Pancioli on tue 21 nov 00
Hey Tony:
In my defense, my ex Bluebird might look as if it spent its life at Club
Med, but I, unfortunately, didn't.
I am glad to hear that you got my McNeil Treadle wheel. May it give you
many beautiful, efficiently made, pots. It was hard to give up that
treasured wheel AND my Bluebird AND my doughmixer. I actually shed tears
over loosing them, but it was time to move on. Remember that book
"Necessary Losses"? It applies here.
The kiln will be even more difficult, if I end up dismantling it. I
built it with such care. I hope to sell it to a potter with the pottery
and barn.
We often talk on this list about acquiring equipment--which thing to
buy, etc., but there is another chapter to the story. That little
pottery in Canada served its purpose, but life took a funny turn, and
here I am, not where I expected to be, and my equipment is somewhere
else.
That Bluebird, by the way, was one of the early ones. It is a real
workhorse. I never understood why anyone would want de-airing equipment
on it. The clay came out so compressed, there was no need for deairing.
We have the same model here at E.M.U. Hardly ever use it here either.
We use too much clay--and right from the mixer.
So Tony, I won the bid for the Geil, but you got my wheel. I think
we're even.
Best wishes,
Diana
Mike on fri 25 oct 02
I am attempting to restore an old bluebird pug mill. I have no information
on it. It is made of steel and the inside and auger are rusting, I rebuilt
the bottom piece and then painted it all. the moisture from the clay causes
the paint to peel and contaminate the clay. With out paint the steel rusts
and eventually little pieces of corroded metal end up in clay, ouch!
Any suggestions on how I can seal or coat the insides to prolong the life of
this machine. It still does a nice job on the clay.
thanks
Craig Clark on sat 26 oct 02
Mike, you might try using either OSPHO (available most automotive paint
stores.) It is generally used to convert a surface to one that is "inert."
Whether or not this is wholly true is something that I can not verify. I can
say that is works well though. Since it reacts with the oxized surface it
may peel like paint. Another thing which may work is a product called
ValOil. Once again is a product that reacts with the oxidesed surface. Try
your local hardware store.
Craig Dunn Clark
619 East 11 1/2 st
Houston, Texas 77008
(713)861-2083
mudman@hal-pc.org
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike
To:
Sent: Friday, October 25, 2002 6:46 PM
Subject: Bluebird pugmill
> I am attempting to restore an old bluebird pug mill. I have no information
> on it. It is made of steel and the inside and auger are rusting, I rebuilt
> the bottom piece and then painted it all. the moisture from the clay
causes
> the paint to peel and contaminate the clay. With out paint the steel rusts
> and eventually little pieces of corroded metal end up in clay, ouch!
>
> Any suggestions on how I can seal or coat the insides to prolong the life
of
> this machine. It still does a nice job on the clay.
>
> thanks
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
vince pitelka on sat 26 oct 02
> I am attempting to restore an old bluebird pug mill. I have no information
> on it. It is made of steel and the inside and auger are rusting, I rebuilt
> the bottom piece and then painted it all. the moisture from the clay
causes
> the paint to peel and contaminate the clay. With out paint the steel rusts
> and eventually little pieces of corroded metal end up in clay, ouch!
> Any suggestions on how I can seal or coat the insides to prolong the life
of
> this machine. It still does a nice job on the clay.
Mike -
I know of no coating that will not end up in your clay, and as far as I am
concerned, some flakes of rust are by far the least offensive, as compared
to chips of paint. Even if you sandblast the inside of the barrel and the
auger before painting, the paint will still deteriorate quickly and end up
flaking into your clay.
I have a home-built deairing pugmill that I have used for 20 years. I guess
I just got used to occasional rust flakes in my clay. And if you use the
pugmill frequently, the rust is minimized. Essentially, the auger and
barrel just keep cleaning themselves. It is only when it sits for a long
time that you have serious problems with rust.
Eventually, the barrel will rust all the way through, and then you will need
to do some very serious rebuilding. When I built my mill, someone suggested
going to 1/4" plate for the blades, and 1/4" wall-thickness well-casing on
the barrel, and I did. It should be another thirty years before I need to
replace the barrel, and by then it will be someone else's pugmill.
The newer Bluebirds with the stainless steel barrel and auger are definitely
superior. The older mild steel ones are only good for stoneware or
terracotta clays. Porcelain just doesn't work in them at all. I don't
really understand the reaction that takes place, but you get these horrible
blue-gray rock-hard chunks in your clay.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
Home - vpitelka@dtccom.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Steve Mills on mon 28 oct 02
Mike,
My good friend Paul Stubbs made his own Steel Pugmill and lined it with
a thin coat of 2 part epoxy resin adhesive known in the UK as Araldite,
(I have also met another epoxy I believe American in origin known as JB
Weld). The technique used was to mix the adhesive and then apply it to
the pre-warmed steel barrel; the warm metal softens the epoxy and allows
it to be spread out with a stiff brush. The lining on Paul's Mill is
still good after several years steady use, and of course would be
perfect for pugging white or Porcelain type clays.
