Sumi von Dassow on wed 13 oct 10
I proposed buying a pug mill for my Art Center and now I have to suggest
which one to buy. Do any of you have suggestions or advice? What do you
like or dislike about the one you have? I'm thinking we'll use it to
reclaim all the scraps, throwing slip, and abandoned or dried out clay
left behind by students who have moved on, and use the reclaimed clay
for the kids' classes. Is clay usable right out of the pug mill? Do you
have to add water or dry clay to the mixture? Is a pug mill easy to use?
Can I reclaim dried out clay with a pug mill?
Thanks for any advice you can offer!
--
Sumi von Dassow
www.herwheel.com
sumi@herwheel.com
penni stoddart on thu 14 oct 10
Let me preface my comment first. I do not own a pugmill myself BUT I know
which one I want and why.
Our guild has a large pugmill and I use it all the time after my classes to
pug the clay used by students when handbuilding or throwing - WAY easier
then wedging it all back up. BUT it is loud, cumbersome, slow, and takes
some pressure to push the clay down into the hopper. I am sweating and
exhausted after a good one hour session of pugging up 6 bags of clay.
About a month ago we had a demo- workshop with Tuckers Pottery Supply and
Shimpo. They were demonstrating not only the Shimpo wheel but also their pu=
g
mill. I LOVED it!!! I even went so far as to come home, get all my bags of
reclaim which I had been procrastinating at wedging up and bring it back to
the clay art centre to put through their pugmill. The gentleman doing the
Shimpo demos was more then happy to help me out and we had all 8 bags
through and done in about 1/2 an hour. Some of the clay was stiffer then
other stuff so we just cut it as it came out and sent it through again with
more soft stuff - it really mixed it all well.
The Shimpo pugmill is not cheap but it has some features that I love. First
of all the double augers pull the clay down and push it through quickly.
They stop automatically when the handle to the hopper is lifted (a HUGE
safety bonus if you are thinking of having it in an art centre). I would
have no worries in allowing my 11 year old son to reclaim my clay with it.
The handle does not need to be pushed down with lots of effort, in fact it
tends to go on its own. It is not a de-airing pugmill but the clay is
squeezed from a large chamber to a smaller one which I found compressed the
clay enough that I did not need to wedge it at all before using it. It is
lightweight (relatively) and small - I would have no trouble finding a spot
for it in my tiny studio.
I'm afraid I don't know the exact name for the pugmill but it is made by
Shimpo and I don't think they have loads of different models (I could be
wrong).
I am not a Shimpo rep but I am saving up for one of their pugmills!
=3Do) =3Do) =3Do) =3Do) =3Do)
Penni Stoddart
London, Ontario
http://penelopepots.bravehost.com/
Forgive your enemies. It messes with their heads.
No well behaved woman ever made history!
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Sumi von Dasso=
w
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 12:46 AM
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: which pug mill to buy
I proposed buying a pug mill for my Art Center and now I have to suggest
which one to buy. Do any of you have suggestions or advice? What do you
like or dislike about the one you have?
Larry Kruzan on thu 14 oct 10
Hi Sumi,
Sounds like you need a deairing clay mixer/wedger to me. Check out Peter
Pugger's line of machines.
A pugmill is not a mixer, just as a mixer is not a pugmill. Many people mak=
e
this mistake - they think that a pugmill can mix clay - it blends clay. Som=
e
remove the air and condition the clay for use. But they are not mixers, the
clay that is ran through them must be close to the same consistency. That i=
s
the job of a mixer. The more clay you use the more of a issue this becomes.
I own a Peter Pugger VPM-60 that is a great machine, that takes the place o=
f
a mixer and a pugmill. It also deairs the clay making it ready to work with
as it come out of the machine.
Throw in dry scraps (Pugmills do not handle dry chunks at all!), wet slob,
some clay in-between, a little glaze scrap (DH quote), close the lid and
turn it on for ten minutes or so - turn off the machine and check the
contents - season to taste - too dry, add a little water - too wet, add som=
e
dry clay. Run until its all mixed. Close it up, deair and pug as much as yo=
u
need. Leave the remainder in the machine if you want or pug it all out. No
wedging, it's ready to go to the wheel, extruder, or slab roller.
Unlike a pugmill, you do not push the clay through the machine - the PP doe=
s
all the work.
I spent lots of money on a pugmill, discovered that I had the wrong machine
and lost $2000 before I finally got rid of the pugmill and bought the
machine I needed in the first place.
I know some people use a pugmill and think that they are great - I have
owned both and truly tell you that the Peter Pugger takes all the physical
work out of making and recycling clay. Use one and you will never own
anything else.
Larry Kruzan
Lost Creek Pottery
www.lostcreekpottery.com
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
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