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storage for glaze material

updated tue 13 nov 01

 

vince pitelka on fri 9 nov 01


At Walmart we buy clear plastic cannisters with snap lids. We use them for
all our coloring oxides and other materials out in the glaze pantry where
the students mix glazes and slips. For a very reasonable price you can get
a set of cannisters which includes 1, 2, 3, and 4 quart sizes. I like the
fact that they are clear plastic and you can see what is inside. For
materials purchased in larger quantities you can always get plastic buckets
with tight-fitting lids form restaurants and delis. Just be sure to remove
the original food labels and then label them very visibly as to what is
inside.

We are fortunate to have several of those wonderful big Amaco bin tables in
our glaze pantry, with the swing-out bins all down both sides. But they are
outrageously expensive and no potte could possible afford them. But if you
take a good look at those bin tables, you could easily build something
similar.

At U-Mass we had high counters in the glaze room, with 20-gallon metal drums
on caster wheels that rolled under the counter. That worked okay, but the
tilt-out bins on the Amaco bin tables are far more efficient.
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/

C TRIPP on fri 9 nov 01


Hi,
Generally, I decant small amounts of glaze chemicals, oxides, etc. The
larger bags I put directly into the bucker but I use a box cutter to trim
the top edge of the bags right down so when I open the lid of the storage
container, I don't have to pull anything out of the way to get to the
chemical. No clouds that way. Make sure to label your containers and also
put a small cardboard label into the chemical itself. This is one of those
pottery RULES - always double label your chemicals.
Good luck,
Carol





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Sherry Morrow on fri 9 nov 01


Hi, I'm going to start making my own glazes, will pick up what i need next
week. I've heard some of you say you keep your material in plastic bins or
tubs. If I get plastic garbage cans with the snap on lids, will this be
good enough? Should I put it in the cans IN the bag as well or just dump
the whole thing in. ( using mask, of course). I know this is silly, but I
don't want to ruin my investment by shoddy storage, and am not rich enough
to get one of those gorgeous steel storage tables. Any suggestions would
be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sherry Morrow

Marianne Lombardo on fri 9 nov 01


Hi Sherry;

I keep my materials in everything; empty baby formula containers, margarine
containers, tupperware, and a few large ice cream buckets. All containers
have plastic lids. Everything is stored in my basement and is fine.

Smaller quantities, I carefully transferred from the original bags into my
containers. It doesn't seem to really matter one way or another, as long as
it is kept dry.

If your containers are large enough to accommodate the material in its
original bag, it's easiest to simply set the bag into a container. That way
you don't raise up clouds of toxic dust in the air. Even with a mask you
will get the stuff on your skin, which can't be very good.

Marianne Lombardo
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

> tubs. If I get plastic garbage cans with the snap on lids, will this be
> good enough? Should I put it in the cans IN the bag as well or just dump
> the whole thing in. ( using mask, of course). I know this is silly, but I

Lexxey Evans on fri 9 nov 01


If I get plastic garbage cans with the snap on lids, will this be
good enough? Sherry Morrow



I have found that the sturdy pool chemical tubs of all sizes from 1 gal to
"huge" are the very best[and used for sink drainage too]. Lids are airtight
and if you have friends with pools, often free, and/or at least cheap at
pool supply co. Mine charges $3 for large ones but I have a pool so am
gradually getting enough.

I also found that the bakery at large supermarkets have lots of sturdy
plastic bins that are well covered that frosting comes in. A cake decorator
saved 5 for me and I gave her a pot and she was delighted. I had to scrub
them out well but that's no problem. Also check delis for condiment jugs.

Use some potters ingenuity and recycle!!!


Lexxey....Alexis Evans
Potter and Gardener in Augusta GA
My site: http://www.flummoxed.org/lexxey/index.htm





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Ron Roy on sat 10 nov 01


You can put the whole bag in - but if you just put the material in tear off
the label from the bag and put that in. Don't label the lid - to easy to
get the wrong lid on another bin.

