GlassyClass on sat 20 oct 01
Good Morning,
A thought occurred the other day, that I have perhaps incurred a potters
nightmare, from reading the recycling threads.
I have been throwing all my scraps into one 5 gallon bucket, and slaking
down and jiffy mixing into a smooth slurry and them drying into workable
clay again.
Now the scraps come from three different clay bodies, and I just looked at
the catalog, and they are different cones. When I bought the boxes, they
were marked with a 10 on the outside, took that to mean that they fired to
cone ten, which is what the tech at the school said they fired to in the gas
kilns.
Clay Body Scraps:
MCW Cone 06 - 04
L.B. Blend Cone 10
Cassius Basaltic Cone 5
There is no ratio for figuring out percentage of each type in a slurry
batch, it is just what was I playing with that bucket load, which tends to
be what color I feel like throwing today.
What effect is this going to have on a piece fired in a gas kiln, or could
it be a unexpected "WOW" or is it even going to work ?
Bud
m markey on sat 20 oct 01
Hi Bud!
As a rule of thumb, I suggest adding some Lincoln or other fireclay to your
reconstituted clays. This will lessen bloating or other horrors of mixing
mid-fire clays with high-fire clays. I usually do this by thouroughly
kneading the dry Lincoln clay into a ball of the reconstituted clay. The
fireclay also lends plasticity to an odd mixture of clay scraps. One can
also add fireclay to recycled clay in a pug mill or other clay mixer.
Cassius Basaltic has a peculiar history (in my experience) of bloating when
fired over cone six. Therefore, be real careful with mixing scraps of this
clay with scraps of other clay bodies.
After I reconstitute clay, I usually leave the finished balls (in plastic
bags) for a few months, so that the mixture of clay is completed, slowly,
over time. It's a pleasant joy to open a bag of slowly remixed clay!
I left a few bags untouched for a couple of years. To my surprize, the clay,
though moldy and somewhat putrid, was a joy to work with.
Best wishes!
Mohabee NakedClay@hotmail.com
----Original Message Follows----
From: GlassyClass
Subject: Mixing clay scraps, possible kiln nightmare,,,
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2001 08:28:09 -0700
Good Morning,
A thought occurred the other day, that I have perhaps incurred a potters
nightmare, from reading the recycling threads.
I have been throwing all my scraps into one 5 gallon bucket, and slaking
down and jiffy mixing into a smooth slurry and them drying into workable
clay again.
Now the scraps come from three different clay bodies, and I just looked at
the catalog, and they are different cones. When I bought the boxes, they
were marked with a 10 on the outside, took that to mean that they fired to
cone ten, which is what the tech at the school said they fired to in the gas
kilns.
Clay Body Scraps:
MCW Cone 06 - 04
L.B. Blend Cone 10
Cassius Basaltic Cone 5
There is no ratio for figuring out percentage of each type in a slurry
batch, it is just what was I playing with that bucket load, which tends to
be what color I feel like throwing today.
What effect is this going to have on a piece fired in a gas kiln, or could
it be a unexpected "WOW" or is it even going to work ?
Bud
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m markey on sat 20 oct 01
Hi Bud!
One more thought I have: make a small sample ware with your reconstituted
clay, then fire it to the desired cone (unglazed), to test for bloating and
other problems. Fire this piece over a scrap shelf or use more kiln shelf
protection than usual! It's always best to test an uncertain clay body this
way, before committing to making a batch of wares with it.
Best wishes!
Mohabee NakedClay@hotmail.com
October is passing quickly. I'll be 47 before it ends.
----Original Message Follows----
From: GlassyClass
Subject: Mixing clay scraps, possible kiln nightmare,,,
Date: Sat, 20 Oct 2001 08:28:09 -0700
Good Morning,
A thought occurred the other day, that I have perhaps incurred a potters
nightmare, from reading the recycling threads.
I have been throwing all my scraps into one 5 gallon bucket, and slaking
down and jiffy mixing into a smooth slurry and them drying into workable
clay again.
