Pamela Watkins on thu 26 feb 04
Hi Barbara,
Obsessed gets you where you want to go! Your little lav seems to be a handy glazeroom, as described. Given your finances, you could have it all at once per your supply list...or get the necessities. The glaze room necessities would require yes, the scale, sieves, gloves and a good small dry particle ventilation mask, butter and ice cream tubs - and then 10 gal tubs for sucessful, subsequent batches, scoops(dollar store), cooking wisks ( again dollar store, but clean them after each batch), a drill mixer, an old hair dryer and various recycled containers. All these supplies in addition to base chemicals that you can play around with. Glaze formulation is at first intimidating, but the more you look into it and practice, the more you understand. Yet still, take the hazards seriously-but don't let them deter your obsession- and use a good mask. I can only assure you that you will be much more satisfied with what you make in a glaze than what you may go for from a shelf. Happy
Fires~.
.
Peace,
Pamela
~jaq
ps-- I'm not so usually obsessed with this list, but we had a GA snow day, which- for you "snowbirds"- is a light dusting of white icey 1/4 inch snowy layer that reeks havoc among the southern population, namely Georgia. My first graders' teacher has been praying for a snow day since November...Her blessed day has been answered!
Peace,
Pamela
~jaq
~look for me in licorice in the back~
Barbara Adams wrote:
hi all. bkgrnd: obsessed potter, i work primarily with Stoneware (Standard
182) fired ^06 bisque and then ^6 for glaze in a skutt 1027 w/downdraft
envirovent and autokilnmaster. up to now have used commercially prepared
but have not settled on anything i really love.
my studio space includes an old lav, and am thinking about using it for
a "glaze room" where i can mix my own. i am completely intimidated by this
process, especially when it comes to toxicity. i have some books, and try
to keep up with the reading, but as soon as i go to the catalogs to look at
what i need to buy, i instantly go zonkers. what equipment do i need to
buy? scales, scoops, sieves, respiratory masks, hydrometers, ball mill,
mitey mixers, mixing bowls, poly bags...arrrggghhhh.
my glaze room has a laundry sink, shelfspace, worktable. it is well
ventilated and heated nicely in the summer; cooled naturally in the winter.
anyone?
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Snail Scott on thu 26 feb 04
At 08:32 PM 2/26/04 -0500, you wrote:
>my studio space includes an old lav, and am thinking about using it for
>a "glaze room"...but as soon as i go to the catalogs to look at
>what i need to buy, i instantly go zonkers...
Start simple. A gram scale, some of that 'disposable'
tupperware for test batches, and a dust mask. For
materials, look at the kind of glazes you want to
develop. Write down all the ingredients in the
likeliest recipes you see. Put a checkmark next to
each thing as you encounter it in a new recipe. After
about three dozen recipes, you'll have a good idea of
what materials are typical for the types of glazes you
want. Get just a little of each to start, maybe 10#
of the 'ordinary' stuff - silica, feldspars, frits,
etc. and maybe 1# of the cheaper oxides and 1/4# of
cobalt (pricey). Make test batches of between 100 and
500 grams and test them, and variations on each. When
you find some likely contenders, then order more of
the materials that those require.
Eventually, you might want a glaze mixer appropriate to
the batch sizes you plan to mix, a few glaze seives,
scoops, tidy containers for storage. You may (though
not necessarily) want a ball mill, a hydrometer, every
material known, all sorts of other toys, but they are
absolutely not needed for just getting started. You
may, in fact, never desire more than the bare basics,
as not everyone requires more for their style of work.
-Snail
Barbara Adams on thu 26 feb 04
hi all. bkgrnd: obsessed potter, i work primarily with Stoneware (Standard
182) fired ^06 bisque and then ^6 for glaze in a skutt 1027 w/downdraft
envirovent and autokilnmaster. up to now have used commercially prepared
but have not settled on anything i really love.
my studio space includes an old lav, and am thinking about using it for
a "glaze room" where i can mix my own. i am completely intimidated by this
process, especially when it comes to toxicity. i have some books, and try
to keep up with the reading, but as soon as i go to the catalogs to look at
what i need to buy, i instantly go zonkers. what equipment do i need to
buy? scales, scoops, sieves, respiratory masks, hydrometers, ball mill,
mitey mixers, mixing bowls, poly bags...arrrggghhhh.
my glaze room has a laundry sink, shelfspace, worktable. it is well
ventilated and heated nicely in the summer; cooled naturally in the winter.
anyone?
william schran on fri 27 feb 04
Barbara wrote:>what equipment do i need to
buy? scales, scoops, sieves, respiratory masks, hydrometers, ball mill,
mitey mixers, mixing bowls, poly bags...arrrggghhhh.<
First thing - buy "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes" - this will be an
excellent resource for a start in understanding glazes and what
chemicals/materials you should purchase.
