Priscilla P. Flores on fri 9 sep 11
I have a batch of porcelain that I'm using after its first recycling and =
=3D
I keep=3D20
finding little tiny pieces of hard stuff in my clay when I try to throw w=
=3D
ith it. The=3D20
stuff has permeated the entire batch. I can't think of how it could have =
=3D
become=3D20
contaminated. I let the clay sit in water over the summer and then let it=
=3D
dry out=3D20
on plaster bats. I can't tell if the pieces are dried clay or something e=
=3D
lse, but=3D20
they makes it impossible to throw with.
A friend once mentioned that I could try letting it soak in water until i=
=3D
t turns to=3D20
slip and then sieving it. Does this work? And if so, what kind of sieve w=
=3D
ould=3D20
work? Or is there another way to salvage this batch?
WJ Seidl on sat 10 sep 11
It's elves! Elves are sneaking into Priscilla's studio and putting
rocks in her clay!
I just know it! Ever since Keebler laid off all those elves due to the
economic slowdown
there has been more and more mischief coming to light in the world. Look
for the telltale trail of
chocolate chips at the door.
Seriously though. Slaking in water may or may not cure the problem.
Try a small batch and see if the problem disappears when you soak, then
thoroughly mix
the clay into a slip. If so, fine, you know what you have to do.
If not, may I recommend rolling the clay into balls about 3/4 inch in
diameter and hi-firing them.
That size is perfect for loading into a slingshot.
Elves move pretty quickly...you'll have to practice until you get good
at knocking them off.
Having a cat or two in the studio will help keep the little buggers at
bay. Elves hate cats.
ROFL
Wayne Seidl
Maine
On 9/10/2011 3:35 PM, Ron Roy wrote:
> Hi Priscilla,
>
> this happened to a friend of mine many years ago - I don't think there
> is a solution to the problem - if you strain out the bits you will
> alter the body - perhaps not enough to matter though.
>
> Do a small amount and test to see if the clay still fires properly.
>
> Sounds like a lot of work though - perhaps new clay makes more sense?
>
> RR
>
>
> Quoting "Priscilla P. Flores" :
>
>> I have a batch of porcelain that I'm using after its first recycling
>> and I keep
>> finding little tiny pieces of hard stuff in my clay when I try to
>> throw with it. The
>> stuff has permeated the entire batch. I can't think of how it could
>> have become
>> contaminated.
Eleanora Eden on sat 10 sep 11
Hi Priscilla,
If it were me, and I have had various such incidents over the years, I woul=
d
dry this clay out totally and then soak it in water. It will then break d=
own
immediately into a slip that you can sieve, or not, depending on what it ne=
eds
after it is slaked down.
It will take a little effort to cut it into slabs and dry it out, but it wi=
ll slake down
successfully and quickly after you do that. If the wet clay is soaked it m=
ay
eventually slake down. But it may not.
Best,
Eleanora
>I have a batch of porcelain that I'm using after its first recycling and I=
keep
>finding little tiny pieces of hard stuff in my clay when I try to throw wi=
th it. The
>stuff has permeated the entire batch. I can't think of how it could have b=
ecome
>contaminated. I let the clay sit in water over the summer and then let it =
dry out
>on plaster bats. I can't tell if the pieces are dried clay or something el=
se, but
>they makes it impossible to throw with.
>
>A friend once mentioned that I could try letting it soak in water until it=
turns to
>slip and then sieving it. Does this work? And if so, what kind of sieve wo=
uld
>work? Or is there another way to salvage this batch?
--
Bellows Falls Vermont
www.eleanoraeden.com
Ron Roy on sat 10 sep 11
Hi Priscilla,
this happened to a friend of mine many years ago - I don't think there
is a solution to the problem - if you strain out the bits you will
alter the body - perhaps not enough to matter though.
Do a small amount and test to see if the clay still fires properly.
Sounds like a lot of work though - perhaps new clay makes more sense?
RR
Quoting "Priscilla P. Flores" :
> I have a batch of porcelain that I'm using after its first recycling
> and I keep
> finding little tiny pieces of hard stuff in my clay when I try to
> throw with it. The
> stuff has permeated the entire batch. I can't think of how it could
> have become
> contaminated. I let the clay sit in water over the summer and then
> let it dry out
> on plaster bats. I can't tell if the pieces are dried clay or
> something else, but
> they makes it impossible to throw with.
>
> A friend once mentioned that I could try letting it soak in water
> until it turns to
> slip and then sieving it. Does this work? And if so, what kind of sieve w=
ould
> work? Or is there another way to salvage this batch?
>
Steve Mills on sun 11 sep 11
Dear Priscilla,
A few years back I had a similar problem, but with a white slip. It turned
out the culprit was the very hard water in my area causing Lime "clumping!"=
.
For me the answer was to Ball-Mill the slip!