Now the scraps come from three different clay bodies, and I just looked at
the catalog, and they are different cones. When I bought the boxes, they
were marked with a 10 on the outside, took that to mean that they fired to
cone ten, which is what the tech at the school said they fired to in the gas
kilns.
Clay Body Scraps:
MCW Cone 06 - 04
L.B. Blend Cone 10
Cassius Basaltic Cone 5
There is no ratio for figuring out percentage of each type in a slurry
batch, it is just what was I playing with that bucket load, which tends to
be what color I feel like throwing today.
What effect is this going to have on a piece fired in a gas kiln, or could
it be a unexpected "WOW" or is it even going to work ?
Bud
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You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
_________________________________________________________________
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Earl Brunner on sat 20 oct 01
Clay is clay, mixing the cone 5 and 10 stuff is probably not a big deal,
many clays sold as cone 5 clays will hold up to cone 10, (not that I
would recommend it as the norm). When you over fire a clay, you always
run the risk of melting it, which can be bad for the kiln, other pots
and furniture.
I would make a test "ruler" and check for shrinkage and deformity, if
there is too much of the low fire stuff, it could be a problem at cone
10. Fire a test piece in a high firing and protect your shelves (fire it
in something).
GlassyClass wrote:
> Good Morning,
>
> A thought occurred the other day, that I have perhaps incurred a potters
> nightmare, from reading the recycling threads.
>
> I have been throwing all my scraps into one 5 gallon bucket, and slaking
> down and jiffy mixing into a smooth slurry and them drying into workable
> clay again.
>
> Now the scraps come from three different clay bodies, and I just looked at
> the catalog, and they are different cones. When I bought the boxes, they
> were marked with a 10 on the outside, took that to mean that they fired to
> cone ten, which is what the tech at the school said they fired to in the gas
> kilns.
>
> Clay Body Scraps:
>
> MCW Cone 06 - 04
>
> L.B. Blend Cone 10
>
> Cassius Basaltic Cone 5
>
>
> There is no ratio for figuring out percentage of each type in a slurry
> batch, it is just what was I playing with that bucket load, which tends to
> be what color I feel like throwing today.
>
> What effect is this going to have on a piece fired in a gas kiln, or could
> it be a unexpected "WOW" or is it even going to work ?
>
> Bud
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> 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.
--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec/
bruec@anv.net
Wade Blocker on sat 20 oct 01
Bud,
If you mix scraps of various cone 10 clays, you will still fire to cone
10 in order for the clay to vitrify.If you mix scraps of cone 10 clay and
add an equal amount of cone 5 clay the resulting mix might vitrify at cone
7 to 8. Since you do not know the percentage of the various clays you have
in the mix,in order not to have a kiln disaster, you should make a few test
pots and fire those to see what will happen. Mia in ABQ
Ron Roy on tue 23 oct 01
Hi Bud,
This should be fairly simple to figure out - make some test bars - to check
the shrinkage and absorbency - fire em to cone 6 - do the absorbency test.
If the absorbed water is between 1 and 3% you have a cone 6 body. If it's
none you have an earthenware body. If it's over 3% you might have a cone
10 body but check the clay at cone 10 before assuming that.
RR
>A thought occurred the other day, that I have perhaps incurred a potters
>nightmare, from reading the recycling threads.
>
>I have been throwing all my scraps into one 5 gallon bucket, and slaking
>down and jiffy mixing into a smooth slurry and them drying into workable
>clay again.
>
>Now the scraps come from three different clay bodies, and I just looked at
>the catalog, and they are different cones. When I bought the boxes, they
>were marked with a 10 on the outside, took that to mean that they fired to
>cone ten, which is what the tech at the school said they fired to in the gas
>kilns.
>
>Clay Body Scraps:
>
>MCW Cone 06 - 04
>
>L.B. Blend Cone 10
>
>Cassius Basaltic Cone 5
Ron Roy
RR# 4
15084 Little Lake Rd..
Brighton,
Ontario, Canada
KOK 1H0
Residence 613-475-9544
Studio 613-475-3715
Fax 613-475-3513
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