Cracks In Bisqued Pieces

[ashleigh_arts 1]

Hello!

 

I had a couple of pieces that, freakishly, dried just fine...evenly...even thickness...all around good slab pieces... cracked in the kiln! I fired at the correct temp and somehow this happened. I've read about magic mud...and I was under the impression that it could be used on bisque fired pieces. However, my instructor told me that it couldn't? I wanted to see what everyone thought?

[Diane Puckett 41]

I have seen bisque repaired with paper clay slip.

[Pres 1,896]

For future reference it might help if you could post a picture of the type of cracking you had. We could maybe help you with your next load.

 

As to repairing cracks, it usually is a better solution to redo the pots. Many times the repair will look good on the bisque, but later in the glaze show up even worse. After 30+ years of teaching, and having to try to fix some of the student problems with cracking, I have found it really isn't a viable solution for my own work. A student having limited experience, and working hard for that one hand built pot is a different story.

[Babs 863]

Google, "Spooze" may work.

[ashleigh_arts 1]

Thank you guys!! I may just have to redo it then. :/ Bummer. I really liked this sushi platter I made.

[ashleigh_arts 1]

I also had two cups of students crack.

[jknake 0]

I have had several sculpted pieces break in the kiln.  I feel that they were dried well and fired at 03.  Any solutions???

[Chris Campbell 1,224]

Pictures ... pictures ... it is 100% easier to analyze a problem with images. Most cracks are classics and once seen can be easily explained.

 

 

[Min 2,171]

@jknake, as well as pictures would you post your firing schedule?

Welcome to the forum  

[DirtRoads 235]

On 2/21/2014 at 4:02 PM, Pres said:

 

As to repairing cracks, it usually is a better solution to redo the pots.

^ For sure.   Seems a lot of us go through this.  In the beginning of my clay workings, I purchased every solution and tried all methods to "fix" cracks, at bisque and glazed stages.  

[Magnolia Mud Research 580]

On ‎2‎/‎21‎/‎2014 at 4:02 PM, Pres said:

As to repairing cracks, it usually is a better solution to redo the pots.

It is useful to remind students that time and effort on "fixing" a cracked pot is practice in "fixing" which not the same as "remaking" which is practice in making pots, therefore they (the students) must choose where they want to invest their time, effort, and emotional resources.   

lt

[Pres 1,896]

Once one reaches a certain point, the time fixing is double that of remakiing. At the same time you get the joy of making the form for a second time. . . but even better. I always let the kids know that even though each of their pieces were important, it was what they learned that held more value in the long run. I would reinforce this lesson by often throwing a form, for a demo and doing the wire cutting to show the thickness of a properly thrown piece from the slightly thicker lower walls to the progression through the belly to the shoulder, then the neck and the thickening  of the rim. Also good of this lesson was to demonstrate the amount of clay trimmed off at leather hard to establish the base of the pot.

There were times that something of mine would get bumped, picked up, or other accident. When ever this happened, I would not get angry but stress that this was an opportunity to redo the form with greater insight into what I wanted. Some, or at least a few, understood. When ever working in that teaching environment things happen, and it was the stress of the rules themselves not the fact that one of the pots got broken that I stressed. Rule number 1 All pieces are important to the individual, and as such only the individual that created the piece should be touching it in any manner.

 

best,

Pres

[hitchmss 263]

Save your time and hassle; just re make the pots. I think we've all tried those magic formulas over the years in desperation, and mostly none of them work the way we want. If it was a small detail on something I spent 100 hours on, Id work hard to repair it. A crack in a  couple of plates, as much time as it may have taken you, is not worth it. As well, when you go to glaze fire those plates, those cracks are likely to open right back up again. Plates are a pain in the ass; lots to learn to make good ones!