Lis Allison on sat 17 oct 09
Hello Clayarters,
Well, I've unleashed another monster! But please, I didn't say I was
sanding bisque! That only happens if a stray bit of clay mysteriously
attaches itself to a piece and we don't see it before it's bisqued. (Why
is it that it's so hard to stick stuff on when you want to, but any stray
bit you don't want to attach just jumps on and sticks????)
One of the clays I use is a buff stoneware with specks, and grog. Yes, I
do what I can to keep the work smooth and clean, but sometimes there are
still little greeblies on the dry greenware that have to be removed. I
like my work really smooth, no bumps or fingermarks please. Also, I will
persist in using a pointy thing to scratch my name on the undersides of
the mugs and bowls..... and that raises a burr on the leatherhard clay,
which is hard to remove at that stage. Yes, I know I can write my name on
the bisque with a glaze pencil or brush, but that takes more time and I
don't like the effect. And yes, I can scratch my name into the clay when
it is bone dry, but that hurts my hand after yay-many mugs. So then I do
have to sand the bottoms before bisque firing. And often the area around
handles and knobs and spouts needs a bit of re-modeling as well. Much
easier to do at the dry greenware than at the leatherhard stage.
The problem I was talking about was that then the bisque has dust on it
and washing/drying it is a bore. Several people told me to just dunk the
pieces quickly before glazing, but that doesn't seem to work for me. It
takes a real scrub to get the dust off, and out of corners and inside foot
rings, and my glaze doesn't stick to the damp ware very well. Plus then I
have to wait again for the glaze to dry before firing so it doesn't crawl.
I do rub the grog back in as I trim, but it's never 100%.
I like the colour of this clay and the specks, so put up with the grog. At
cone 6 grog does not improve the look of the ware, in my opinion, but it
probably makes it stronger and I can live with it.
So thank you to all who replied! For those who expressed concern, no, we
do not do very much sanding, and yes, both my helper and I faithfully wear
masks and let the dust settle before we take them off.
BTW, I did briefly try using a ShopVac but it didn't really get the dust
off and what it get off it blew around the studio pretty badly. Hence my
idle daydream of a good enclosed booth-type air blasting system. The idea
of a sand blasting set up is what I was thinking of, but cheaper of
course.
Lis
--
Elisabeth Allison
Pine Ridge Studio
www.Pine-Ridge-Studio.blogspot.com
Russel Fouts on sun 18 oct 09
Lis,
Have you considered your dust? Maybe it's some specially sticky dust.
If that's the case, maybe you should look at the air quality in you
studio. SOMETHING is in the air.
Russel
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
Tel: +32 2 223 02 75
Mobile: +32 476 55 38 75
http://www.mypots.com
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Des & Jan Howard on sun 18 oct 09
Lis
We hose the workshop out as a rule, but for spot
vacuuming we run the suction line through a waterbath,
then the wet/dry vac. They are on the same trolley,
(a re-jigged stroller), pics if requested.
Des
Lis Allison wrote:
> BTW, I did briefly try using a ShopVac but it
didn't really get the dust
> off and what it get off it blew around the studio pretty badly. Hence my
> idle daydream of a good enclosed booth-type air blasting system.
--
Des & Jan Howard
Lue Pottery
Lue NSW
Australia
2850
02 6373 6419
www.luepottery.hwy.com.au
-32.656072 149.840624
Lee Love on sun 18 oct 09
On Sat, Oct 17, 2009 at 7:19 PM, Des & Jan Howard wro=
=3D
te:
> Lis
> We hose the workshop out as a rule, but for spot
> vacuuming we run the suction line through a waterbath,
> =3DA0then the wet/dry vac. They are on the same trolley,
> (a re-jigged stroller), pics if requested.
A water bath will not take the particles out of the air. The only
safe way is to vent the shop vac outside. I leave the vac outside,
ban bring a long house into the studio. I first saw this done at a
woodworking shop in the same building as Continental Clay.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
John Hesselberth on mon 19 oct 09
On Oct 18, 2009, at 5:47 PM, Lee Love wrote:
> A water bath will not take the particles out of the air. The only
> safe way is to vent the shop vac outside. I leave the vac outside,
> ban bring a long house into the studio. I first saw this done at a
> woodworking shop in the same building as Continental Clay.
Lee is right on here. A properly designed spray system can remove
particulates, but bubbling a vacuum cleaner through a water bath will
remove very little. Designing a good spray system is something that
should be left to trained engineers who know what they are doing. If
you use a vacuum, please exhaust it outside--don't depend on so-called
HEPA filters either. They can get holes in them pretty easily and you
will never know it.
Regards,
John
Lee Love on mon 19 oct 09
On Mon, Oct 19, 2009 at 7:10 AM, John Hesselberth
wrote:
> very little. Designing a good spray system is something that should be le=
=3D
ft
> to trained engineers who know what they are doing. If you use a vacuum,
> please exhaust it outside--don't depend on so-called HEPA filters either.
> They can get holes in them pretty easily and you will never know it.
One of my jobs during my apprenticeship was cleaning the HEPA
vacuum cleaner. It is important to make sure these are fitted
properly after cleaning, or else they will let particles through. I
don't trust them.
--
Lee, a Mashiko potter in Minneapolis
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Ta tIr na n-=3DF3g ar chul an tI=3D97tIr dlainn trina ch=3DE9ile"=3D97tha=
t is, "T=3D
he
land of eternal youth is behind the house, a beautiful land fluent
within itself." -- John O'Donohue
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