Steven Roberts on sun 15 nov 98
When I was a student at the Kansas City Art Institute, we used the
paraffin/kerosene/motor oil mix described by Donn Buchfinck. The stuff
smelled terrible, and it did often seem to be on the verge of bursting into
flames. Todd Wahlstrom came up with the idea of using 2-cycle oil in place
of the motor oil and kerosene. For each pound of paraffin, add between 1/2
cup to 1 cup of any 2-cycle oil (Todd had a stash of twenty-year-old
snowmobile oil that was better than anything we've found since, but all
2-cycle oils seem to work.). On my wax pan, 260 degrees seems to be hot
enough for this mix to flow well, but the thermostats on those old frying
pans are notorious for not reading accurately. This mix should still be
vented, and you should still be conscious that it could ignite, burning
down your studio; but, it is healthier and safer than a kerosene mixture.
Steve
John Baymore on sun 28 may 00
Cheryl,
Having just been the recipient of an electric frypan, I now have the
wherewithal to use hot wax for the first time. =
I set the temp at 250 and it seems to be fine with just the paraffin. =
.............. What's the least toxic way to go? =
Just curious since it seems to work just fine with the paraffin alone.
I now use just plain parrafin and pretty much have for 30 years. I have
tried the additions to "soften" it, but found that it didn't relaease the=
glaze the way I wanted, and it tended to increase the fume problem no
matter what liquid I tried. Mainly I didn't like the consistency of the
resulting wax surface.
I use the hot wax for brush decoration too....... I think it works better=
than the wax emulsion stuff. Personal preference. You just have to comm=
it
to using good brushes for the hot wax. Hard to do .
I have also found GREAT variation between the brands of parrafin wax that=
I
have purchased over the years. Some are terrible for resisting glaze on
the feet of pots. Found one that was completely unuseable for that
function....after doing the feet of a great number of pots . It sort=
of mixed with the glaze powder as you tried to wash it off....what a mess=
. =
I currently use the Gulfwax brand.
Make sure that you use good ventilation for the hot wax.... the fumes are=
a
little nasty for you to breathe. I set up for waxing on top of my clay
batch mixer........... with the externally venting dust hood system in us=
e
for the fumes. The hood has a very strong pickup.... and has curtains th=
at
come down to within a couple of inches of the top of the mixer on the bac=
k
three sides...improving airflow in the front of the hood. Keep the wax
below smoking..... if you see smoke or fumes......it is too hot.
Hope this is useful.
Best,
....................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JBaymore@compuserve.com
John.Baymore@GSD-CO.com
"Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop August 18-27,
2000"
Mark C & Linda M on thu 1 jun 00
Hello ,I'm a functional porcelain potter throwing approx 9 tons a year . My
studio goes through a case of wax per year . You do not need to add
anything to it. turn your pan to very low 250 degrees. Works well for us
for the past 10 years. Good luck. Mark Cortright, LIscom Hill Pottery,
Arcata Ca. 95521
Julie Milazzo on sat 6 jul 02
Hey Karen,
Yes, it's been muggy. You know you're in trouble
when you have to wait a week between throwing and
trimming the same piece, even with bisque firings
going on in the same room. I'm seriously considering
using my behemoth air conditioner, even though the
bill for July of last year was six hundred smackers
(it's around fifty without it...).
Anyway, I don't wax, but I did accidently stumble
upon a temporary solution a few months ago, but due to
fumes, take better advice if it's offered to you. When
I was building my studio, I covered my tables with
SPAR polyeurethane. At the same time, I had a piece
that was cracking, and put a light coat of the SPAR
mixed with paint thinner on it. Let me tell ya, I
could have shot bullets at that thing, and they
wouldn't have been able to penetrate. Nice stuff. It
burned away in the kiln with no residue.
I'm saying it is a temporary, not altogether
great solution, because the fumes can't be too good
for you, either during application, or firing, but if
it's an outdoor gas kiln, then it could work. I was
thinking of using this method for doing relief on
greenware. Paint a design, then sponge away everything
around it, letting it pop out. No chance of accidently
washing the design away.
