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floor tiles need some help!

updated wed 30 jan 02

 

Cheryl K Hanley on wed 23 jan 02


I was wondering if there is a clay body that is good for making floor
tile. I need to find a clay body that is sturdy enough for high traffic
volume. Can someone help?

Thank You in advance.
Cheryl

Wanda Holmes on tue 29 jan 02


Cheryl,

My approach has been to buy representative examples of commercial floor
tile, cut them into 1"x4" strips, and break them in a controlled manner.
This gives me a reference point for testing my claybodies. For controlled
breaking, I use an arbor press with a torque wrench attached. This allows
me to measure the torque required to break a sample, whether it's one of my
tiles or a commercial one. So, for example, if I know that a certain Walker
Zanger tile rated for floors breaks at 25 foot lbs of torque and my own
tiles show numbers at least that good, I figure that they can stand up to
use on a floor at least as far as strength goes. I also test my tiles for
staining (grape juice, coffee, wine, etc.) and scratching. If the floor is
outdoors, say on a patio, I'd also do thermal shock tests, absorption tests,
and if you live in an area of acid rain, leaching tests.

Wanda

-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of Cheryl K Hanley
Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 10:05 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Floor Tiles need some help!


I was wondering if there is a clay body that is good for making floor
tile. I need to find a clay body that is sturdy enough for high traffic
volume. Can someone help?

Thank You in advance.
Cheryl

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Roger Korn on tue 29 jan 02


Another good testing method: use a drill press with the vise open 4" and press on a
1/2" dowel laid across the tile. Use a fishing scale on the end of a spoke to
measure force - be sure to pull at right angles to the spoke. You can "do the math"
on the length of the spoke and the pinion:rack ratio of the feed if you need real
numbers, but I am just comparing as a rule. Also, grind the cut edge of the test
tile to eliminate irregularities in the cut, which will act as "stress risers" and
give you an abnormally low reading.

For those with drill presses and fishing scales instead of arbor presses and torque
wrenches,

Roger

Wanda Holmes wrote:

> Cheryl,
>
> My approach has been to buy representative examples of commercial floor
> tile, cut them into 1"x4" strips, and break them in a controlled manner.
> This gives me a reference point for testing my claybodies. For controlled
> breaking, I use an arbor press with a torque wrench attached. This allows
> me to measure the torque required to break a sample, whether it's one of my
> tiles or a commercial one. So, for example, if I know that a certain Walker
> Zanger tile rated for floors breaks at 25 foot lbs of torque and my own
> tiles show numbers at least that good, I figure that they can stand up to
> use on a floor at least as far as strength goes. I also test my tiles for
> staining (grape juice, coffee, wine, etc.) and scratching. If the floor is
> outdoors, say on a patio, I'd also do thermal shock tests, absorption tests,
> and if you live in an area of acid rain, leaching tests.
>
> Wanda
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
> Behalf Of Cheryl K Hanley
> Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 10:05 AM
> To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
> Subject: Floor Tiles need some help!
>
> I was wondering if there is a clay body that is good for making floor
> tile. I need to find a clay body that is sturdy enough for high traffic
> volume. Can someone help?
>
> Thank You in advance.
> Cheryl
>
> ____________________________________________________________________________
> __
> 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.
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> 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.

--
Roger Korn
McKay Creek Ceramics
In AZ: PO Box 463
4215 Culpepper Ranch Rd
Rimrock, AZ 86335
928-567-5699 <-
In OR: PO Box 436
31330 NW Pacific Ave.
North Plains, OR 97133
503-647-5464