Next: Ohaus triple beam balance scale - one with a flat pan that you
can place almost any size container on.
A proper respirator - not one of those paper things. Gloves - I
prefer Nitrile, but vinyl or latex will do.
Sieves - 30 mesh & 80 mesh seem to be the two often used.
Containers with lids to store chemicals and prepared glazes - check
restaurants/delis/school cafeterias for gallon and large plastic
containers that are just thrown out.
That's a good start.
Bill
wayneinkeywest on fri 27 feb 04
One complete new set of scoops, measuring cups and measuring spoons
at KMart: about $12
One new respirator at Lab Safety: about $59
One new (Made in China) triple beam balance on Ebay: $69
One each new 80 and 120 mesh sieves: about $35 each
One used kitchen blender from a yard sale (Glass jar!): $3
One set of scrounged buckets, containers with and without lids :
$FREE
One look of joy when things come out of the kiln with beautiful
glazes you made yourself : PRICELESS
Worth every penny, even on a budget :>)
Wayne Seidl
> Barbara wrote:>what equipment do i need to
> buy? scales, scoops, sieves, respiratory masks, hydrometers, ball
mill,
> mitey mixers, mixing bowls, poly bags...arrrggghhhh.<
>
> First thing - buy "Mastering Cone 6 Glazes" - this will be an
> excellent resource for a start in understanding glazes and what
> chemicals/materials you should purchase.
>
> Next: Ohaus triple beam balance scale - one with a flat pan that
you
> can place almost any size container on.
>
> A proper respirator - not one of those paper things. Gloves - I
> prefer Nitrile, but vinyl or latex will do.
>
> Sieves - 30 mesh & 80 mesh seem to be the two often used.
>
> Containers with lids to store chemicals and prepared glazes -
check
> restaurants/delis/school cafeterias for gallon and large plastic
> containers that are just thrown out.
>
> That's a good start.
>
> Bill
>
>
____________________________________________________________________
__________
> 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.
>
karen gringhuis on sat 28 feb 04
Barbara -
Can you/could you mix a cake from scratch? Of course.
So you can mix a glaze from scratch. You're
"initmidated" by the array of possible equipment and
spooked by toxicity chatter. But YOU CAN DO IT.
Safety first - is your kiln envirovent vented to the
outside? If not, it should be. Per the Orton Fdtn.,
you can use dryer vent hose and run it quite a ways to
reach an outside wall.
Turning your old lav into a separate glaze mixing area
would be great but it's not essential.
Yes you will need a respirator to wear when dry mixing
a glaze. Specific materials - IMHO NO lead in any
form in the studio for any reason ever period. (ref.
article in old Cer. Mo. by Val Cushing and in his
Handbook - a VERY useful book.) Be very careful around
manganese. Beyond that, use common sense.
>as soon as i go to the catalogs to look at
what i need to buy, i instantly go zonkers. what
equipment do i need to
buy? scales, scoops, sieves, respiratory masks,
hydrometers, ball mill,
mitey mixers, mixing bowls, poly bags...arrrggghhhh.>
You will need a scale - many of us use O'Haus balance
beam models. Pay the extra $ for the triple beam one
with maximum adjustability. Scoops are good but you
can also make these from the top of an old chlorox
bottle. Ck. restaurant supply places for prices on
plastic ones.
Scavenge buckets of all sizes from bakeries, Dunkin
Donuts, delis, anywhere. Beg for lids. I went every
few mornings to local supermkt. deli counter for
smaller sizes before they threw them out - they got to
know me and saved them for me. Even if they charge a
little for recycled buckets, it's still a lot cheaper
than the prices for buckets in supply catalogs. If all
else fails, pay money for Rubbermaid from K Mart.
Again ck.restaurant supply prices but remember that
you do not need food-safe quality.
Yes you need a seive. I use only one seive - the
plastic bowl model with an 80 mesh screen, not the
larger one with the brush in the top with a crank
handle. I press the wet glaze thru with a rubber rib
wearing my gloves. It's a bit slow but I don't mix
glaze that often. Use a waterproof Sharpie marker and
write the seive size on the plastic because the paper
label eventually falls off..
>hydrometers, ball mill,mitey mixers, mixing bowls<
Forget these. You don't need a hydrometer - for now
that's overkill. Most of us have learned how thin we
like our glazes by eyeballing a finger stuck into the
bucket. (Many people err in using glazes too think
rather than too thin.) Save shards of bisque to dip in
the bucket and LOOK at how thick the glaze goes on.
You do not need a ball mill for the average glaze.
They take up space and money.
