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scales for weighing clay

updated sat 7 dec 02

 

Marcia Selsor on thu 5 dec 02


Hi Carole,
Sorry we didn't connect when I was out East.
I think for weighing balls of clay for sets of mugs, plates, bowls, etc,
you want that little square scale with the flat plate one top and the
measurement goes to 25. It may be a baby scale.
I doubt if you need anything bigger. and the postage scale may be too small.
mugs may be from 3/4 to a pound wet,
bowls 2 pounds
plates 5 pounds
platter 15 pounds or bigger
or you could make everything four pounds....maybe that woman had a stuck
scale (?!)
Best wishes,
Marcia in Montana where chinook winds have warmed everything up!

Carole Fox wrote:
> I have been looking through the archives for information on scales that
> will
> weigh out balls of clay. (I am hoping to make my sets start looking more
> uniform.) I found suggestions to use grocery scales, postal scales and
> baby scales. I am planning to majorly hint to my husband that I would
> like to find one under my solstice tree this year. (He is getting
> pretty good at picking up these hints lately and realizing that pottery
> related gifts are my favorite of all!)
>
> Can someone compare the usefulness of these different scales so that I
> can be more precise with my "subtle" hinting?
>
> Carole Fox
> Elkton, MD- where it's cccold and I'm glad that my kiln is warming up
> the studio today
> cfox@dca.net
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> 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.
>


--
Tuscany in 2003
http://home.attbi.com/~m.selsor/Tuscany2003.html

Carole Fox on thu 5 dec 02


I have been looking through the archives for information on scales that
will
weigh out balls of clay. (I am hoping to make my sets start looking more
uniform.) I found suggestions to use grocery scales, postal scales and
baby scales. I am planning to majorly hint to my husband that I would
like to find one under my solstice tree this year. (He is getting
pretty good at picking up these hints lately and realizing that pottery
related gifts are my favorite of all!)

Can someone compare the usefulness of these different scales so that I
can be more precise with my "subtle" hinting?

Carole Fox
Elkton, MD- where it's cccold and I'm glad that my kiln is warming up
the studio today
cfox@dca.net

John Jensen on thu 5 dec 02


Baby scales usually go up to about 20 lbs. Which is a pretty useful
range. I bought a scale at a yard sale ten years ago and have been
using it ever since. I took off the little deck which was designed to
hold a baby and replaced it with a smaller piece of masonite.

John Jensen, Mudbug Pottery
mudbug@toadhouse.com, www.toadhouse.com

Hank Murrow on thu 5 dec 02


On Thursday, December 5, 2002, at 12:09 PM, Carole Fox wrote:

> I have been looking through the archives for information on scales that
> will
> weigh out balls of clay. (I am hoping to make my sets start looking
> more
> uniform.) I found suggestions to use grocery scales, postal scales and
> baby scales. Can someone compare the usefulness of these different
> scales so that I
> can be more precise with my "subtle" hinting?
>
> Carole Fox
>
Dear Carole;

I use 'dairy' scales because they are marked in tenths of a pound, thus
facilitating weighing of both clay and glazes. See, you don't have to
convert from # & ozs..........simple. Most scale companies can provide
one, but allow some time for searching one out.

Cheers, Hank in Eugene

Rikki Gill on thu 5 dec 02


For balls of clay, just use a second hand baby scale from a flea market, and
get a good one to weigh out chemicals. You simply don't need a better one
for coffee cups, etc. Hope this helps,
Rikki Gill in Berkeley
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carole Fox"
To:
Sent: Thursday, December 05, 2002 12:09 PM
Subject: scales for weighing clay


> I have been looking through the archives for information on scales that
> will
> weigh out balls of clay. (I am hoping to make my sets start looking more
> uniform.) I found suggestions to use grocery scales, postal scales and
> baby scales. I am planning to majorly hint to my husband that I would
> like to find one under my solstice tree this year. (He is getting
> pretty good at picking up these hints lately and realizing that pottery
> related gifts are my favorite of all!)
>
> Can someone compare the usefulness of these different scales so that I
> can be more precise with my "subtle" hinting?
>
> Carole Fox
> Elkton, MD- where it's cccold and I'm glad that my kiln is warming up
> the studio today
> cfox@dca.net
>
>
____________________________________________________________________________
__
> 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.
>

Lily Krakowski on thu 5 dec 02


Plain old kitchen scales work swell. Mine come from garage sales, house
sales, the thrift shops...I take a one or two pound bag of beans or lentils
or something that, unlike sugar or salt, will not have gained weight from
humidity. Anything I know the correct weight of. I put it on the
contemplated scale, twiddle the adjustment buttons, and if the thing works
correctly, I get it.

Baby scales work well, so do the kind of scales shipping rooms use for
weighing packages.

By the weigh [!]

If for some reason you decide, as many do to translate gram weights (as in a
glaze recipe) to pounds (as in common sense):

Treat the grams as ounces in your calculations. 10 grams become 10
ounces. You then add it all up and if you started with a recipe calculated
to an exact 100 you have now 100 oz. You then divide by any figure you
wish. I start by dividing by 16, i.e. 100 divided by 16, which is 6
pounds and 4 ounces. This allows me to weigh out my larger batches of glaze
on a regular kitche scale. Yes? Simple, eh?




Lili Krakowski
P.O. Box #1
Constableville, N.Y.
(315) 942-5916/ 397-2389

Be of good courage....

foxpots on fri 6 dec 02


Dear Carole,

I have two digital scales that I bought from Staples. One weighs up to 4 or
5 pounds. The other weighs at least up to what I weigh because I also use
it to weigh myself every day. The smaller scale weighs within a tenth of an
ounce. To me, it is important to have each ball of clay be exactly the same
weight. Generally, if I am going to make 1# balls I weigh out 4 pounds then
cut it in quarters; then weigh on the smaller scale to get the exact weight.
I have used many other scales and this is the best for me. You may find
that the scales do not come with the little converter thingies that plug
into the wall. I believe I had to go to Radio Shack or maybe WalMart for
this. I, also, use the smaller one for weighing out glazes. These scales
have the ability to weigh in ounces or grams, and are very useful.

Good luck,

Jean Wadsworth Cochran
www.foxhollowpottery.com

I have been looking through the archives for information on scales that
> will
> weigh out balls of clay. (I am hoping to make my sets start looking more
> uniform.) I found suggestions to use grocery scales, postal scales and
> baby scales. I am planning to majorly hint to my husband that I would
> like to find one under my solstice tree this year. (He is getting
> pretty good at picking up these hints lately and realizing that pottery
> related gifts are my favorite of all!)
>
> Can someone compare the usefulness of these different scales so that I
> can be more precise with my "subtle" hinting?
>

Mary Higgins on fri 6 dec 02


500 gms on your glaze scale is approximately 1.1 pounds, if that helps any.

Mary in Central Florida
It rained all night. Hope you folks north of here
are staying warm.