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cement mixer for mixing clay

updated sun 7 may 00

 

Jan Adams on wed 3 may 00

------------------
Does anybody have experience using a cement mixer for mixing clay? I know =
that
I've seen others recommend a mortar mixer, but we are not production potters=
and
I was wondering if the cement mixer might be enough for us. The one we're
considering is 1/3 h.p., and supposedly has a fifty pound capacity. I'd =
love to
have a clay mixer, but it's too great an expense to justify for the amount =
we'd
use it. A farm supply company here has a cement mixer on sale for =24199. =
Would
love to hear opinions.

Thanks,
Jan in the Foothills of the Blue Ridge where the pollen is a woozy-ing =
yellow

vince pitelka on thu 4 may 00

----------------------------Original message----------------------------
------------------
> Does anybody have experience using a cement mixer for mixing clay? I know
that
> I've seen others recommend a mortar mixer, but we are not production
potters and
> I was wondering if the cement mixer might be enough for us. The one we're
> considering is 1/3 h.p., and supposedly has a fifty pound capacity. I'd
love to
> have a clay mixer, but it's too great an expense to justify for the amount
we'd
> use it. A farm supply company here has a cement mixer on sale for $199.
Would
> love to hear opinions.

Jan -
Others have already posted that the cement mixer does not work for mixing
clay. I have heard of people welding a different arrangement of bars inside
the mixer barrel to make it mix stiff slurry, but that is hardly worth it.
You can spend the same $199 and buy the largest size of Jiffy mixer and a
very heavy duty 1/2" electric drill. The drill can be used for other
applications as well, but it will do a great job of mixing stiff slurry in
plastic barrels. You can mix clay very efficiently this way. Just mound it
up in rows on plastic on a table or on the floor or out in the sun to allow
it to stiffen to wedgeable (or puggable) consistency. The resulting clay
will be far more plastic than any mixed ready-to-throw, because the
particles are much more thoroughly wetted.

To further increase the efficiency of this approach, get a large cardboard
shipping drum with the clamp on lid, with the clamp band included. Cut
several lengths of narrow board slightly shorter than the inside height of
the drum. Fasten them vertically to the inside of the drum, with drywall
screws driven through from the outside. Dump all your dry materials in this
drum, clamp on the lid, tip it over, and roll it around on the studio floor
for a few minutes, and all your dry materials will be thoroughly mixed.
Good luck -
- Vince

Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/

Mike Gordon on fri 5 may 00

Hi,
I have seen a commercial bread mixer used to mix clay. Try a resturant
supply house. Mike

Richard Gilbert on fri 5 may 00

Hello Jan,

I don't think the mixer is a good idea. My friend Barry and I mix clay
as a slip. He is a production potter who uses an old wringer washing
machine to mix clays and grog together. After mixing, the milkshake like
mix is allowed to settle in a large pan for a few days, then the water
is decanted off the top of the thickened clay. The consistency is like
soft cream cheese. The thickened clay is placed on a form or tray
constructed of brick to extract the extra water. A scrap of canvas or
bed sheet placed on top of the tray keeps the clay from running through
the holes in the brick. This process is described in Michael Cardew's
book "Pioneer Pottery". It's not labor intensive. It requires little
resources and makes an exceptional clay body with no air.

I used the same method in the classroom for years. I used a No 2
galvanized tub to mix and settle in. A small brick tray 3 ft by 1 ft
kept my classroom of 15 students going. By changing the canvas the
students could make a verity of bodies without contamination.

As I remember Barry mixes clay twice a year. His tray is about 10 ft
long and produces about 2.5 cubic feet of clay per week . He has a small
tray near his wheel to dry out small amounts of slop from throwing. This
method of drying clay doesn't work if the temperature is below freezing.

If you are interested I can give more details of the trays. They are
just stacked brick, no mortar.
I'm getting ready to build a small one for myself.

Richard Gilbert
Cherryville, NC

Vicki Hardin on sat 6 may 00

At a school I used to attend we used to make clay in an old industrial bread
dough mixer that was great. I really wish I had one. If you could find one
it'd be worth the price.

Vicki Hardin
http://iloveclay.com