Janet H Walker on thu 5 dec 96
I also saw the note in CM about using just vinegar instead of doing
slipping and scoring. I had a piece where a joint had separated
during unskilled drying so I figured I'd try out the vinegar thing.
I took powdered clay body and mixed in a little vinegar to make a
kind of stiff paste which I then "spackled" into the gap. Felt like
a dentist probably does, tamping in the stuff and smoothing it off.
Kinda fun. It also worked pretty amazingly well. I didn't spend
much time keeping an eye on it while it dried and a hairline
crack opened in drying or in the bisque. I said "what the heck"
and glazed it anyhow and it came through the glaze firing just fine.
In appearance anyhow. Its job in life is to hold water for flowers
so I'm not worried about any structural weakness there might be
internally.
Anyhow, my experience with the vinegar thing was both interesting
and the most successful attempt I've ever made to rescue something
that was otherwise a goner by the greenware stage. My guess is
that using a very stiff paste is more successful than making a
runny vinegar slip.
Good luck to anyone else trying this out.
Jan Walker
Cambridge MA USA
Sandra Dwiggins on fri 6 dec 96
I've been using vinegar and clay slip for 20 years. I've repaired broken
handles which have held up for at least 10 years. You name it, I've used
vinegar on it. You decide on how thick the slip should be. If you've got a
hole to plug, the slip should be thick like a paste, etc., etc. The one thing
you do have to watch for in using vinegar slip is exactly what you
noticed. Although the slip dries faster and you can get more clay into a
crack with less damage to the leather hard clay around the crack, it's a
good practice to fill whatever cracks appear when the slip dries, unless
you know that the glaze you are using is very forgiving and will either
cover the crack or seal it.
Sandy
Betsy Parker on fri 6 dec 96
Hi Jan - I have been using vinegar/water mix in my slip for attaching pieces
for quite some time. Recently though, after reading in a new (for me) book
about using vinegar alone, I filled a small spray bottle with straight
vinegar. When I have a break, I spritz both pieces, allowing the vinegar to
soften both sides somewhat (usually a follow-up spritz after the first one -
just not enough to saturate the piece and break it down); then after placing
the break back together, I smooth the break with a lace-application tool.
You could use a number of items, but I just happened to have this one around
and it works well. I have found that moistening the area with vinegar before
applying the slip as in your process makes the join stronger, smoother and
less likely to separate from uneven drying. I lose very few items these days
due to breakage at this stage. The smoothing is really important. In fact,
if it's a bad break, I sometimes spritz again after the piece is rejoined to
make sure it's well-smoothed and the crack is as healed as possible. So glad
I learned about this!!
~Betsy - in NJ where the Great Blue Heron visited our pond
early this AM!!
Bob Hanlin on sat 7 dec 96
Hi:
I've been using the vinegar slip for about a year. I had such great luck
with the stuff I started using it to attach handles to my slab platters. I
put the handles on when the clay is quite soft, because I drape them in
various forms. I noticed that the handles came off and the "buttons" I put
on for decoration also popped off as I cleaned them up for bisque firing.
So, I'm back to attaching to soft pots with water only and to near dry pots
with vinegar and the results are rewarding.
Bob Hanlin
Oklahoma City
e-mail bhanlin@ionet.net
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