Davidpotter Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 Has anyone had or heard of any results of putting aluminum on or in their pottery? i know that it melts at 1,221 F which the electric kiln can easily reach but i want to know if any one has tried it? Also if it bonded to the clay well. I think it would be cool to have an aluminum coated piece Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luca li Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 i am doing a test using white stoneware clay body, applied alumina hyp... on the surface. we will see what happens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I have raku fired glazed pots, and upon pulling them from the kiln, wrapped them with aluminum foil, which fuses to the glaze. Gotta work fast so the glaze is tacky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Bridge Pottery Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I have raku fired glazed pots, and upon pulling them from the kiln, wrapped them with aluminum foil, which fuses to the glaze. Gotta work fast so the glaze is tacky. That sounds like fun Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I have raku fired glazed pots, and upon pulling them from the kiln, wrapped them with aluminum foil, which fuses to the glaze. Gotta work fast so the glaze is tacky. That sounds like fun Totally. I also put some wood shavings in the foil so the areas that don't fuse still reduce. I originally did as a way of reducing a pot that was too big for my containers, without realizing the foil would stick to the glaze. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcia Selsor Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 I use aluminum foil daggers and I am firing to 1400 F it doesn't melt. Could be the type of alloy, but it does loose structural integrity and its sheen. Marcia Neil , what are you doing with the foil and raku? Got any pictures? Sounds curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted February 19, 2014 Report Share Posted February 19, 2014 About 20 years ago, while an undergrad, I made some big 25 pound pinch pots out of a whole bag of clay, and decided to raku fire them. I didn't have any containers that they would fit in for the post firing reduction, so I had the idea of using aluminum foil as a container. I made a big sheet of foil, big enough to wrap the pot, and put a small pile of wood shavings on it. When I pulled the pot from the raku kiln, I set it on the foil and wrapped it up around the pot. In some areas the foil fused to the tacky glaze, so I had this patchwork of silver foil and raku glaze. I only did a few of them that way, and soon after decided raku just wasn't my thing. But I always though it would be neat to do smaller pieces with different types of foil- copper, aluminum- even gold leaf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Miller Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Sounds like a fun idea! One thought I had is that maybe steering clear of iron and copper oxides when working with heat and aluminum would be a good idea. The amounts of iron and aluminum are small of course, but the conditions would be just a little too close to a thermite reaction for my comfort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Sounds like a fun idea! One thought I had is that maybe steering clear of iron and copper oxides when working with heat and aluminum would be a good idea. The amounts of iron and aluminum are small of course, but the conditions would be just a little too close to a thermite reaction for my comfort. Thermite you say...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyler Miller Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Yep, thermite. I should add as a disclaimer that I've never worked with the stuff and I have every desire to keep things that way, having observed how it works. But aluminum plus Iron oxide and heat brings about an extremely exothermic substitution reaction producing Iron and Alumina. Granted, that heat is normally much much hotter, but there are enough exceptions to that rule like it igniting in the presence of common catalysts and oxidizers e.g., conditions where the materials are heated entirely (like a kiln). Even a propane torch can get it to light. Likely not an issue, as the amounts are so small, but I wouldn't want to find out from personal experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benzine Posted February 20, 2014 Report Share Posted February 20, 2014 Yeah, can't say I'd put them together, in a kiln. But applying the aluminum, once the pieces are taken out of the kiln, is something I'd try. Now I know, that there is a chance that sparks could start spraying off.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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