Dale Neese on fri 26 apr 02
When mixing glaze batches I have to have complete concentration. Put the =
"gone fishin" sign out, lock the studio door, turn off the phone. Make =
sure, measure twice cut once. Use effective scales to measure the =
ingredients. Have all of the ingredients for that particular glaze in =
front of you and none other before starting to mix. It is so easy, for =
me at least, to get distracted and to return not remembering how much of =
what ingredient I had added to the mix. Stay with it until the batch is =
completed. Keep your materials properly labeled and stored so that they =
don't become confused with another material. When I empty from an =
original bag into a storage container I tear off the bag label and place =
the original label in the marked container. Doesn't hurt to have a back =
up.=20
I mix at least 30 gallons of a "keeper" glaze sometime so if I screw up =
I screw up big. But first I go over my tests, blends, firing on a =
standing tile first then second firing on a small cup placing the test =
in the top, middle and bottom of the stack. Check notes. Then when I am =
satisfied that it is a reliable glaze then I commit to mixing at least 5 =
gallons first to see how it performs for a while (thickness, settling, =
application) and if it needs some tweaking of the ingredients on the =
next mix. Check the viscosity, have a system, keep notes. Then you will =
be able to sleep nights.
Dale Tex
David Hendley on fri 26 apr 02
Another suggestion, so you don't forget what you've already
done when (not if) you get distracted:
Have check-off boxes next to each ingredient. Check them
when the ingredient is actually put in the glaze bucket.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dale Neese"
To:
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 7:58 AM
Subject: preventing glaze goofs
When mixing glaze batches I have to have complete concentration. Put the
"gone fishin" sign out, lock the studio door, turn off the phone. Make sure,
measure twice cut once. Use effective scales to measure the ingredients.
Have all of the ingredients for that particular glaze in front of you and
none other before starting to mix. It is so easy, for me at least, to get
distracted and to return not remembering how much of what ingredient I had
added to the mix. Stay with it until the batch is completed. Keep your
materials properly labeled and stored so that they don't become confused
with another material. When I empty from an original bag into a storage
container I tear off the bag label and place the original label in the
marked container. Doesn't hurt to have a back up.
I mix at least 30 gallons of a "keeper" glaze sometime so if I screw up I
screw up big. But first I go over my tests, blends, firing on a standing
tile first then second firing on a small cup placing the test in the top,
middle and bottom of the stack. Check notes. Then when I am satisfied that
it is a reliable glaze then I commit to mixing at least 5 gallons first to
see how it performs for a while (thickness, settling, application) and if it
needs some tweaking of the ingredients on the next mix. Check the viscosity,
have a system, keep notes. Then you will be able to sleep nights.
Dale Tex
Longtin, Jeff on fri 26 apr 02
But then mistakes can be...profitable!
Years ago I was working with a potter. He would throw the pots, and glaze
them, and I did everything in between. (Triming, applying handles, wax
resisting, loading kilns, etc.)
One day we were in a hurry to get ready for a show, the Uptown I believe, so
he ran errands while I glazed a few pots. There were two glazes sitting next
to each other and I was to dip the mugs in the bucket on the left then dip
the rims in a smaller bucket of blue glaze.
Needless to say I forgot which bucket I was to dip in first, left or right,
and I mistakenly dipped the mugs in a tannish glaze instead the base white
glaze. (Both glazes are white before firing.)
After firing we discovered my mistake and I felt bad. I had glazed about
$500-700 dollars worth of pots so it was not a small mistake.
We went to the show, and much to our surprise, we sold about 3/4 of the work
that I had my mistakenly glazed. By the end of that summer it accounted for
about 30% of his income. About a year later it accounted for 50% of his
income.
That was years ago.
Last time we talked it still accounts for a large portion of his sales.
Jeff Longtin
-----Original Message-----
From: Dale Neese [mailto:dneese@SATX.RR.COM]
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 7:59 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: preventing glaze goofs
When mixing glaze batches I have to have complete concentration. Put the
"gone fishin" sign out, lock the studio door, turn off the phone. Make sure,
measure twice cut once. Use effective scales to measure the ingredients.
Have all of the ingredients for that particular glaze in front of you and
none other before starting to mix. It is so easy, for me at least, to get
distracted and to return not remembering how much of what ingredient I had
added to the mix. Stay with it until the batch is completed. Keep your
materials properly labeled and stored so that they don't become confused
with another material. When I empty from an original bag into a storage
container I tear off the bag label and place the original label in the
marked container. Doesn't hurt to have a back up.