In your situation I would follow the advice to dump it and use fresh AND,
use rainwater as your lubricant when throwing. That might possibly prevent =
a
recurrance of that problem.
Good luck
Steve M
Bath
UK
On Sep 11, 2011 5:06 PM, "William & Susan Schran User"
wrote:
> First,
> Wayne, you need to quit rolling on the floor - or maybe that's how you
clean
> in Maine... ;^)
>
> Had thought to reply to the original message, but passed it by.
> Most likely the small bits are feldspar and/or silica - probably feldspar=
.
> I've had this happen but the spar was small dry powdery bits in mine.
> Can't recall exact reason non-clay parts of porcelain dissociates in the
wet
> slurry. You would have to turn the clay back to a slip and mix very well.
> Might make more sense as Ron suggests to toss the porcelain and start
fresh.
>
> Did workshop with Tom Turner a few year back and he saves all porcelain
> trimmings/scraps dry, then adds to water and mixes to a slip with drill
> mixer to get the homogeneous reclaimed porcelain. This is how he gets
around
> the problem.
>
> This was the reason I switched to using a white stoneware like B-mix for
my
> crystalline glazed pottery.
>
> Bill
>
> --
> William "Bill" Schran
> wschran@cox.net
> wschran@nvcc.edu
> http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
>
>
>
> On 9/10/11 8:13 PM, "WJ Seidl" wrote:
>> Seriously though. Slaking in water may or may not cure the problem.
>> Try a small batch and see if the problem disappears when you soak, then
>> thoroughly mix
>> the clay into a slip. If so, fine, you know what you have to do.
>> Wayne Seidl
>> On 9/10/2011 3:35 PM, Ron Roy wrote:
>>> Hi Priscilla,
>>>
>>> this happened to a friend of mine many years ago - I don't think there
>>> is a solution to the problem - if you strain out the bits you will
>>> alter the body - perhaps not enough to matter though.
>>>.... perhaps new clay makes more sense?
>>> RR
>>> Quoting "Priscilla P. Flores" :
>>>> I have a batch of porcelain that I'm using after its first recycling
>>>> and I keep
>>>> finding little tiny pieces of hard stuff in my clay when I try to
>>>> throw with it. The
>>>> stuff has permeated the entire batch. I can't think of how it could
>>>> have become
>>>> contaminated.
Marian Parkes on sun 11 sep 11
Eleanora wrote: "It will take a little effort to cut it into slabs and dr=
=3D
y
it out, but it will slake down successfully and quickly after you do that=
=3D
. "
I keep a cheese grater with fairly large cutting holes in the studio for
when I need to do this. I spread out newsprint on a large table and grat=
=3D
e
away, spreading it out as I go. These little bits of clay dry out pretty=
=3D
quickly and you can slake them down easily to make slip. The original
poster may try a small batch to at first to see if doing this will solve =
=3D
her
problem before tackling the entire thing.
Marian
Lili Krakowski on sun 11 sep 11
Subject line should read "Horrors I have known"
I have had this experience, One with a clay body I mixed myself, once =3D
with a commercial one.
"Mine" led to limepops, except not lime, but Neph Sy not "dissolved" =3D
enough. Lesson learned:
Mix all plastics in that big bathtub, treat non-plastics like glaze, =3D
with a bit of plastic stiff, sieve, screen, screen, sieve, then stir =3D
into the Big Batch.
The other body had hard things in it...I thought, still do, it somehow =3D
was Bentonite that had clunked and hardened. I dried it all, mashed it =3D
up as best I could to make sure it all dried (big lumps retain =3D
moisture) dried it some more, and then reduced it to slip which I =3D
sieved.
A screen made of fiberglass window screen does very well for these =3D
things.
Go to you thrift shop NOW and get a discarded kiddie pool. Set it in a =3D
wooden box that will support the sides, then build a screen (put a =3D
couple of support slats in middle) that fits it.
A screen with feet is nice.
Of course you can use an old horsetrough, wash bucket.Like that.
And yes, I have a couple of salvaged kitchen sinks for big sieving =3D
projects.
Lili Krakowski
Be of good courage
William & Susan Schran User on sun 11 sep 11
First,
Wayne, you need to quit rolling on the floor - or maybe that's how you clea=
n
in Maine... ;^)
Had thought to reply to the original message, but passed it by.
Most likely the small bits are feldspar and/or silica - probably feldspar.
I've had this happen but the spar was small dry powdery bits in mine.
Can't recall exact reason non-clay parts of porcelain dissociates in the we=
t
slurry. You would have to turn the clay back to a slip and mix very well.
Might make more sense as Ron suggests to toss the porcelain and start fresh=
.
Did workshop with Tom Turner a few year back and he saves all porcelain
trimmings/scraps dry, then adds to water and mixes to a slip with drill
mixer to get the homogeneous reclaimed porcelain. This is how he gets aroun=
d
the problem.
