Bonnie Staffel on sat 24 feb 01
WAY BACK WHEN I was a neophyte in the clay world, I bought a Bluebird Pug
Mill. I am still using it today. Must be 27 years old by now. One of the
suggestions given by the company was to use a series of empty cans that had
to be removed and replaced under the clay as it was being extruded. Sounded
like you had to be an octopus to handle this method. So the canvas belt
system was used (an alternate suggestion by the company) on a wooden form so
the belt would rotate with the advancement of the pugged clay. I used
staples to attach the final ends making sure that the movement would not go
against the oncoming edge. It has not failed me yet. I also found that to
get the pugged clay to start the movement of the belt, one has to press down
the extrusion to keep it from sliding on top. The clay not making complete
contact with the belt causes the "inch worm" syndrome; or the belt does not
slide easily enough for a smaller diameter pug to push it.
I have the original model pug mill, not deairing, with the good-sized hopper
opening. The small opening in the newer models to me is a pain in the neck
and I pray that my pug mill will last another 25 years.
Regards, Bonnie Staffel of Charlevoix, MI. Don't forget to check out
http://charlevoixwaterfrontartfair.org/ to get your application in for this
fair.
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