So, use this method with caution. With David
Shaner's passing and all the talk of toxicity, I'm
expecting a barrage of nasty responses, but everything
has its place, I suppose. Anyway, happy potting! Jules
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mel jacobson on wed 14 aug 02
yes, hot wax is to be cared for.
the electric frying pan with auto on/off
is a great tool. i keep bees, (or did) and
use bees wax and veggie oil mixed.
never let it smoke.
the idea of using a timer is the greatest.
just set it for a couple hours longer than you
glaze. it makes for a nice fail safe.
routine is what makes things safe. same with
firing. keep a routine. the telephone, neighbors
stopping all make for breakers in routine.
i have clear cut routines when i glaze. lights on
in certain places. lots of cfm air movement. fans
on, vents on low. so, when i am done, all things
get shut off in some kind of order. my floor slopes
about and inch to the center. i can use the garden hose
on the floors to clean up. very important. a drain right
in the middle of the studio. (that was designed in the studio.)
i never used wax at the high school. just too dangerous.
i do like hot wax, but then, i only use it a few hours a month.
never leave it on.
i keep all my wax brushes in the wax pan, let them get solid
in the cooled wax. some of them are 40 years old. several are
very long haired brushes. both golden retriever and human hair
brushes. make for very uncontrolled random wax movement.
safety in the studio is like flying a plane or doing surgery. think,
plan, know what you are doing, and keep routine. luck never is
needed or desired. good, careful planning and knowing your
way is the best. skill it is called. never apologize for skill. it
is always those that do not have it, that minimize it.
you know, the creative types, no brain, no talent, just mouth.
when i fly, i just love those fussy, anal, well organized pilots.
i don't want them depending on luck. trained skill. no way to
get it, but lots of training.
now i have to think about shellac. damn, bill, what if it is better
than wax? i will have to learn to control that now.
one of the joys of teaching is `hey, mel, how do i hold this pot
for glazing, i cannot grip it?`
`well, did you plan on glazing it when you made it?`
`no, thought you might do it for me.`
`yeah, right, figure it out`.
splash, into the bottom of the glaze bucket.
i just witnessed that scene at the art center. *(^(%((, pot, can't hold
it.`
planning, what a concept.
mel
ppa does not even want to think about letting russell in. he is much
to much a smarty pants. i did not even know `she` was in europe.
thought she was going to texas.....to lay waste. she mentioned that she
was going to use a 2x4 on rush.
clayart mail
melpots2@pclink.com
Chris Jones on wed 14 aug 02
I have been reading the posts on hot wax. I use parrafin in an electric
fryer but don't add oil. What does the oil do?
Chris
www.jonespottery.net
----- Original Message -----
> yes, hot wax is to be cared for.
> the electric frying pan with auto on/off
> is a great tool. i keep bees, (or did) and
> use bees wax and veggie oil mixed.
> never let it smoke.
>
mel jacobson on sun 25 feb 07
i never had any hot wax in the
high school room. it was totally a no/no.
far to dangerous.
there are many things that i would do and use
as a professional potter that i would never
suggest for a public studio.
same for my walker pug mill.
but, life is hard....and dangerous.
if we always compromise everything
because we are frightened..nothing would
get done. we would put on our bike helmet on, and sit
and watch tv...in a air conditioned room. read books.
(like my great line...`if sex education was able to have
real,live sex...the kids would prefer the video.`)
same for gas kilns.
same for bacteria.
same for dust.
if you understand your tools and materials.
know what you are doing.
most everything is safe. and of course to me, the
most important aspect of firing is....A GREAT SCHEDULE
and then stick to it. never compromise your system.
check and double check. use a list. do it the same...every time.
just like a pilots check list. do it twice.
like working on a table saw.
`hello mr. right hand, hello mr. left hand..what are we
going to do today?` we don't like mr. whirling blade.
stay away from him`. and keep your head with you..mind
open..no day dreaming.
schedule, check list.