This was the reason I switched to using a white stoneware like B-mix for my
crystalline glazed pottery.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
On 9/10/11 8:13 PM, "WJ Seidl" wrote:
> Seriously though. Slaking in water may or may not cure the problem.
> Try a small batch and see if the problem disappears when you soak, then
> thoroughly mix
> the clay into a slip. If so, fine, you know what you have to do.
> Wayne Seidl
> On 9/10/2011 3:35 PM, Ron Roy wrote:
>> Hi Priscilla,
>>
>> this happened to a friend of mine many years ago - I don't think there
>> is a solution to the problem - if you strain out the bits you will
>> alter the body - perhaps not enough to matter though.
>>.... perhaps new clay makes more sense?
>> RR
>> Quoting "Priscilla P. Flores" :
>>> I have a batch of porcelain that I'm using after its first recycling
>>> and I keep
>>> finding little tiny pieces of hard stuff in my clay when I try to
>>> throw with it. The
>>> stuff has permeated the entire batch. I can't think of how it could
>>> have become
>>> contaminated.
James Freeman on sun 11 sep 11
On Sat, Sep 10, 2011 at 8:13 PM, WJ Seidl wrote:
It's elves! Elves are sneaking into Priscilla's studio and putting
rocks in her clay!
may I recommend rolling the clay into balls about 3/4 inch in
diameter and hi-firing them.
That size is perfect for loading into a slingshot.
Elves move pretty quickly...you'll have to practice until you get good
at knocking them off.
Wayne, violence against trolls is certainly permissible, but are you
seriously advocating violence against elves? I should like to remind you
that elves are a protected species under the Imaginary Environmental
Elements Act of 1988, and that injury or capture of one will subject you to
a fine of $20,000, and imprisonment for up to one year in a hollow tree. I=
f
you were to call your elf-shooting a piece of performance art, however...
All the best.
...James
James Freeman
"All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I should
not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed."
-Michel de Montaigne
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
Priscilla P. Flores on sun 11 sep 11
I think the fury of struggling with trying to work with the clay before I=
=3D
realized the whole batch was contaminated is driving me towards the
slingshot idea (hot headed Italian-American that I am.) Since my cats are=
=3D
pretty useless as far as catching things, I'm on my own with the elves.=3D2=
0=3D
The fury is mainly due to the fact that the P batch is only on its second=
=3D
time around. I'm new to porcelain and I may try B-mix if I can get a hold=
=3D
of
some.=3D20
~Priscilla
Priscilla P. Flores on sun 11 sep 11
Thanks for the plethora of generous and varying advice. I will keep these=
=3D
ideas on hand for the future and try a few (that take the least amount of=
=3D
time.)=3D20
I'm not sure taking a cheese grater to 25 lbs of clay will do much for my=
=3D
sanity (if I got the message accurately) but I at least have material for=
=3D
glaze testing and carving practice.=3D20
I will try letting my scraps dry completely before trying to reclaim them=
=3D
and see how that works. I wasn't familiar with proper slaking until
mentioned here and so I looked it up. I've just been doing whatever I cou=
=3D
ld
get away with.
I'm not sure where I can get M-Mix but I'll look for it.
Steve Mills on mon 12 sep 11
James & Wayne,
Far better to "Doctor" some chocolate with plenty of your favourite halluci=
n=3D
ogen and leave it out for them. It's better and kinder to leave no Elf un-s=
t=3D
oned!=3D20
Steve M
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Sent from my Ipod touch
On 11 Sep 2011, at 16:20, James Freeman wrot=
e=3D
:
>=3D20
> Wayne, violence against trolls is certainly permissible, but are you
> seriously advocating violence against elves? I should like to remind you
> that elves are a protected species under the Imaginary Environmental
> Elements Act of 1988, and that injury or capture of one will subject you =
t=3D
o
> a fine of $20,000, and imprisonment for up to one year in a hollow tree. =
I=3D
f
> you were to call your elf-shooting a piece of performance art, however...
>=3D20
> All the best.
>=3D20
> ...James
>=3D20
> James Freeman
>=3D20
> "All I say is by way of discourse, and nothing by way of advice. I shoul=
d=3D
> not speak so boldly if it were my due to be believed."
> -Michel de Montaigne
>=3D20
> http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
> http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
Bonnie Staffel on mon 12 sep 11
Haven't heard this ingredient mentioned, and maybe it is not a part of a
porcelain formula, but I had a stash of zinc for years, and when I started
using it in a glaze, there were hard tiny chunks that would not go through
the glaze screen. Checked out the zinc and to salvage enough for my glaze
recipe, put it through a blender to get it ground down. However, it was
really hard and difficult to crush, would not rehydrate either. I finally
threw the rest of it away and bought new. Figured it had been stored in a
damp basement too long.
Seems to me that it is time to go back to the seller of the clay for
recourse, IMO.
Bonnie
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Introduction to Wheel Work
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