Emily Muench on wed 2 dec 98
I know I'm going to be asked for Christmas gift suggestions soon....I
hope.......What kind of tool would make cleaning reduction/electric kiln
shelves easier, being a class type situation, we often have students who just
won't listen regarding the thickness of glazes, so often we have portions of
pots adhere to the shelves, we are guilty of not scraping and reapplying wash
on the electric kiln shelves since they are used more for bisque
firing.......but occasionally we do a cone 5/6 and that's where the problem
is.........the freshly washed reduction shelves are much easier with the
silicon scraper.....is there some sort of sander that would work on glass and
vitrified clay? Thanks, Em
Thom Lambert on thu 3 dec 98
We use an "angle grinder" in our studio. It is basically a hand held
grinder, that will accept different grinding wheels. Much care must be
taken, in terms of eye protection; but it does make short work.
Good luck
thom
Judith Enright on thu 3 dec 98
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I know I'm going to be asked for Christmas gift suggestions soon....I
>hope.......What kind of tool would make cleaning reduction/electric kiln
>shelves easier, being a class type situation, we often have students who just
>won't listen regarding the thickness of glazes, so often we have portions of
>pots adhere to the shelves, we are guilty of not scraping and reapplying wash
>on the electric kiln shelves since they are used more for bisque
>firing.......but occasionally we do a cone 5/6 and that's where the problem
>is.........the freshly washed reduction shelves are much easier with the
>silicon scraper.....is there some sort of sander that would work on glass and
>vitrified clay? Thanks, Em
Em -- I use an old 2" chisel which works great (incidentally, I've found
that scraping shelves is a great way to sharpen the edge!). If there's a
particularly stubborn spot of glaze which has seeped a bit into the shelf,
I use my handy dandy Dremel tool with grinding stone attachment to work it
off -- works great.
Judith Enright @ Black Leopard Clayware
Vince Pitelka on fri 4 dec 98
>We use an "angle grinder" in our studio. It is basically a hand held
>grinder, that will accept different grinding wheels. Much care must be
>taken, in terms of eye protection; but it does make short work.
For small cleaning tasks, nothing beats a hammer and a good sharp chisel,
working across the surface and never against the shelf. But the angle
grinder is the best tool for heavy-duty shelf cleaning. If you are in a
situation where you have to do quite a bit of shelf cleaning (like an
academic studio!!), then purchase the big one that takes 7" wheels. It is
pricey, but well worth it if you need it. For small studio use, for about
$100 less you can get the smaller angle grinder that take 4"-5" wheels.
Make sure that it has the 5/8"-11 (5/8"-diameter, 11 threads per inch)
spindle, so that it will take all the standard accessories.
For general shelf-cleaning, get the fiberglass-reinforced grinding discs,
but make sure they are MASONRY disks. The normal ferrous metals discs will
wear out pretty quick when used on refractories. For the most effective
heavy-duty cleaning, get a masonry CUP STONE. You can purchase them for
very reasonable prices from Grainger Supply, which you can find in the phone
book of any big city. If you have a hard time finding them in the catalog,
let me know and I will look them up in my catalog at school. We purchased
six 6" masonry cup stones and a 7" DeWalt angle grinder for shelf cleaning
about a year ago, and we have barely made a dent in the first wheel.
Good luck -
- 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
Joseph Herbert on fri 4 dec 98
------------------
Thom Lambert Wrote: =3C=3CWe use an =22angle grinder=22 in our studio. Much =
care must
be taken, in terms of eye protection=3B but it does make short work.=3E=3E
More than eye protection=21=21 Angle grinders, especially the 4.5 inch =
versions,
turn at very high speeds - up to 14,000 rpm ( that=92s 14,000 rpm metric). =
This
high rate of rotation imparts large amounts of energy into the wheel. As =
long
as the wheel stays in one piece, all is well. If the wheel comes apart, =
look
out.
First, make sure that any grinding wheel you use on any tool is rated for =
the
rotation speed of the tool. The rating of the wheel is printed on the =
blotter
paper around the mounting hole. Second, make sure the wheel is not cracked =
or
damaged before use. Put a dowel through the hole and lightly tap the wheel
with a soft hammer or stick. A ringing sound is good, a dull sound is bad.