I mix at least 30 gallons of a "keeper" glaze sometime so if I screw up I
screw up big. But first I go over my tests, blends, firing on a standing
tile first then second firing on a small cup placing the test in the top,
middle and bottom of the stack. Check notes. Then when I am satisfied that
it is a reliable glaze then I commit to mixing at least 5 gallons first to
see how it performs for a while (thickness, settling, application) and if it
needs some tweaking of the ingredients on the next mix. Check the viscosity,
have a system, keep notes. Then you will be able to sleep nights.
Dale Tex
____________________________________________________________________________
__
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.
Wanda Holmes on fri 26 apr 02
Excellent suggestion. For some inexplicable reason, I often add the
ingredients in a random order. No problem if I am paying close attention,
but when I get interrupted and go back, I find myself asking, "did I add the
EPK??". If you've left anything out, weighing the batch can tell you and if
it's only one thing, the amount by which you're short can point to it, but
it's no fun trying to salvage a batch and my memory seems to get more faulty
with each passing day. w.
-----Original Message-----
From: Ceramic Arts Discussion List [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On
Behalf Of David Hendley
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 10:15 AM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: preventing glaze goofs
Another suggestion, so you don't forget what you've already
done when (not if) you get distracted:
Have check-off boxes next to each ingredient. Check them
when the ingredient is actually put in the glaze bucket.
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dale Neese"
To:
Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 7:58 AM
Subject: preventing glaze goofs
When mixing glaze batches I have to have complete concentration. Put the
"gone fishin" sign out, lock the studio door, turn off the phone. Make sure,
measure twice cut once. Use effective scales to measure the ingredients.
Have all of the ingredients for that particular glaze in front of you and
none other before starting to mix. It is so easy, for me at least, to get
distracted and to return not remembering how much of what ingredient I had
added to the mix. Stay with it until the batch is completed. Keep your
materials properly labeled and stored so that they don't become confused
with another material. When I empty from an original bag into a storage
container I tear off the bag label and place the original label in the
marked container. Doesn't hurt to have a back up.
I mix at least 30 gallons of a "keeper" glaze sometime so if I screw up I
screw up big. But first I go over my tests, blends, firing on a standing
tile first then second firing on a small cup placing the test in the top,
middle and bottom of the stack. Check notes. Then when I am satisfied that
it is a reliable glaze then I commit to mixing at least 5 gallons first to
see how it performs for a while (thickness, settling, application) and if it
needs some tweaking of the ingredients on the next mix. Check the viscosity,
have a system, keep notes. Then you will be able to sleep nights.
Dale Tex
____________________________________________________________________________
__
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.
Joyce Lee on fri 26 apr 02
David H. said:
"Another suggestion, so you don't forget what you've already
done when (not if) you get distracted:
Have check-off boxes next to each ingredient. Check them
when the ingredient is actually put in the glaze bucket."
----------------------------------------------------------
When I first began mixing my own glazes I invariably lost track of what =
ingredients had been used prior to the time of being interrupted, which =
seemed to be often. I then began following a Check List procedure as =
David describes, which helped tremendously. I decided though that I =
needed a Backup Plan, which was to line up the containers of ingredients =
..... in one spot .... then move each bag to a second spot, in the same =
order as the original group, when I mixed that ingredient. As I =
generally pour my ingredients directly into the pre-measured water =
(except for a few glazes; find it helps keep the glaze dust to a =
minimum), weighing to discover what was missing most likely wouldn't =
help me.
Too, as my batches increased in size I wouldn't want to be hefting them =
for weighing ... keeping an orderly line of ingredients, transferring =
from one line to another, helped me. I hope this is clear.
Joyce
In the Mojave
Elca Branman on fri 26 apr 02
You forgot one other precaution; I always copy the formula onto a piece
of paper..weigh out the materials, check the scale against the paper and
cross out the ingredients as I add them....Of course, I am easily
distracted... Elca.., belt AND suspenders firmly in place..
On Fri, 26 Apr 2002 07:58:59 -0500 Dale Neese
writes:
> When mixing glaze batches I have to have complete concentration. Put
> the =
> "gone fishin" sign out, lock the studio door, turn off the phone.
> Make =
> sure, measure twice cut once. Use effective scales to measure the =
> ingredients. Have all of the ingredients for that particular glaze
> in =
> front of you and none other before starting to mix. It is so easy,
> for =
> me at least, to get distracted and to return not remembering how
> much of =
> what ingredient I had added to the mix.
> up =
>
_________________________________________________________________________
_____
> 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.
Elca Branman.. in Sarasota,Florida,USA
elcab1@juno.com
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Nikki Simmons on fri 26 apr 02
Yeah!!!! I finally have something about CERAMICS to contribute to Clayart.
Let's see I have been on this list for ???6 years????