You don't need a bowl - you mix the dry batch and wet
it down in one bucket, then seive it into a second
bucket. Tip - put the entire recipe incl amt. mixed
onto the final bucket protected with clear tape.
I never heard of a mitey mixer. I use zip loc bags to
store materials of which one needs very little -
colorants, lithium, titanium, etc. I put them all
into a small bucket clearly labeled.
Answering what you HAVEN'T asked - what materials to
buy and how much? Pick a few recipes which might work
for you**, figure what quantity wet you MAY want and
do the math to arrive at total amt. needed. Then add
on some extra & order from a ceramic supplier. Most
will sell you small amounts of everything. Your most
expensive ingredient is your time.
(** How to do this is a whole separate subject!
Cushing's Handbook includes a section on developing
one's own glaze the logic of which applies to glazes
of any temp.)
You can start out just ordering enough quantity to
make up some 100 gram tests. Then escalate to a
1-2000 gram batch before going to a bigger batch.
Most of us have at least one wonderful test of a glaze
we could never get again, who knows why.
Tip - regardless of batch size, always write out your
recipe as a mix guide. Check off each ingredient as
you put it in to the dry bucket. If you make a
mistake, going back to this mix recipe can often clue
you as to where you went wrong.
To stir wet glaze before using, get a pair of elbow
length rubber (?) gloves. One source = Dunn Safety
Products in Chicago 312-666-5800 phone for a catalog,
ck. for a web site. The ones I use are/were turquoise
blue costing around $10-15 and lasting a LONG time.
(Make a note and later ask me about adding a tiny bit
of calcium chloride (?) to any size batch to help
suspend it. I'm not at my studio right now.)
Keep a list of your qns. and write back.
You can do it,it's an adventure, good luck!!
____________________
Barbara wrote:
hi all. bkgrnd: obsessed potter, i work primarily with
Stoneware (Standard
182) fired ^06 bisque and then ^6 for glaze in a skutt
1027 w/downdraft
envirovent and autokilnmaster. up to now have used
commercially prepared
but have not settled on anything i really love.
my studio space includes an old lav, and am thinking
about using it for
a "glaze room" where i can mix my own. i am
completely intimidated by this
process, especially when it comes to toxicity. i have
some books, and try
to keep up with the reading, but as soon as i go to
the catalogs to look at
what i need to buy, i instantly go zonkers. what
equipment do i need to
buy? scales, scoops, sieves, respiratory masks,
hydrometers, ball mill,
mitey mixers, mixing bowls, poly bags...arrrggghhhh.
my glaze room has a laundry sink, shelfspace,
worktable. it is well
ventilated and heated nicely in the summer; cooled
naturally in the winter.
anyone?
Date: Thu, 26 Feb 2004 20:32:49 -0500
From: Barbara Adams
Subject: Rookie glazer
hi all. bkgrnd: obsessed potter, i work primarily with
Stoneware (Standard
182) fired ^06 bisque and then ^6 for glaze in a skutt
1027 w/downdraft
envirovent and autokilnmaster. up to now have used
commercially prepared
but have not settled on anything i really love.
my studio space includes an old lav, and am thinking
about using it for
a "glaze room" where i can mix my own. i am
completely intimidated by this
process, especially when it comes to toxicity. i have
some books, and try
to keep up with the reading, but as soon as i go to
the catalogs to look at
what i need to buy, i instantly go zonkers. what
equipment do i need to
buy? scales, scoops, sieves, respiratory masks,
hydrometers, ball mill,
mitey mixers, mixing bowls, poly bags...arrrggghhhh.
my glaze room has a laundry sink, shelfspace,
worktable. it is well
ventilated and heated nicely in the summer; cooled
naturally in the winter.
anyone?
=====
Karen Gringhuis
KG Pottery
Box 607 Alfred NY 14802
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Barbara Adams on sat 28 feb 04
thank you everyone for your suggestions. they have all been very helpful.
today i ordered mastering cone 6 glazes and i stopped by my local home
depot to check out their selection of painters pots, plastic gloves, and
respirators. i think i found the scale of choice ohaus triple beam balance
model 760 with additional weight set #707, and a Talisman test sieve 80
mesh for making test batches.
thanks all.
-barbara
Carol Tripp on sun 29 feb 04
Hi Barbara,
One more thing to add; a large bucket that you can use to rinse off all your
glaze making stuff in so you can prevent all the chemicals going down your
drains. After each session, move the bucket outside, pour in a splash of
vinegar, wait a few days, pour the water off into another bucket and save
the scrap glaze that you will find in the bottom of the bucket. In time,
you will have enough to use as a mystery glaze.
Best regards,
Carol
Dubai, UAE
PS Didn't Taylor in Waco recently go through the shopping for an initial
leap into making glazes? I expect his list and suggestions for it must be
in the Archives.
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