My rule is - only one bin open at a time.

Oops - another rule

RR


>Hi, I'm going to start making my own glazes, will pick up what i need next
>week. I've heard some of you say you keep your material in plastic bins or
>tubs. If I get plastic garbage cans with the snap on lids, will this be
>good enough? Should I put it in the cans IN the bag as well or just dump
>the whole thing in. ( using mask, of course). I know this is silly, but I
>don't want to ruin my investment by shoddy storage, and am not rich enough
>to get one of those gorgeous steel storage tables. Any suggestions would
>be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sherry Morrow

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

Cindy Strnad on sat 10 nov 01


Dear Sherry,

I have all my glaze materials in big plastic
garbage cans with snap-on lids and it works fine.
The smaller quantities I put in appropriately
sized plastic containers. I write on the bodies of
the containers.

Cindy Strnad
Earthen Vessels Pottery
RR 1, Box 51
Custer, SD 57730
USA
cindy@earthen-vessels-pottery.com
http://www.earthen-vessels-pottery.com

Rod & Erin on sat 10 nov 01


Sherry,
What I did at my studio years ago was build a shelf unit. In the two
middle shelves I ran 2" x 2" boards across each section of the shelf. The 2
X2 are ran (wish this was paper) in such a way as to support the 5 gallon
ice cream buckets at a 45 degree angle (approx). So there are 3 of these 2
hold the bottom of the bucket in place. One that holds the bottom and the
other on the bottom edge of the bucket on the outside. The last one runs
under the upper lip of the bucket and is higher than the bottom two
(natuarally) and holds the bucket at around 45 degrees. basically the angle
is such that the buckets almost filled will not spill when you remove the
lids.

The two rows are mounted at the height if (and in front of)the table you
work at. This gives you access to 20 bulk chemicals. The upper shelves 'A'
in the diagram I have other chemicals that are not used quite as in bulk as
say Silica, Whiting, Fldspars,etc. I also store my scales here as well. In
store most of my dry chemicals still bagged underneath at B.

For smaller plastic storage containers you can buy them bulk at many
Safeways by going to the Deli department and ask if you can buy the
containers they sell their potato salad in etc. We buy the entire boxes
which have 200 containers in each box with lids for $21.00. They are clear
plastic which have two benifits. One it seems many coloured plastics get
brittle over the years. I learned this the hard way, secondly they are CHEAP
CHEAP....

By the way if you are just starting out you could just build half the shelf
and you can easily add the other half down the road. Good luck...

I'm off to the studio I have to fire 9 times before the 30'th... YIKES...

In the diagram the ' | ' represent plywood sheets that are approx 5' x 3'
high.

A A
|------------------|----------------|
| A | A |
|------------------|----------------|
| O O O O O | O O O O O |
|------------------|----------------|
| O O O O O | O O O O O |
|------------------|----------------|
| | |
| B | B |
| | |


Rod
RedIron Studios
Vancouver, B.C


----- Original Message -----
From: "Sherry Morrow"
To:
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2001 8:15 AM
Subject: Storage for glaze material


> Hi, I'm going to start making my own glazes, will pick up what i need next
> week. I've heard some of you say you keep your material in plastic bins
or
> tubs. If I get plastic garbage cans with the snap on lids, will this be
> good enough? Should I put it in the cans IN the bag as well or just dump
> the whole thing in. ( using mask, of course). I know this is silly, but I
> don't want to ruin my investment by shoddy storage, and am not rich enough
> to get one of those gorgeous steel storage tables. Any suggestions would
> be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sherry Morrow
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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.

Doug Gray on sat 10 nov 01


Sherry,

You'd be surprised by what just might make the perfect glaze storage
containers. I tend to reuse containers (plastic, no glass) as much as
possible. Some that have worked well for me...

1. gallon salad dressing containers with snap on lid - I get mine from
the campus cafeteria, but ask at any large restaurant with a salad bar.
They go through these by the dozens each week.

