David Hendley on thu 1 feb 01
I think the 'cement' at the bottom of your scrap bucket is
very fine sand. There's no reason to try and keep it in suspension.
I suggest you just get the real clay out of the bucket and leave the
hard layer of sand on the bottom, then it will easily scrape out
into the trash.
Of course, your recycled claybody will be different without that sand,
but it shouldn't make a big difference.
This is my procedure with my clay, and it works for me.
I know exactly what you mean about 'crumbly bits' in the plastic
clay. This method will eliminate the problem.
--
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: Jeanne Stolberg
To:
Sent: Tuesday, January 30, 2001 11:32 AM
Subject: Re: Water for Mixing Plastic Clay
|
| Sorry, I'm going off on a tangent here, but I was always discouraged when
| trying to recycle porcelain scraps (no pugmill). Always end up with cement
| in the bottom of the bucket, and then after drying the slip and wedging
up,
| get dry crumbly bits in the plastic clay. Spent much time
| scraping the cement-like mass and trying to make it homogenous with the
| water with scrapers and fingers. Before wedging, would spread out the clay
| on my plaster wedging table and try to mix in (squish and smear) any
| remaining little bits (Even though the scraps had soaked for several
weeks)
| to try to avoid finding them later when throwing. So would adding epsom
| salts to the bucket solve this problem? It was so time-consuming and
| frustrating that I gave up on porcelain. Will have to try it. Anybody out
| there have some suggestions? BTW, our water supply is rain water collected
| off our roof, stored in a 3000 gal.cistern (swimming pool) under the
house,
| since we're not hooked up to town water supply. We get plenty of rain - no
| shortage here.
|
| Thanks,
| Jeanne S. in Sunny Sitka by the Sea. (Ha Ha, the joke is, it's hardly
ever
| sunny here, the words just go together well), Alaska, USA
|
| |
|
