mel jacobson on sun 25 oct 09
when i add the dry ingr to a big barrel, i let it
soak for about a half hour, into the water, then
add water on top.
let that soak.
when i use my big drill motor and a sheet rock mud mixer
it just mixes right up..very little dust.
i use really big dippers, and add that mix to five gallon pails.
it is really important to have at least one rather large container
of glaze so that when you have a big platter, or big bowl, you can
just dip it right in. a large storage container also just plain gives
you a volume of glaze. i keep wheels on those containers and push
them under a table when not in use. any of the places that sell
janitor supplies
or like sam's club will have the containers, and the wheels. they are
very common for janitor use and school use. (garbage cans)
i like to pay a bit more and get the really thick ones. i have two
for my glaze, and six for my storage of glaze. i step down into smaller
pails for less used materials.
for example:
big.
feldspar
china clay
ball clay
silica
nehp sy.
stuff like dolomite, talc, whiting are in 10 gallon containers.
home depot and such have great containers...wait for a sale.
they are inexpensive.
i have purchased some very nice plastic containers from `fleet farm`
that are used like the old bushel basket in the feeding of stock.
it is not very tall, and is about 30 inches across.
it is great for doing platters etc.
simple to fill with glaze, then pour back into the large container.
i have spoken before about how i glaze...using dippers and filling pots,
then reverse and dip. i do not like glaze on my hands while glazing.
this way i can do it fast, easy and clean.
a set of those metal or plastic measuring cup sets works.
i tape them to a dowel rod. i also try and find two and three cup
measuring cups..with handles...tape them on.
of course i have found like quart plastic pans and tape them to
wooden handles.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
Vince Pitelka on sun 25 oct 09
Mel Jacobsen wrote:
"It is really important to have at least one rather large container
of glaze so that when you have a big platter, or big bowl, you can
just dip it right in.
Mel -
It's great to have a large container of glaze for dipping larger vessels,
but with less than five gallons of glaze and a very large wok, you can dip
any size of bowl or plate very efficiently. With an average size plate or
wide, low bowl, I hold it with two fingers against opposite edges, dip one
edge in, follow through immersing the whole plate, and out the other edge
and shake off. With very large bowls or plates I might hold with all four
fingers on each side, dip in one edge, spiral the whole plate through the
glaze so it gets coated overall, and then out of the glaze and shake off.
The finger marks are easily touched up with a brush.
I have a 36" restaurant wok that I bought at a flea market in McKinleyville=
,
CA in around 1980 for one dollar. A metal spinning factory from the Bay
Area had brought a truckload of defective woks, gold pans, pizza pans, and
other things up to sell for cheap. It was the end of the day, and
everything was a buck. They had already put this big wok in the back of th=
e
truck, and I said "How about that one?" The guy looked at it and said "Oh
no I couldn't . . . . . aw, what the hell, yeah, sure." It never hurts to
ask. When we went through drastic MPR (material possession reduction)
before leaving for grad school in 1985 I seriously considered getting rid o=
f
that wok. I am so glad I didn't. I have been using it to glaze large bowl=
s
and plates ever since then, and also use it for casting large domed plaster
bats for slumping big slab platters.
A snow saucer or small satellite dish might be deep enough to work for this
purpose, but you can still get those large woks from the big Asian food
stores in big cities.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft
Tennessee Tech University
vpitelka@dtccom.net; wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka
Anita Rickenberg on sun 25 oct 09
For those of us who don't live anywhere close to a major city, there are
several websites which specialize in Asian cooking equipment. I haven't
tried it for glazing, but the 24" wok I have works great for slab built
birdbaths--unfortunately, the cost was considerably more than $1.00.
Anita
Lis Allison on sun 25 oct 09
On Sunday 25 October 2009, Vince Pitelka wrote:
>
> A snow saucer or small satellite dish might be deep enough to work for
> this purpose, but you can still get those large woks from the big Asian
> food stores in big cities.
Boy, could I ever use one of those! Must look around....
Another useful glaze container is a micro-pond. It's tough rubbery
plastic, stiff enough to not flop when filled with glaze, deep enough to
dip bonzai pots or deep platters, and easy to clean and store.
