Carol Sandberg on thu 1 feb 01
Thanks to the help of the Clayart members who responded to my post, I
performed separation surgery on two sets of Siamese Twin Mugs in a
completely non-sterile environment (my studio) and the operations were a
success. The mugs are completely unattached now and resting comfortably
(without separation anxiety) in my kiln, waiting to be taken to temperature
with a touch-up of glaze.
Using a diamond wheel and my Dremel tool, I was able to painlessly sever the
connection between the two sets of Siamese Twin Mugs which were a firing
mishap as stated in my post of Jan.27. (Parts of the post are included
below.)
In order to gain access to the fused area connecting one pair of mugs, I
attached a flexible shaft to my Dremel and very carefully applied pressure
with the diamond wheel to the joined area. The separation was so clean that
a follow-up deburring with another Dremel diamond tool was quick and easy.
The other pair was joined in an inaccessible location, so instead of the
wheel, I used a diamond pointed tool to "tease" the glaze apart. It
eventually freed the second pair.
I was having difficulty finding the diamond wheel in Dremel's display but
Mark Petrin of The Mudpit in Brooklyn pointed me in another
direction......Mark mentioned that Black and Decker makes a diamond wheel
for it's rotary tool called "The Wizard". So I went to a Black and Decker
store in Indianapolis and found the diamond wheel. The rotary tools are
made by a number of manufacturers now and the parts are interchangeable.
Following is a list of the diamond tools I used to separate and deburr the
mugs:
Black and Decker Wizard: Diamond Tile Cutting Wheel RT 1012
Black and Decker Wizard: Diamond Points RT1003
Black and Decker Wizard: Diamond Sander/Dome Top Mandrel RT1004
I would imagine that other companies also have valuable choices.
Carol, in Indiana
----- Original Message -----(In Part)
> From: Carol Sandberg
> To:
> Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2001 1:54 PM
> Subject: How to Separate Siamese Twin Mugs?
>
During the firing, the stilts under two of them either gave out or the mugs
weren't balanced properly, but anyway two fell over, touching two other
mugs and fused on to the innocent bystanders. They are touching at the top,
one leaning against the other about an inch down from the rim....connected
by clear glaze which is not terribly thick.
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