Inspect the wheel for chunks missing. An unbalanced wheel will fail =
rapidly.
Third, Make sure all guards are installed before operating the machine.
Fourth, after mounting the wheel on the machine, orient the machine so there
is no person in line with the plane of the wheel rotation. Turn the wheel =
on
and let it run for a full minute - timed - before using.
When using an grinder, a full face mask is the protection of choice. You
should wear safety glasses in addition. If there is kiln wash on the =
shelves,
grinding on them will produce significant harmful dust. Wear a respirator =
and
work outside or in a spray booth.
If you are operating an air powered grinder, a full face mask and closed
safety GOGGLES are indicated.
Whenever you are grinding, be aware of where the spark stream lands. It is
easy to start a fire with grinder sparks. Usually this happens when =
grinding
on metal but you should be aware of this safety concern at all times. In
addition, make sure no one will walk into the spark stream. Spraying =
passing
persons with grit will not make them thank you for that dubious gift.
When you buy your angle grinder, read all those safety warnings in the
instructions booklet. Each of those statements is probably the result of an
accident or lawsuit. Don=92t add to the list
Joseph Herbert
JJHerb=40aol.com
mark issenberg on sat 5 dec 98
I have been off for a week and i just got back on, ive been going back
and forth between Ga and Miami.
Robert Compton and wife came by today and picked grapefruit.
I saw some talk about grinding shelves and i also grind shelves using a
small grinder and some times i use my bigger grinder. As you all know i
am a retired Firefighter. I have seen all kinds of industrial
accidents.Some fatal. I guess what i am trying to say is if you are using
grinders use ALL the protection you can wear. I dont want to go into gore
but grinders are DANGEROUS, the wheels can and will fail, please be
carefull
Mark in Miami
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Kate Smith on tue 15 dec 98
As part of attending the School of Hard Knox I scrapped all the wash off
of the shelves and am now having a devil of a time getting it to
re-adhear to the shelf surface. The wash cracks as it drys ( ive wet the
shelf to reduce the suction of water from the wash as well as a dry shelf
application). The wash peels or dunts off in firing. I've added CMC on
occasion but have had little improvement.
Any thing I'm missing in this?
Phil & Kate Smith
PotterSmiths'
White Bear Lake, MN
Karen Shapiro on wed 16 dec 98
Hi Phil & Kate,
I had trouble with peeling etc, of kiln wash until I got a suggestion to put
down a first layer of VERY thin wash, then another layer of same thin wash.
Haven't had trouble since then -- I was just "glomming" it on too thick.
Karen
Jonathan Kaplan on wed 16 dec 98
One thing that is being overlooked here with all the discourse on kiln
shelf washing IMHO....
If you know your glazes and have a good sense of self confidance, why wash
your shelves
at all? Perfect solution, we have used it for a long time, and our shelves
after many many years of high volume usage are in great shape.
Another solution is to only wash a few of your shelves and use these washed
ones for your tests.
Finally, if you do wash your your kiln shelves, apply your kiln wash in a
very thin layer with a spray gun, or alternatively, use a very low nap
paint roller to apply.
Jonathan
Jonathan Kaplan, president
Ceramic Design Group LTd/Production Services
PO Box 775112
Steamboat Springs, CO 80477
(970) 879-9139 voice and fax
http://www.sni.net/ceramicdesign
Stephen Mills on thu 17 dec 98
Kate,
I would abandon trying to "wash" the shelves and do what we do which is
to sieve a thin layer of Alumina Hydrate or very fine Molochite over
each shelf before setting it in the Kiln, then when you unpack, tip it
off back into the container ready for the next firing. It absorbs any
glaze run-off, and means you can flip the shelves periodically to
counteract warping.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Kate Smith writes
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>As part of attending the School of Hard Knox I scrapped all the wash off
>of the shelves and am now having a devil of a time getting it to
>re-adhear to the shelf surface. The wash cracks as it drys ( ive wet the
>shelf to reduce the suction of water from the wash as well as a dry shelf
>application). The wash peels or dunts off in firing. I've added CMC on
>occasion but have had little improvement.
