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a beginner's questions on porcelain

updated fri 24 oct 97

 

GLENDA WILSON on mon 6 oct 97

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Has anyone tried using a pasta machine to roll out porcelain? I am presently
using a rolling pin. I need flat, thin shapes for jewlery.

Secondly, can I still attach porcelain to porcelain after the leather hard
stage? If the clay is bone dry is it still posssible? It seems that some of =
my
shapes are difficult to handle unless they're dry. If I'm sculpting a =
figure,
for example, do I have to complete the work at the leather hard stage? I =
realize
you ought to keep the clay moist. I'm wondering if there's any lee way on =
this.

Thanks for any help you can give me,
Glenda, from Minnesota

Cameron Harman on tue 7 oct 97

For Glenda from Minnesota,

A lot of ceramic is made by pasting things together. You can past to
pieces of ceramic together and have them stay if they are both the same
(I mean, really the same ) moisture content. Otherwise they they will
shrink differently and come apart.

The handles on teacups are mostly made this way. Great big porcelain
insulators ( the ones you see in a switching station that are a tall as
a person or taller) are sometimes fired first and stuck together with
glaze.

In your case , as long as the two pieces have the same moisture content
(the same percent water at the time they are going tobe put together)
youcan use a thin slip as glue and they shoulf work out fine.

Its a bit more complicated than I just explained, but with a little
experimenting you will get it.

Good Luck!


--
**********************************************************
Cameron G. Harman, Jr. 215-245-4040 fax 215-638-1812
e-mail kilns@kilnman.com
Ceramic Services, Inc 1060 Park Ave. Bensalem, PA 19020
see our web site at http://www.kilnman.com
THE place for solutions to ALL your kiln and drier problems
**********************************************************

Robert Speirs, M.D. 12 4450 on tue 7 oct 97

You might try using paper clay made from your porcelain. I have used it
successfully to mend bone dry things that I have broken, i.e. rose
petals, leaves, that kind of thing. I doubt attaching a handle would
work, but in jewelry, this might be the ticket for you.

To make paperclay you mix shredded paper (computer paper works well)
with hot water and blunge until it is well disintegrated. Sieve and
then add 2 parts well mixed clay slurry to l part paper and mix. Don't
make huge amounts of this as it tends to mold before long. I heard of
someone who keeps his in the fridge to help retard the spoilage. It
works fine when gray with mold; it just smells bad.

I wish you luck.

Laura in Oregon

Larry Tague on tue 7 oct 97

Glenda, I have used different size rings on my rolling pin to create slabs
with equal thickness. These are rubber rings that are put on the ends of the
pin and if the rings are kept outside the edges of the clay it works great
with pretty much any kind of clay.
Carol Tague
Florida Clay Art Co.
1645 Hangar Rd. #103
Sanford, FL 32773
megtague@msn.com
1-800-211-7713

----------
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List on behalf of GLENDA WILSON
Sent: Monday, October 06, 1997 9:25 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list CLAYART
Subject: a beginner's questions on porcelain

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
------------------
Has anyone tried using a pasta machine to roll out porcelain? I am presently
using a rolling pin. I need flat, thin shapes for jewlery.

Secondly, can I still attach porcelain to porcelain after the leather hard
stage? If the clay is bone dry is it still posssible? It seems that some of =
my
shapes are difficult to handle unless they're dry. If I'm sculpting a =
figure,
for example, do I have to complete the work at the leather hard stage? I =
realize
you ought to keep the clay moist. I'm wondering if there's any lee way on =
this.

Thanks for any help you can give me,
Glenda, from Minnesota