centa uhalde on wed 24 dec 97
If you made the mistake of not stilitng something and you now have half a
cup stuck to a shelf, how do you clean it off?
Oops,
Centa
MKSAX on fri 26 dec 97
Hi Centa,
My best experience is WACK IT OFF. Then either use a Dremel tool or a small
hammer and chesel to get off the excess glaze and clay on the shelf. After you
get the shelf as smooth as possible use a thick Kiln Wash on that spot and
then thin it out and apply to the whole shelf.
This should keep the shelf clean for the next firing.
As for the cup...kiss it goodbye!
Good luck on the next firing.
Happy Hoildays from Sunny, Humid Miami.
Diane (deeclay@aol.com)
Talbott on sat 27 dec 97
The shelves to be cleaned are layed on a flat, solid surface. I have some
outside work tables that I use for this operation. I start with a hammer
and a coal chisel set at about a 30 degree angle or lower so as to not
damage or crack the shelf. If the drips are really hard to get under then
I use a fairly sharp wood chisel in order to get under the drip. I usually
finish off any other drips or kiln wash to be removed with my 6" Milwaukee
body grinder equiped with a wire cup brush. I have Nitride bonded SiC
shelves which are very hard. Shelves that are softer will require much
more careful handling in order to avoid damaging the shelf. Use eye
protection at all times as well as a respirator mask and hearing protection
when the grinder is in use... Marshall
101 CLAYART MUGS... Now accepting mugs.
2ND ANNUAL CLAYARTERS' GALLERY - NAPLES, MAINE (Summer 1998)
E-MAIL ME FOR AN APPLICATION
http://fmc.utm.edu/~dmcbeth/cag/naples.htm
Celia & Marshall Talbott, Pottery By Celia, Route 114, P O Box 4116,
Naples, Maine 04055-4116,(207)693-6100 voice and fax,(call first)
Clayarters' Live Chat Room, Fri & Sat Nites at 10 PM EDT & Sun at 1 PM EDT
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---------------------------------------------------------------------
David Buck on sun 28 dec 97
MKSAX wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Hi Centa,
> My best experience is WACK IT OFF. Then either use a Dremel tool or a small
> hammer and chesel to get off the excess glaze and clay on the shelf. After you
> get the shelf as smooth as possible use a thick Kiln Wash on that spot and
> then thin it out and apply to the whole shelf.
> Thi.
> Diane (deeclay@aol.com)
Hi Diane: As a carpenter I have axcess to a drill press with a drum
sander, 3 angle grinders with grinding wheels from 4 to 14 inches, and a
belt sander. I like the belt sander best. In my hands it is medium
fast, does not destroy the shelf and an old gummed up sanding belt works
fine. The sandpaper dulls quickley. The angle grinder with a concrete
disk is much faster but tends to remove too much shelf.
David B. Buck
Vince Pitelka on thu 1 jan 98
>If you made the mistake of not stilitng something and you now have half a
>cup stuck to a shelf, how do you clean it off?
Centa -
You have no doubt dealt with the stuck pot by now, but I wanted to post a
suggestion about appropriate chisels for removing stuck pots from shelves.
A normal cold chisel is sharpened on both sides of the tip, while a proper
chisel for this task should only be sharpened on one side of the tip, the
way a wood chisel is sharpened (but not such a sharp edge). With this kind
of chisel, you lay the flat side right down on the kiln shelf, and tap it
straight against the base of the stuck pot. The force is applied parallel
to the kiln shelf, straignt against the contact point between pot and shelf,
and none of it is directly against the shelf itself. With this kind of
chisel properly used you can whack quite firmly without any risk of damaging
the kiln shelf.
One further suggestion - whenever using a chisel or grinder on kiln shelves
make sure they are supported on a soft, forgiving surface, like a sheet of
stiff foam rubber.
- Vince
Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
Home 615/597-5376, work 615/597-6801, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
David Hendley on fri 2 jan 98
Expounding on Vince's "Chisel Lecture",
I found a neat tool at the lumber yard last week
(supposedly out Christmas shopping).
It's a wide (about 2") chisel, sharpened on one side only,
made to score bricks to break them in half.
Perfect for cleaning kiln shelves.
The greatest feature is a "built in" hand guard,
a 4" tough red plastic square.
No more brused fingers from misses!
Concerning the tip to support the shelf on "stiff foam rubber",
yes, but emphisize the 'stiff'.
Not like a seat cushion, more like those thin pads
used under sleeping bags, that roll into a small cylinder for storage.
David Hendley
Maydelle, TX
>You have no doubt dealt with the stuck pot by now, but I wanted to post a
>suggestion about appropriate chisels for removing stuck pots from shelves.
