Vince Pitelka on fri 18 jun 04
> Having waited too long to attach handles to some mugs, I am seeking some
> advice. The mugs are leather hard now (quite a ways from bone dry) and I
do not
> want to lose them. Is there a way to rehydrate them so I can attach
handles.
> This has happened once before and I sprayed the mugs, let them rest under
> plastic overnight and attached the handles the next day. When they dried,
the
> handles were cracked where attached to the mug.
Rog -
Forgive me if the following sounds unsympathetic, but this is the price you
pay for waiting too long. There is no way to satisfactorily rehydrate the
clay for attaching handles. People may have some success stories, but it
all depends on the degree of dryness, the kind of claybody, the kind of
attachment, etc. To try and rehydrate them to attach handles is time wasted
on a risky venture, when you could spend that time making a new batch of
mugs.
Shrinkage has already taken place, and rehydrating the clay will not reverse
that. The handles will crack when they dry. Scrap them and make another
batch, and this time catch them at just the right moment for attaching the
handles.
Best wishes -
- Vince
Vince Pitelka
Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Technological University
Smithville TN 37166, 615/597-6801 x111
vpitelka@dtccom.net, wpitelka@tntech.edu
http://iweb.tntech.edu/wpitelka/
http://www.tntech.edu/craftcenter/
Laurie Kneppel on fri 18 jun 04
Hi Rog,
After you attached the handles how did you dry the mugs? Did you cover
them up again with plastic or just let them dry in the open? I've been
taught that you should cover the whole thing with plastic at least
overnight to let the two parts "even out" a bit. Depending on how dry
the mug part is you may even want to loosely wrap the mug in plastic
and let the handle stick out and put the whole thing in whatever you
might have for a damp cabinet (mine is a wooden shelving unit covered
with heavy plastic sheeting on the sides and a cat litter pan filled
with water underneath it for humidity).
Hope that helps - it helped me when I heard it. I had no cracking on
handles when I did it that way on some mugs that had gotten hard
leather hard.
Laurie
Sacramento, CA
http://rockyraku.com
Potters Council, member
Sacramento Potters Group, member
On Jun 18, 2004, at 5:32 PM, Rog Coman wrote:
> Having waited too long to attach handles to some mugs, I am seeking
> some
> advice. The mugs are leather hard now (quite a ways from bone dry)
> and I do not
> want to lose them.
>
Rog Coman on fri 18 jun 04
Having waited too long to attach handles to some mugs, I am seeking some
advice. The mugs are leather hard now (quite a ways from bone dry) and I do not
want to lose them. Is there a way to rehydrate them so I can attach handles.
This has happened once before and I sprayed the mugs, let them rest under
plastic overnight and attached the handles the next day. When they dried, the
handles were cracked where attached to the mug.
I am sure others have had this problem. Would appreciate hearing success
stories.
Thanks,
Rog Coman
Fish Hook Pottery
Montrose, CO
David Hendley on sat 19 jun 04
This happens to me all the time - for example, when making a run of
24 mugs, a few will be too dry because of being at the end of the board
or being the first few thrown.
If your mugs are " leather hard now (quite a ways from bone dry) ", you
should have no problem.
If the mugs are uniformly too dry, pour a few ounces of water into a
mug, swirl it around, as if glazing, and pour it out. Set aside to dry
for 10 minutes. Repeat if necessary.
If just the rims are too dry, invert a mug and dip it halfway into a
bucket of clean water. Again, set aside for 10 minutes, check it, and
repeat if necessary.
Make sure all the surface water is dried and gone before you try
to attach your handles.
David Hendley
david@farmpots.com
http://www.farmpots.com
----- Original Message -----
> > Having waited too long to attach handles to some mugs, I am seeking some
> > advice. The mugs are and I do not
> > want to lose them. Is there a way to rehydrate them so I can attach
handles.
> > This has happened once before and I sprayed the mugs, let them rest
under
> > plastic overnight and attached the handles the next day. When they
dried, the
> > handles were cracked where attached to the mug.
John Jensen on sat 19 jun 04
I think Vince's advice is good advice, but it can be handy to know how
to do things differently when you want to. I've recently been doing a
bit of work with porcelain and my usual methods are giving me some
troubles, handles cracking loose being one of them. So, if I want
handles, I have to change my ways just a bit.