Steve
Bath
UK
In message , Mike writes
>I am attempting to restore an old bluebird pug mill. I have no information
>on it. It is made of steel and the inside and auger are rusting, I rebuilt
>the bottom piece and then painted it all. the moisture from the clay causes
>the paint to peel and contaminate the clay. With out paint the steel rusts
>and eventually little pieces of corroded metal end up in clay, ouch!
>
>Any suggestions on how I can seal or coat the insides to prolong the life of
>this machine. It still does a nice job on the clay.
>
>thanks
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Liisa Reid on tue 29 oct 02
Yes, Debby it got thru. Think I remember reading essentially this post recently,
as well. Liisa, in Vermont
DEBBYGrant@AOL.COM wrote:
> For some reason my posts to Clayart are not getting through. Since I
> post very rarely this has been most disconcerting and I wonder if my setting
> has been changed so that my own posts do not appear in my E-mail. Oh
> well, I've decided to repeat this one because it might be of use to someone.
> I would appreciatee it, however if someone would let me know if it made it
> to the list.
>
> I bought a Bluebird pugmill over 25 years ago so I guess it's one of their
> earliest models. After a while I decided to clean it out and yes, I found
> some rust in the barrel. At the time I had a friend who was in the
> galvanizing
> business. So I brought the barrel to him and he dipped it in the galvanizing
> vat. Since then, and it must be at least 20 years, I have never opened it
> up again. There probably is some rust again but the layer of clay that is
> perpetually in the barrel keeps my pugs clean.
>
> At the school where I used to teach we bought a second hand Bluebird,one of
> the larger models. It was probably even older than mine and after a few
> years
> it developed some holes in the barrel. I patches those holes with epoxy and
> we got some more good years out of the machine.
>
> I use my pugmill mainly for a dark stoneware but occasionally add white, but
> I don't like to mix porcelain with the stoneware so I am still wedging
> porcelain
> by hand.
>
> Debby Grant in NH
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
DEBBYGrant@AOL.COM on tue 29 oct 02
For some reason my posts to Clayart are not getting through. Since I
post very rarely this has been most disconcerting and I wonder if my setting
has been changed so that my own posts do not appear in my E-mail. Oh
well, I've decided to repeat this one because it might be of use to someone.
I would appreciatee it, however if someone would let me know if it made it
to the list.
I bought a Bluebird pugmill over 25 years ago so I guess it's one of their
earliest models. After a while I decided to clean it out and yes, I found
some rust in the barrel. At the time I had a friend who was in the
galvanizing
business. So I brought the barrel to him and he dipped it in the galvanizing
vat. Since then, and it must be at least 20 years, I have never opened it
up again. There probably is some rust again but the layer of clay that is
perpetually in the barrel keeps my pugs clean.
At the school where I used to teach we bought a second hand Bluebird,one of
the larger models. It was probably even older than mine and after a few
years
it developed some holes in the barrel. I patches those holes with epoxy and
we got some more good years out of the machine.
I use my pugmill mainly for a dark stoneware but occasionally add white, but
I don't like to mix porcelain with the stoneware so I am still wedging
porcelain
by hand.
Debby Grant in NH
Marianne Lombardo on wed 30 oct 02
Debby;
Your Clayart posts are getting through. Follow these instructions to have a
copy of your own posts:
Some members of clayart have wanted to get a copy of their own posts. There
is a listserv option that will send you your a copy of your own posts. You
may specify a getting a copy of your own posts by sending the following
message to listserv@lsv.ceramics.org :
SET CLAYART REPRO
Remember: write this command, and only this command, in the BODY of the
message.
> For some reason my posts to Clayart are not getting through. Since I
> post very rarely this has been most disconcerting and I wonder if my
setting
DEBBYGrant@AOL.COM on wed 30 oct 02
Thanks to all those who let me know my posts are getting through. My last
post did appear on the list so I guess everything has straightened itself
out.
Debby Grant in NH
Mike on fri 1 nov 02
Does anyone have an address, phone number or website for Bluebird. A search
on the internet has not turned one up?
Thanks
Mike
OWLPOTTER@AOL.COM on sat 2 nov 02
Does anyone know what type of oil should be used in the vacuum pump of a
Bluebird Power Star De-airing Pugmill?
Thank You
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