>A normal cold chisel is sharpened on both sides of the tip, while a proper
>chisel for this task should only be sharpened on one side of the tip, the
>way a wood chisel is sharpened (but not such a sharp edge). With this kind
>of chisel, you lay the flat side right down on the kiln shelf, and tap it
>straight against the base of the stuck pot. The force is applied parallel
>to the kiln shelf, straignt against the contact point between pot and shelf,
>and none of it is directly against the shelf itself. With this kind of
>chisel properly used you can whack quite firmly without any risk of damaging
>the kiln shelf.
>
>One further suggestion - whenever using a chisel or grinder on kiln shelves
>make sure they are supported on a soft, forgiving surface, like a sheet of
>stiff foam rubber.
>- Vince
>
>Vince Pitelka - vpitelka@DeKalb.net
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
See David Hendley's Pottery Page at
http://www.sosis.com/hendley/david/
Frank Howell on mon 18 may 98
My wife the potter, cleans her kiln shelves of kiln wash, in the
following manner. She uses a hand power drill with a wire wheel to
remove the wash from the shelves. The problem is that she looks like a
Pillsbury dough girl after the cleaning operation and the area around
her is saturated in the white dust. My question is, are there other ways
of doing this task, such as soaking the shelves in liquid solutions and
then scrapping off the residue?
Any alternatives would be appreciated.
Frank Howell
Kenneth D. Westfall on tue 19 may 98
Frank
You would not usually clean off kiln wash after every firing unless
your using just alumina or silica dusted over the shelves. The only time I
clean my shelves is when a glaze has run off or I have re-coated the
shelve and it is starting to flake or chip off. I have many shelves that
have the original single coating of kiln wash from 12 year ago.
Marvpots on tue 19 may 98
Dear Frank:
If your wife uses a good kiln wash, such as described in Steven Branfman's
book on Raku, scraping with a firm narrow (2" wide) spatula will take off most
of the shelf wash covering, and the rest can be chiseled off with a blunt
chisel and sculptor's hammer or other suitable hammer, without her having to
get covered in kiln wash dust.
Branfman's kiln wash is the best I've used, is simple to formulate, 2 parts
EPK, 2 parts Flint, and one part Alumina Hydrate.
Try it! She'll like it!
Marvin Flowerman; marvpots@aol.com
Ron Roy on tue 19 may 98
Dear Frank - and everyone,
Kiln wash and kiln shelves are usually loaded with cristobalite which
builds up with each firing. Cristobalite is the MOST dangerous of all the
forms of silica because it is so fine - permanent lung damage can happen
quickly. The best way to do this is wet. If it must be done dry ventilate
the area well - work on the upwind side and wear the best mask you can get
and make sure all the dust is washed off her - including clothes and hair.
I don't do it wet - but if you go that way I suspect you will want to at
least partially dry the shelves before re applying wash.
I use a hard brick and don't take all the wash off - enough to get it level
again. I then fill in any irregularities with thick wash and then spray.
I should add here that I don't use any silica in my wash - I mostly use
porcelain and silica just loves to combine with any silica it can find. My
wash is 80 alumina hydrate, 10 ball, 10 EPK. Even with this mixture lots of
cristobalite will be formed.
Working with old bricks - they are probably loaded with cristobalite as well.
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>My wife the potter, cleans her kiln shelves of kiln wash, in the
>following manner. She uses a hand power drill with a wire wheel to
>remove the wash from the shelves. The problem is that she looks like a
>Pillsbury dough girl after the cleaning operation and the area around
>her is saturated in the white dust. My question is, are there other ways
>of doing this task, such as soaking the shelves in liquid solutions and
>then scrapping off the residue?
>Any alternatives would be appreciated.
>
>Frank Howell
Ron Roy
93 Pegasus trail
Scarborough Otario
Canada M1G 3N8
Phone: 416-439-2621
Fax: 416-438-7849
Web page: Home page http://digitalfire.com/education/people/ronroy.htm
VandRKatz on tue 19 may 98
I have worked with electric, raku & gas reduction kilns & NEVER have we
cleaned the shelves with a power tool or so throughly as your wife. We simply
rub off the cracked or chipped kiln wash perhaps with a plastic scrubby or a
scraper & reapply over/cover the old bare spots as well as the remaining
covered area with new wash. I do not think that stuff in powder form is good
for your respiratory system. Perhaps she could avoid some work and still get
good results without being so meticulous.
