroughly, it might not even leave noticeable voids. Unless there was a lot of it and it was from something like pressure treated lumber or MDF, I can’t even see it being an issue burning out in the bisque. If you’re handbuilding and not throwing, I wouldn’t even worry about it. If you’re throwing, it depends on your tolerance for gritty textures. 

If you’re really concerned about it and it’s just a few pounds, you could use it for waster cookies under glaze tests, or cone packs. 

[Denice]

This was part of a demonstration  on how broken bulbs fired in the clay create a clear glaze.  He had us find old bulbs and break them over a trash can outdoors  because the powder in side of them was dangerous to breathe.  We washed them and brought them to class,  this was part of our assignment.   I handbuilt my pot,  we had only one wheel in the class,  my teacher would pick one boy to teach him how to throw.   Girls weren't given this honor we were too weak,  I was a head taller than my teacher.  had broad shoulders and large hands.   The glaze it made was a ugly dingy clear.   In the late 60's  many of the psychodelic  albums were played during class and I am pretty sure my teacher was smoking marijuana in his pipe.  After I left he somehow managed to burn down the classroom,  they rewarded him by replacing the electric kilns with a big gas kiln.  It  was a interesting and fun time of my life and I didn't do drugs, smoke or drink.    Denice

[Pres]

I once was throwing with some clay I have wedged in college. Seems someone put an old rib in the slop bucket that got broken up in the pug mill. . . I did have cuts after doing the cone up and down the second time. . . . really was not comfortable throwing for a while, and it taught me to bread stack the clay after cutting a couple of times before hand wedging or throwing the clay. Larger pieces takes time for the small bits to show up. Felt like an idiot, but lesson learned.

 

 

best,

Pres

[Min]

On 1/21/2023 at 7:58 AM, Denice said:

I had a teacher that demonstrated throwing clay with broken flourescent bulbs in it.

On 1/22/2023 at 9:13 AM, Denice said:

He had us find old bulbs and break them over a trash can outdoors  because the powder in side of them was dangerous to breathe.  We washed them and brought them to class, 

Just in case someone thinks this would be something to try, apart from the obvious risks of cutting hands with broken glass there is also the hazard of mercury exposure from florescent bulbs. This practice is not recommended.

https://www.osha.gov/sites/default/files/publications/mercuryexposure_fluorescentbulbs_factsheet.pdf

[Denice]

We were told not to breathe the dust buy not why.  This is a good topic for people with flourescent bulbs in their studio's,  I am about to replace my bulbs with LED's  and my husband is also replacing the ones in his garage.   Now we know to take them to hazardous waste instead of our trash can.   Thank you Min for your information and help,  not questioning some ones sanity.  I am glad I mentioned that class I have learned something new that helps prevent soil contamination.    Denice

[Pres]

I replaced all of the old fluorescent bulbs in the shop within the last 5 years. The amount of light the new ones put out and the quality of the light is astounding. I much prefer the LED's and wonder why I waited so long.

 

 

best,

Pres