D. Kim Lindaberry on sun 9 may 99
I sent this message in on Thursday, but it never appeared on the list. I
am resubmitting it and maybe it'll get through this time.
Kay Ellis wrote:
> ----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
>
> Barb,
> I've never used styrofoam in conjunction with ceramics but when I
studied
> metal casting (aluminum) we were warned not to use styrofoam as a burn
out
> material because of toxic fumes.
Kay & Others
I think how toxic burning styrofoam is depends totally on the
composition. As has been pointed out, some are less of a problem than
others. In undergraduate school I was told that the smoke from the white
bead type of styrofoam was very toxic. When I got to graduate school I
expressed my concerns to the teacher about this type of casting. He got
the campus safety man to come over and take readings during a aluminum
pour in the foundry. The guy said he didn't get any readings that would
indicate a toxic level of any substance. That was in 1987. Last year
when I decided to take my students into the foundry to do this kind of
casting I decided to check the most recent data on using this material
again. I didn't want any students getting sick. The MSDS for the white
bead styrofoam (at least for the foam we used) did not indicate toxic
levels of any substance when the foam was burned. Yes it smells
terrible, but what we used wasn't toxic according to the MSDS. Of course
breathing large quantities of any thick black smoke isn't good for
anyone so I'd try to keep it at a minimum. If in doubt I'd say find the
Material Safety Data Sheet for anything one plans to burn.
As far as the technique of covering styrofoam balls with clay slip I
kind of doubt it'll work very well. In my opinion the wet clay will
shrink as it dries, but the foam won't give enough. I suspect that there
will be plenty of cracks in the clay by the time it has dried enough to
to fire in a kiln. But hey, I could be wrong.
cheers
Kim
--
D. Kim Lindaberry
Longview Community College
500 SW Longview Road
Art Department
Lee's Summit, MO 64108
USA
to visit my web site go to:
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/humanities/art/kiml/
to send e-mail to me use: mailto:kiml@kcmetro.cc.mo.us
Joanne Van Bezooyen on mon 10 may 99
There is a type of foam packing "peanut" made from potato starch....
I've dissolved them in water.......
I imagine this material would be safe as I've never heard of people getting
sick from the fumes of baked potatoes!
It may also be easier to compress as the clay dries????
Joanne in Tucson
D. Kim Lindaberry wrote:
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I sent this message in on Thursday, but it never appeared on the list. I
> am resubmitting it and maybe it'll get through this time.
>
> Kay Ellis wrote:
>
> > ----------------------------Original
> message----------------------------
> >
> > Barb,
> > I've never used styrofoam in conjunction with ceramics but when I
> studied
> > metal casting (aluminum) we were warned not to use styrofoam as a burn
> out
> > material because of toxic fumes.
>
> Kay & Others
>
> I think how toxic burning styrofoam is depends totally on the
> composition. As has been pointed out, some are less of a problem than
> others. In undergraduate school I was told that the smoke from the white
> bead type of styrofoam was very toxic. When I got to graduate school I
> expressed my concerns to the teacher about this type of casting. He got
> the campus safety man to come over and take readings during a aluminum
> pour in the foundry. The guy said he didn't get any readings that would
> indicate a toxic level of any substance. That was in 1987. Last year
> when I decided to take my students into the foundry to do this kind of
> casting I decided to check the most recent data on using this material
> again. I didn't want any students getting sick. The MSDS for the white
> bead styrofoam (at least for the foam we used) did not indicate toxic
> levels of any substance when the foam was burned. Yes it smells
> terrible, but what we used wasn't toxic according to the MSDS. Of course
> breathing large quantities of any thick black smoke isn't good for
> anyone so I'd try to keep it at a minimum. If in doubt I'd say find the
> Material Safety Data Sheet for anything one plans to burn.
>
> As far as the technique of covering styrofoam balls with clay slip I
> kind of doubt it'll work very well. In my opinion the wet clay will
> shrink as it dries, but the foam won't give enough. I suspect that there
> will be plenty of cracks in the clay by the time it has dried enough to
> to fire in a kiln. But hey, I could be wrong.