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
gsomdahl on sun 25 feb 07
mel jacobson wrote:
> keep your head with you..mind
> open..no day dreaming.
> schedule, check list.
> mel
>
Be aware of yourself. Know when you're tired. When you're tired, you
make mistakes and that's dangerous. NOTHING in the pottery is that
important.
Gene
--
This is a post only account. Send replies to "gene" at my ".com" domain named "somdahl".
Bill Merrill on mon 25 jan 10
I've used a mixture of paraffin and kerosene in my studio for 40 years
and have never had an accident with the system I use. I use a new
electric frying pan so that the temperature gauge on it is accurate.
The elements are closed to any element or flame. The wax is put into
the frying pan and the temp is set at 275degreed F. I slowly pour in
some kerosene from a small container and let the batch heat up. I use a
brush and test the mixture. After the wax is put on, if it's too slick
to the touch after cooling on the pot, I add more wax. If the beginning
mix just doesn't brush on the pot in a smooth action, a little more
kerosene is added. If you use animal hair brushes they will melt if the
wax is too hot. =3D20
=3D20
I use this to hold feldspar slivers and crushed materials on my
platters in place so they don't shift while loading them into the
kiln.
=3D20
I also have excessive ventilation in the studio when I wax. Ventilation
is also extremely necessary if you do try hot wax. A proper fire
extinguisher is also a must....just in case.....
=3D20
If you don't want to try this , don't.. Cold wax is good if you have
the time to wait a day before you glaze. Many potters who use cold wax
don't wait long enough before they glaze and glaze sticks to the wax. =3D20
=3D20
Victor Babu waits 5 days after using cold wax on his platters. They
take sometimes 5 days to glaze.
=3D20
Val Cushing many years ago had an open flame hot wax set up. It caught
on fire and he tried to use a pair of pliers to take the flaming pan
outside to quench the flames. He did burn him self !!!!!
=3D20
Dave Shaner used hot wax, so have lots of potters . =3D20
=3D20
DON"T EVEN TRY HOT WAX IF YOU ARE AFRAID> Cold wax works OK....
=3D20
RULES AREN"T ANY GOOD IF THEY DON"T SERVE YOU.....
=3D20
THIS IS MY OPINION AND A MATTER OF INFORMATION, NOT CAUSE FOR
DEBATE...IF YOU DON"T LIKE IT, DON"T DO IT! =3D20
=3D20
There are some of my platters on Flickr. I Mostly use hot wax, but use
cold wax also.
=3D20
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25594880@N04/
=3D20
Bill Merrill bmerrill@pencol.edu
=3D20
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Eleanor on tue 26 jan 10
I stopped using hot wax some years ago because of problems local to my
studio. I remember adding "dashes" of kerosene, baby oil and red food
coloring to the melted paraffin. I used a cast iron pan on a hotplate.
The problem was that except for my wheelhead no surface in my studio
is level; the wax line around the footring was never straight.
My hotplate set-up was not stationary; there was no room in my small
studio--- I had to set it up each time I needed to use it.
Using shims under the hotplate to level it was a pain, so I went to
the bottled stuff with alumina added to avoid plucking. With the
Giffin Grip on the wheel, a foam brush and a steady hand I could wax a
lot of pots quickly (there's a photo of this in MC6G). This was always
the last thing I did for the day; my pots were ready for glazing the
following day. As a "dabbler" I could afford to wait.
But even though I don't spend a whole lot of time in my studio, I
don't like to waste any of it. So now I use the "Lili K. method": no
waxing; apply glaze; pass the footring over a damp low-pile piece of
carpet followed by a quick wipe with a teeny sponge.
There are places where wax is needed like the contact points of a pot
with its lid. The Lili method works with everything else. There is
alumina in my kiln wash, so no plucking.
It seems that every method has its drawbacks. Right now I like Lili's
best. Who knows, maybe next week I'll find a method I'll like better.
Eleanor Kohler
Centerport, NY
".... philosophers lay down many precepts fair in argument but not
applicable in use"
--Sir Francis Bacon
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