mel jacobson on mon 30 jul 07
i am of a mind that buying bulk chemicals and keeping
a volume of materials on hand, leads us far from
buying substitutes, or having to rush around and
get the wrong stuff.
i keep great big garbage cans full of:
feldspar, custer...my favorite.
silica, 325 mesh...same brand always. continental clay.
epk china clay.
cornwall stone.
and ball clay. om4
i always have on hand:
gertsley
grolleg
whiting
dolomite
neph sy
zinc ox
zircopax
about 50 lbs of each.
of course gobs of other chemicals in 5 lb lots.
before i go to continental clay to buy clay, i always
check chemicals...and, if a can is half empty will buy
enough to fill it. same brand each time. i just bought six
bags of custer. and, i like getting that feldspar from the
same lot...same group of bags.
i make my base glaze: rhodes 32 mel's variety in 50 gallon lots.
and, of course, the 50 gallon bucket is perfect for glazing big
platters. but, most important, i have a great many firings in the
50 gallon bucket. no change. it is the same, every time. it makes
the glaze consistent. i measure with pounds...like
11 pounds of feldspar
5.3 china
5.5 dolomite
1 of whiting.
2 silica
dash of rutile and iron.
that is nearly 25 pounds of dry material. makes for a nice
batch of glaze...add that to the 50 gallon bucket that is half full...
now ready to glaze another year or more.
i love new glazes, new ideas, experimentation.
but, i sure want standard stuff, that stuff that makes
money for me on hand...always.
to me, life is like toilet paper...keep two cases on hand.
why be short. use the cases of tp for coffee tables.
just add a nice hand made fabric cover...put on a teapot
and some great books...they all think it is a rare chinese table
under the cloth. life is allusion.
mel
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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