John Jensen, Mudbug Pottery
mudbug@toadhouse.com , http://www.toadhouse.com
John Jensen on sat 19 jun 04
One approach is to make handles, and arrange for them to dry in a shape
very close to the shape they will assume on being attached. Then let
them dry to leather hard and attach with the usual score and slip
routine. Another approach is to attach the tops of the handles and
let the rest of it dangle down...as it dries move it into the final
position and attach the bottom part when the two parts are of the same
consistency. You'll likely want to cover these in plastic or put them in
an airtight cabinet while this drying takes place.
John Jensen, Mudbug Pottery
mudbug@toadhouse.com , http://www.toadhouse.com
Subject: Redydrating Mugs
The mugs are leather hard now (quite a ways from bone dry) and I do not
want to lose them. Is there a way to rehydrate them so I can attach
handles.This has happened once before and I sprayed the mugs, let them
rest under plastic overnight and attached the handles the next day.
When they dried, the handles were cracked where attached to the mug.
Rog Coman
Fish Hook Pottery
Montrose, CO
Rog Coman on sat 19 jun 04
Vince,
Thanks for the upfront advice. Think I will just use the too dry mugs as
tumblers.
Rog
Geraldine Wallace on sat 19 jun 04
try just covering with a well wrung damp piece of towel, wrap all in plastic
and wait a few days...it is also good to make handles and stick in the same
place as the cups...see if this works. g
Rick on sat 19 jun 04
I agree with Vince. This thread has come up before. And anyway, what
is wrong with handless mugs. I use such cups all the time and so do
many of the people i know.
Rick
On Jun 19, 2004, at 9:32 AM, Rog Coman wrote:
> Having waited too long to attach handles to some mugs, I am seeking
> some
> advice. The mugs are leather hard now (quite a ways from bone dry)
> and I do not
> want to lose them. Is there a way to rehydrate them so I can attach
> handles.
> This has happened once before and I sprayed the mugs, let them rest
> under
> plastic overnight and attached the handles the next day. When they
> dried, the
> handles were cracked where attached to the mug.
>
> I am sure others have had this problem. Would appreciate hearing
> success
> stories.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Rog Coman
> Fish Hook Pottery
> Montrose, CO
>
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Michael McDowell on sun 20 jun 04
Just read Vince's comment on what he feel is poor craftsmanship to
even bother with such things. I think that there is much to commend
in his stance, but I can't pass up the chance to disagree with him.
It may be poor craftsmanship to habitually let your pieces get too
dry, and then go to an extra proceedure to get them right for
trimming or putting on handles. But to learn techniques for
sucessfully rehydrating a piece can be put into the service of "good
craftsmanship" once learned.
An example of this in my own work is my covered pitcher. I dare not
distort the rim of this pitcher by pulling a spout when freshly
thrown as I would for an uncovered pitcher. To do so would
undoudtedly introduce enough subtle undulation in the seating of the
lid to allow bugs to get under the lid. I've learned to let the form
firm up quite a bit, then I rehydrate a section of the rim above the
gallery by taking a paper towel folded over many times and soaked in
water but not dripping. I lay this damp towlette over both sides of
the rim for a few minutes. That's enough to allow me to form the
spout on the pitcher while the gallery below remains undisturbed.
So I'd say go ahead and experiment with rehydrating forms. You may
well find other uses for these skills once you've mastered them.
Michael McDowell
Whatcom County, WA
Michael@McDowellPottery.com
http://www.McDowellPottery.com
Veena Raghavan on sun 20 jun 04
Years ago, I read a tip about rehydrating greenware that has gotten to dr=
y
to trim, attach handles and so on, and it has worked for me. This is not
for pieces that have totally dried out, but for pieces that have gotten a=
little past the soft leatherhard stage. Soak a piece of newspaper in wate=
r,
wrap it around the piece, then cover tightly with plastic. You have to
watch it, as the piece can get too soft, but in about twenty minutes, the=
piece is soft all over. If not, let it sit a little longer.
Hope this helps.
Veena
Veena Raghavan
75124.2520@compuserve.com
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