2. peanut butter cans - Perfect for small amounts of material. I also
use them for storing small amounts of colored slips or paper slips.
Yes, I eat that much peanut butter.

3. icing containers - Those single use cans with air tight lids, just
enough icing for one cake, kind of deals. They are great for storing
oxide washes used in overglaze techniques. No comments on my cooking
practices, please. I can make icing from scratch when I need to.

4. cat litter buckets (usually square rather than round) - They come in
two sizes, I like the larger ones for storing glazes. I use the smaller
ones for small batches of test glazes, for kiln wash and for batches of
glazes that don't age well so are mixed in smaller quantities. My wife
and I recently took in two more stray cats, so five cats each with their
own litter box. You get the idea.

5. stacking rubber made tubs with lids (ours are rectangular in shape)
- These are the only storage containers I have that were actually
purchased solely for chemical storage. But sometimes you order a
chemical and all of it won't fit into the container your using. So I
just seal up the leftovers and store all of them in a couple tubs.

I don't think this puts me in the same league with David Hendly (grin)
but I try to reuse when ever possible. I'll even plead guilty to
purchasing one brand over another because I know I can eventually use
the emptied container in the studio. It's a wonder my wife lets me shop
alone. But between recycling and the studio, we don't seem to throw
much away.

doug

Jeanne Stolberg on sun 11 nov 01


Hi Sherry, for what it's worth, my glaze materials are stored in 5 gallon
buckets (used ones, but cleaned out with soap and hot water). Some have
extra rubber gasket in lid. I have a cheap plastic lid-opener to pry the lid
open quite easily, instead of cursing and breaking fingers ; ). Seems to
work fine for the damp environment where I store them under the house. I
just dump the stuff out of the bag, into the bucket. Check out restaurants,
schools, construction sites, anyplace where they may be throwing them away.
I get mine from oil changes for boat engines. Large boats use oil in 5 gal.
buckets - hence I have to *really* scrub out the buckets, to get rid of any
oily residue.
Jeanne S, Alaska



> Hi, I'm going to start making my own glazes, will pick up what i need next
> week. I've heard some of you say you keep your material in plastic bins
or
> tubs. If I get plastic garbage cans with the snap on lids, will this be
> good enough? Should I put it in the cans IN the bag as well or just dump
> the whole thing in. ( using mask, of course). I know this is silly, but I
> don't want to ruin my investment by shoddy storage, and am not rich enough
> to get one of those gorgeous steel storage tables. Any suggestions would
> be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sherry Morrow

Wanda Holmes on mon 12 nov 01


I've found a good source of inexpensive, high quality plastic jars and
buckets at:

http://www.ba-industrial.com/

The people are friendly and the service very good.

Wanda

-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Jeanne Stolberg
Sent: Sunday, November 11, 2001 11:28 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: Storage for glaze material


Hi Sherry, for what it's worth, my glaze materials are stored in 5 gallon
buckets (used ones, but cleaned out with soap and hot water). Some have
extra rubber gasket in lid. I have a cheap plastic lid-opener to pry the lid
open quite easily, instead of cursing and breaking fingers ; ). Seems to
work fine for the damp environment where I store them under the house. I
just dump the stuff out of the bag, into the bucket. Check out restaurants,
schools, construction sites, anyplace where they may be throwing them away.
I get mine from oil changes for boat engines. Large boats use oil in 5 gal.
buckets - hence I have to *really* scrub out the buckets, to get rid of any
oily residue.
Jeanne S, Alaska



> Hi, I'm going to start making my own glazes, will pick up what i need next
> week. I've heard some of you say you keep your material in plastic bins
or
> tubs. If I get plastic garbage cans with the snap on lids, will this be
> good enough? Should I put it in the cans IN the bag as well or just dump
> the whole thing in. ( using mask, of course). I know this is silly, but I
> don't want to ruin my investment by shoddy storage, and am not rich enough
> to get one of those gorgeous steel storage tables. Any suggestions would
> be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Sherry Morrow

____________________________________________________________________________
__
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
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