They come in different sizes and shapes, and don't cost much when you
consider they'll last for years. You can find them in pond stores or big-
box stores.
Lis
--
Elisabeth Allison
Pine Ridge Studio
www.Pine-Ridge-Studio.blogspot.com
The Hendriks on sun 25 oct 09
I live rurally so my source for great mixing and=3D20
dipping buckets is the local agricultural co-op. I have a trough intended f=
=3D
or=3D20
animal watering that is 30" across and 6" deep -perfect for dipping the lar=
=3D
gest=3D20
platter my kiln can hold and hangs nicely on the wall out of the way betwee=
=3D
n=3D20
uses. I also use a snow causer with the handles removed and the holes cover=
=3D
ed=3D20
with duct tape for a catch basin when pouring glazes.
=3DA0
=3DA0
***
Eleanor Hendriks
Elan Fine Pottery
http://eleanorhendriks.blogspot.com
www.StudioElan.etsy.com
=3D20
_________________________________________________________________
Ready for a deal-of-a-lifetime? See fantastic offers on Windows 7=3D2C in o=
ne=3D
convenient place.
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John Rodgers on mon 26 oct 09
It just occurred to me that there is a very useful container that should
work very well for platters up to 36 inches. It is a commercial
AC/Heater/Hot Water Heater condensate drip pan. These are plastic,
measure 4 inches deep, have a flat bottom, and and are pretty cheap -
available though plumbing supply houses. Plumbers use these all the
time. Keep and mix your glaze in 5 gallon buckets, and when ready to
glaze a big platter, fill the drip pan with an appropriate amount of
glaze and then lower your platter into the glaze, leading first with one
edge, and then the other. This will allow the glaze to wash smoothly
over the platter without a big splash. Lift out by lifting first on edge
then the other, thus allowing the drain without making a mess.
My $0.02.
John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com
mel jacobson wrote:
> when i add the dry ingr to a big barrel, i let it
> soak for about a half hour, into the water, then
> add water on top.
>
> let that soak.
> when i use my big drill motor and a sheet rock mud mixer
> it just mixes right up..very little dust.
>
> i use really big dippers, and add that mix to five gallon pails.
>
> it is really important to have at least one rather large container
> of glaze so that when you have a big platter, or big bowl, you can
> just dip it right in. a large storage container also just plain gives
> you a volume of glaze. i keep wheels on those containers and push
> them under a table when not in use. any of the places that sell
> janitor supplies
> or like sam's club will have the containers, and the wheels. they are
> very common for janitor use and school use. (garbage cans)
> i like to pay a bit more and get the really thick ones. i have two
> for my glaze, and six for my storage of glaze. i step down into smaller
> pails for less used materials.
> for example:
> big.
> feldspar
> china clay
> ball clay
> silica
> nehp sy.
>
> stuff like dolomite, talc, whiting are in 10 gallon containers.
>
> home depot and such have great containers...wait for a sale.
> they are inexpensive.
>
> i have purchased some very nice plastic containers from `fleet farm`
> that are used like the old bushel basket in the feeding of stock.
> it is not very tall, and is about 30 inches across.
> it is great for doing platters etc.
>
> simple to fill with glaze, then pour back into the large container.
>
> i have spoken before about how i glaze...using dippers and filling pots,
> then reverse and dip. i do not like glaze on my hands while glazing.
> this way i can do it fast, easy and clean.
>
> a set of those metal or plastic measuring cup sets works.
> i tape them to a dowel rod. i also try and find two and three cup
> measuring cups..with handles...tape them on.
> of course i have found like quart plastic pans and tape them to
> wooden handles.
> mel
>
> from: minnetonka, mn
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
> clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
> new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
>
>
Michael Wendt on tue 27 oct 09
Vince made the point that a flat bottomed wide container
requires a huge amount of glaze.
Example: a 36" diameter water heater drain pan
18" x 18" x pi x 1" deep =3D 4.38 gallons
I have developed a rod glazer that allows pieces like
platters and large bowls that are too large and heavy to
even hold to be easily glazed because they can be rotated
smoothly as the glaze is poured over the piece with a
pitcher.
see:
http://www.wendtpottery.com/supply.htm
anyone can build this for less than $20.00.
Regards,
Michael Wendt
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