Vicki Katz
Katz Creek Pottery
Ray Carlton on tue 19 may 98
g'day frank...not only is the white dust a nuiscance it could be harmfull
to your dear ladies health...forget the kiln wash and use 100 mesh alumina
hydrate or calcined alumina...it will go onto the shelves dry through a 60
mesh sieve or mix it with water and brush and flour and brush it on...after
the firing simply tip the shelf and it will all run off onto the table and
can be reused
cheaper and simpler but try not to knock any of the stuff off the shelves
onto the pots
cheers
At 10:41 18/05/98 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>My wife the potter, cleans her kiln shelves of kiln wash, in the
>following manner. She uses a hand power drill with a wire wheel to
>remove the wash from the shelves. The problem is that she looks like a
>Pillsbury dough girl after the cleaning operation and the area around
>her is saturated in the white dust. My question is, are there other ways
>of doing this task, such as soaking the shelves in liquid solutions and
>then scrapping off the residue?
>Any alternatives would be appreciated.
>
>Frank Howell
>
>
cheers :) Ray Carlton
McMahons Creek Victoria Australia
BBC on tue 19 may 98
Frank, Hi,
I would not clean the shelves in that manner. The "White Dust" your wife has
all over her is Silica and is harmful to breathe. Causing breathing problems
if prolonged used this way. She should use a good respirator if she keeps
doing it this way. Try a flat paint scraper for the big flakes. You should
not have to do this after every firing, maybe every 10. Hope this helps.
Gloria
-----Original Message-----
From: Frank Howell
To: Multiple recipients of list CLAYART
Date: Monday, May 18, 1998 10:42 AM
Subject: Cleaning Kiln Shelves
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>My wife the potter, cleans her kiln shelves of kiln wash, in the
>following manner. She uses a hand power drill with a wire wheel to
>remove the wash from the shelves. The problem is that she looks like a
>Pillsbury dough girl after the cleaning operation and the area around
>her is saturated in the white dust. My question is, are there other ways
>of doing this task, such as soaking the shelves in liquid solutions and
>then scrapping off the residue?
>Any alternatives would be appreciated.
>
>Frank Howell
>
Judith Musicant on wed 20 may 98
Frank,
I was interested to read that your wife goes to the trouble of cleaning
kiln shelves of kiln wash. I have never done that. After a number of
firings (in my electric kiln) when the old kiln wash has chipped off
substantially, I simply reapply it. While it does result in the shelf
being somewhat uneven, I have never found it to be a big problem. Am I
creating problems I don't even know about?
Judy Musicant
Frank Howell on sat 23 may 98
Thanks to all, for tips on cleaning Kiln shelves. She has decided to not clean
them and see what happens. Many of you advised not cleaning the shelves without
a mask or respirator. She has used a respirator for this operation, but I feel
better knowing that this type of maintenance is not needed.
Why did she clean these shelves after every firing? The person that she was
taught by said it was necessary. Of course that person was probably told by
their instructor to clean after every firing.
Frank Howell
Stephani Stephenson on sat 5 dec 98
To clean old kiln shelves try using a palm size or larger piece of
silicon carbide shelving, or a nice flat surfaced hard brick . Take one
of them in hand and use a scrubbing or sanding motion on the kiln shelf
you are cleaning. This process will generally knock loose most of the
kilnwash build up and all but the most fused blobs of glaze. If you
haven't developed a good hand with the chisel or grinder, this is a good
approach, and will lessen the likelihood of breaking the shelf you are
trying to clean.
Steph/San Marcos
Jan McQueary on sun 6 dec 98
Following a friend's suggestion, I now clean silicon carbide kiln shelves
with a little electric palm sander with coarse grit aluminum oxide paper.
This has worked very quickly and easily after firing with wood/light
salt. I was really surprised at how quickly it cut the glass beads off
the bottom of the shelves. Be sure to wear a respirator, as it is very
dusty. The advantage is that it's lightweight and a much safer tool to
use.
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amy parker on wed 9 dec 98
I recently bought a tool designed to shape tiles at Home Depot and have
had great luck using it to clean the kiln shelves. It is a piece of
expanded mesh metal coated with some abrasive substance...about the size of a
blackboard eraser, but 1/4 inch thick. I lay it flat on the shelf and rub
it around like it was a blackboard eraser - helps to wear leather-palmed
gloves!!! I threw out the packaging so I have no idea who makes it - it
was pretty cheap.
amy parker Lithonia, GA
amyp@sd-software.com
mirijun on sun 16 mar 03
Bought an "angle grinder"... Son in law just cleaned shelves that I'd given up for lost!!!.. Works beautifully.
Got the tip from someone else in here, awhile ago!...
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