>
> cheers
>
> Kim
>
> --
> D. Kim Lindaberry
> Longview Community College
> 500 SW Longview Road
> Art Department
> Lee's Summit, MO 64108
> USA
>
> to visit my web site go to:
> http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/humanities/art/kiml/
> to send e-mail to me use: mailto:kiml@kcmetro.cc.mo.us
John Rodgers on mon 10 may 99
-- [ From: John Rodgers * EMC.Ver #2.5.02 ] --
I have found that using just about anything with any rigidity in it and
overlaying with water base clay results in the clay cracking as it dries,
due to the underlying materials not having any yield to the drying clay.
However the process works well if you are going to make a model from an oil
based clay.I glue Dow blue ridid foam insulation together into blocks, then
with a surform file, I rough out a shape, sand it as desired, then apply oil
clay to the surface to build up the details of the design I am working on.
Using the rigid foam as a supporting form sure lightens the weight of the
piece, and reduces the amount of clay required. And of course, oil clay
cannot be fired, but you can make molds from it and then either slipcast or
press form the clay in the molds, and then slipjoin the pieces together.
John Rodgers
In New Mexico
-------- REPLY, Original message follows --------
Date: Sunday, 09-May-99 12:20 PM
From: D. Kim Lindaberry \ Internet: (kiml@kcmetro.cc.mo.us)
To: Clayart \ Internet: (clayart@lsv.uky.edu)
Subject: Reply: Styrofoan in Kiln
----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I sent this message in on Thursday, but it never appeared on the list. I am
resubmitting it and maybe it'll get through this time.
Kay Ellis wrote:
> ----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
>
> Barb,
> I've never used styrofoam in conjunction with ceramics but when I
studied
> metal casting (aluminum) we were warned not to use styrofoam as a burn
out
> material because of toxic fumes.
Kay & Others
I think how toxic burning styrofoam is depends totally on the composition.
As has been pointed out, some are less of a problem than others. In
undergraduate school I was told that the smoke from the white bead type of
styrofoam was very toxic. When I got to graduate school I expressed my
concerns to the teacher about this type of casting. He got the campus safety
man to come over and take readings during a aluminum pour in the foundry.
The guy said he didn't get any readings that would indicate a toxic level of
any substance. That was in 1987. Last year when I decided to take my
students into the foundry to do this kind of casting I decided to check the
most recent data on using this material again. I didn't want any students
getting sick. The MSDS for the white bead styrofoam (at least for the foam
we used) did not indicate toxic levels of any substance when the foam was
burned. Yes it smells terrible, but what we used wasn't toxic according to
the MSDS. Of course breathing large quantities of any thick black smoke
isn't good for anyone so I'd try to keep it at a minimum. If in doubt I'd
say find the Material Safety Data Sheet for anything one plans to burn.
As far as the technique of covering styrofoam balls with clay slip I kind of
doubt it'll work very well. In my opinion the wet clay will shrink as it
dries, but the foam won't give enough. I suspect that there will be plenty
of cracks in the clay by the time it has dried enough to to fire in a kiln.
But hey, I could be wrong.
cheers
Kim
--
D. Kim Lindaberry
Longview Community College
500 SW Longview Road
Art Department
Lee's Summit, MO 64108
USA
to visit my web site go to: http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.
us/longview/humanities/art/kiml/ to send e-mail to me use: mailto:
kiml@kcmetro.cc.mo.us
-------- REPLY, End of original message --------
D. Kim Lindaberry on mon 10 may 99
Joanne Van Bezooyen wrote:
> There is a type of foam packing "peanut" made from potato starch....
> I've dissolved them in water.......
> I imagine this material would be safe as I've never heard of people getting
> sick from the fumes of baked potatoes!
> It may also be easier to compress as the clay dries?
Joanne,
I would think that the water/moisture in the clay will dissolve the foam. It
can't give much support if it's dissolved. I suppose that one could wrap the
"peanuts" with plastic to keep it dry, but that would probably defeat the
purpose of using that kind of material in the first place. I don't know, maybe
there is a way to effectively use those peanuts though.
cheers
Kim
D. Kim Lindaberry
Longview Community College
500 SW Longview Road
Art Department
Lee's Summit, MO 64108
USA
to visit my web site go to:
http://www.kcmetro.cc.mo.us/longview/humanities/art/kiml/
to send e-mail to me use: mailto:kiml@kcmetro.cc.mo.us
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