As I seem to mention in every post, I have a three year old. I can not get
anything done, not even pouring juice in a sippy cup without getting
sidetracked. Here is the system I have been using lately to measure glaze
ingredients. I have found it is pretty hard for me to mess this up.
-First I figure out what glazes I am going to use.
-I then type all the glaze recipes into a table in MS Word.
The labels have: Glaze test number, Glaze name, Amount, Batch Amount.
(The amount is whatever the recipe states like Silica 10, the batch amount
is 10 times 10 if I am doing a 1000 gram batch)
-I then attach the labels to lidded plasticware (i.e. margarine tubs)
-I then sort the tubs by ingredient name, I put all the silicas together and
all the cobalts together.
-When I have child free time and it is not raining, I grab the bucket of
silica, all the silica containers, and of course my scale and mask--And
start weighing. Even if I have to stop abruptly I know exactly where I am
at. Even if I drop a container, most of the time... the lid stays on.
-When I have all the ingredients for one recipe, I dump it all in another
plastic container, put lid on and shake. If I have even more time I will
add the water or use the stick mixer or sieve.
At some point the glaze will actually get on a pot, but who knows when that
will be :-)
This system is working great for me, hope someone else can use it too.
Sincerely,
Nikki Simmons
In Central Missouri
nsimmons@mid-mo.net
Cheryl Hoffman on fri 26 apr 02
In a message dated 04/26/02 1:05:31 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
Jeff.Longtin@WESTGROUP.COM writes:
> But then mistakes can be...profitable!
>
Good story! What's that saying about goofs..."the first time is a mistake?
If you can replicate it, it's art."
millie on fri 26 apr 02
one of the things that I find helpful is to take all the ingredients and
put them in one place, have two lists with the names and ammounts of
ingredients. one where I am measuring and one where I am putting the
ingredients away. check off once when I take the ingreddient off the
shelf, once when I measure it and dump in the bucket and then cross of
the list when I put it back on the shelf. that means taht I have three
chances to see if I have the right thing and correct measurement. Old
home ec teacher in the late 50's made us do that when we cooked. I
don't always read the recipes when I cook, but I do get all the
ingredients out first. that way I only have to make one trip to safeway
to get something that I am out of.
Millie in Md. not doing a lot of pottery work, too tired from
substitute teaching. this week I watched Pearl harbor with a history
class and Asterix, the romans conquer Gaul, with a latin class, and
learned a lot about how to used the canned how to make a website
program. it is nice to get paid to watch the same movie 3-5 times in
one day, and to get the kids in the computer class to teach me what
they are doing. next week I am in for a biology teacher for two days,
I hope that they aren't cutting anything up. the formaldehyde gives me
awful headaches.
Veena Raghavan on fri 26 apr 02
There have been many great suggestions on Clayart in the past and more
recently on how to go about this. I have my recipes on index cards, which=
are filed in different boxes (cone 6, cone 10 reduction, and so on). Rath=
er
than copy each recipe out everytime I make a batch, I stick a Post It at
the end of the card, along the side, and check off the ingredients as I
measure them. When done, I just throw away the Post It. Hope =
this helps someone.
All the best.
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
Wanda Holmes on sat 27 apr 02
Roger Graham wrote:
Rule number 2: When you've weighed out the correct amount of ingredient and
transferred it to the mixing bucket, tick off the ingredient name IN WRITING
on the recipe list. Don't rely on your memory alone.
A technique that I use to make the checking off easier is to slip my recipe
sheet into a plastic sheet protector and use a wet erase pen to mark off
items as I measure. Once I'm done, I can "erase" the checks with a damp
sponge or cloth and use the printed recipe again next time.
Wanda
Cheryl Hoffman on sat 27 apr 02
Hi Joyce,
Thanks for the good info, not just on this subject, but also all your
other contributions to the varied subjects we cover in this forum.
What infuriated me about my glaze prep goof (using 7% CuO instead of
carbonate) is that the error started way before the actual preparation.
Honest, I'm a nurse and prepared the glaze like a medication...check
everything three times. I followed procedure to the T.
Perhaps this is a good lesson for other newbies just starting to make
their own glazes.
Rule #1 Know your materials. A few months ago, when I first attempted to
make my own glazes (I had been using premixed dry, with miserable results),
I
asked a friend for a suggestion for a reliable first clear glaze to try.