>
>Any thing I'm missing in this?
>
>Phil & Kate Smith
>PotterSmiths'
>White Bear Lake, MN
>
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
home e-mail: stevemills@mudslinger.demon.co.uk
work e-mail: stevemills@bathpotters.demon.co.uk
own website: http://www.mudslinger.demon.co.uk
BPS website: http://www.bathpotters.demon.co.uk
Dale A. Neese on fri 18 dec 98
I agree with Steve. Just dust the shelves with alumina hydrate or silica.
I've built a box several inches larger than the shelves with two pieces of
wood to balance the shelf on inside the box. Then I place a "frame" that
fits over the shelf covering about 1/2 inch all away around the edge of the
shelf. Wearing a dust mask, I shake from a sieve some silica over the framed
shelf. Remove the frame and the edges are clean, ready to stack. The box
catches the excess silica. Then after firing , I use a large scraper, putty
knife, to scrape the silica into the box and then into a well labeled
bucket for reuse. I am aware of a accident in a situation, where students
sieved some nepheline syneite on the shelves by mistake!!!
By turning the shelves each firing you can help avoid warping. I have
shelves 15 years old, some with a few dings, but othewise in great shape.The
only shelves I wash are the very bottom ones, which I always leave in the
kiln and do my glaze tests on. Even then I may place first time tests on
well dusted slices of soft fire brick .
-----Original Message-----
From: Stephen Mills
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Thursday, December 17, 1998 9:13 AM
Subject: Re: Kiln shelf cleaner
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
Kate,
I would abandon trying to "wash" the shelves and do what we do which is
to sieve a thin layer of Alumina Hydrate or very fine Molochite over
each shelf before setting it in the Kiln, then when you unpack, tip it
off back into the container ready for the next firing. It absorbs any
glaze run-off, and means you can flip the shelves periodically to
counteract warping.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Kate Smith writes
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>As part of attending the School of Hard Knox I scrapped all the wash off
>of the shelves and am now having a devil of a time getting it to
>re-adhear to the shelf surface. The wash cracks as it drys ( ive wet the
>shelf to reduce the suction of water from the wash as well as a dry shelf
>application). The wash peels or dunts off in firing. I've added CMC on
>occasion but have had little improvement.
>
>Any thing I'm missing in this?
>
>Phil & Kate Smith
>PotterSmiths'
>White Bear Lake, MN
>
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
home e-mail: stevemills@mudslinger.demon.co.uk
work e-mail: stevemills@bathpotters.demon.co.uk
own website: http://www.mudslinger.demon.co.uk
BPS website: http://www.bathpotters.demon.co.uk
Chris Schafale on sat 19 dec 98
To those who dust rather than wash their kiln shelves -- are any of
you using an Envirovent?? I thought I remembered someone noting that
loose alumina hydrate or silica in a fan-vented kiln would blow
around and end up on pots below. Is this true or a fearful rumor??
Chris
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I agree with Steve. Just dust the shelves with alumina hydrate or silica.
>snip<
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, NC
candle@nuteknet.com
Dale A. Neese on sun 20 dec 98
I guess I failed to add that I dust the shelves outdoors, behind a windbreak
if windy, My kiln is an updraft, fired with venturi burners. No problem here
unless a mouse enters the ports at night before loading is finished and
tracks silica across platters and bowls. They don't miss many pots.
I really don't know about an electric kiln with a powered vent, I didn't
think the vents were that powerful.
Dale Tex
in sunny and warm San Antonio
-----Original Message-----
From: Chris Schafale
To: CLAYART@LSV.UKY.EDU
Date: Saturday, December 19, 1998 1:45 PM
Subject: Re: Kiln shelf cleaner
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
To those who dust rather than wash their kiln shelves -- are any of
you using an Envirovent?? I thought I remembered someone noting that
loose alumina hydrate or silica in a fan-vented kiln would blow
around and end up on pots below. Is this true or a fearful rumor??
Chris
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I agree with Steve. Just dust the shelves with alumina hydrate or silica.
>snip<
Light One Candle Pottery
Fuquay-Varina, NC
candle@nuteknet.com
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