Recipe was given to me on a 3x5 card with not too much detail. The colorant
suggestions listed one that contained copper, not indicating oxide or
carbonate. Three months ago, I didn't know the difference between oxide and
carbonate, except that one was stronger. So, I made up a shopping list of
the ingredients on the card...just writing down copper. At the supply
store,
I ask for copper and was given oxide, not knowing it should have been green
instead of black. Since then, I've been reading everything I can get my
hands on and have gained some knowledge. I know that there are narrow
parameters on amounts of oxides. So-o-o, back to the glaze making...This is
my first attempt to make scratch glaze, remember. The only chemicals I have
on hand are the ones on that shopping list...so I couldn't be using the
wrong
ingredients, could I?...see how I got in that mess? It wasn't until someone
mentioned the green color of carbonate on clayart that I remembered my
recently learned knowledge about the difference between oxide and carbonate.
That's when I freaked!
You can be sure I learned my lesson about recipes and assuming.
Onward through the fog, Cher Hoffman
Carol Tripp on sat 27 apr 02
Always pick the correct auxiliary weight to put on the triple beam scale.
I was making up a 2000gm batch and after the initial few ingrediants, I
needed to add 1200 gm neph syn. I added the auxiliary weights for 1500gm
and then started scooping in the neph syn. I scooped and scooped and
scooped... What is going on here? I knew it was just too much and had gone
on too long. I checked to see nothing was hindering the scale. I sweated
and sweared. Then I noticed that the auxiliary weighs were the same size -
ah-ha, I'd put on two 1000gm weights instead of one 1000gm and one 500gm. I
fixed that and scooped out the extra neph syn and I was on my way. After I
finished, I took a break.
Best regards,
Carol
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Roger Graham on sat 27 apr 02
Hi. I've been lurking for some time, but never contributed till now. Been
following the thread about preventing disasters when mixing glazes.
Rule number 1 when we're mixing glazes is: Only have ONE container lid open
at a time.
Suppose you have two ingredient containers open, A and B. You dip out a big
scoop from
A, hold it over the scale pan, and tap-tap-tap gently until the exact amount
is transferred from scoop to pan. Now you'll tip the unused remainder of the
scoop back into container A, right? But maybe you'll get mixed up, and tip
it into container B, if the lid's open. Shock, horror. Good reason to have
only one lid open.
Rule number 2: When you've weighed out the correct amount of ingredient and
transferred it to the mixing bucket, tick off the ingredient name IN WRITING
on the recipe list. Don't rely on your memory alone.
Since I'm a relative newbie making a first contribution, here's an
invitation to visit the
home-brewed website from our cottage-industry pottery in sunny Australia:
http://members.optusnet.com.au/~rogergraham.
Elizabeth Hewitt on mon 29 apr 02
As I read all the suggestions, my thoughts went back to when I first
began making my own glazes and the feeling of being overwhelmed, both
with the unfamiliar materials and the procedures. For anyone just
launching into this venture, a word of encouragement. It doesn't
always stay so foreign as it sounds. Like anything else, your brain gets
programmed for the procedures, tools, scale and the material. Cheryl, I
believe, said that she was weighing 1500 grams and from her statements
we see that her brain is programmed to know what 1500 grams looks and
feels like. Even though that varies material to material, you get
programmed for the differences. For instance, magnesium is going to fill
the container way fuller than EPK, assuming you're weighing the same
amounts of each, because the magnesium is so much lighter in weight per
gram.
And you become familiar with the look and feel of many of them. Some are
just plain white and weigh about the same and can trick but one is not
likely to confuse Gerstley Borate, if you still use it, with silica. The
colors are very different and the GB even has a scent of its own. It
becomes like sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. They all
have their characteristics and you become so familiar with it, it would
be tough to mistake flour for salt. But you know you have to be careful
with the salt and sugar..the baking powder and soda, etc.
And simple things make a big difference, common sense things that are
not obvious at first. For instance, in marking your container, it's
almost too simple to mention...but you always want to mark the
container.not the lid. You have two lids with markings off and two
containers open..ooooops.
I've been adding materials to my stash for about four years now and
still using them from the plastic or box they came in. I found that all
very frustrating. Recently I started collecting plastic containers, some
I've gotten really cheap on eBay.most are Tupperware and Rubbermaid
cereal keepers.I prefer the Rubbermaid. I've taken the time to put all
my materials in the containers and on the container itself with a
sharpie marker, written the material's name on all four sides of the
container so that it doesn't even matter how I stick them back in the
cupboard, I always see the names.
If you are new to it and it does seem overwhelming, know that you will
come up with your own system of weighing, storing, mixing, sieving and
your brain will help you more and more as time goes by until it becomes
like baking cookies, folding the laundry or washing the car.
Of course this is all so elementary to seasoned glaze makers....yawn..,
but they are things I wish I had known when I first began.
Tons of good luck to anyone just beginning the venture. It's exciting
and you'll LOVE it!!!
Elizabeth, still a novice.
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