Grace Sheese on sun 24 oct 04
Hello,
First, I'd like to agree with others in saying that Mastering Cone 6 is =
a life changing book for the electric kiln potter! I started with =
firing a reduction kiln, lost that opportunity and floundered for =
several years, until the publication of this book. The glazes in MC6 is =
all I use. The variations are endless! Thank you so much Ron and Jon. =
Your book is definitely a big contribution to the pottery field.
I've been using the same bucket of waterfall brown for 1 or more years =
now. They always come out in this lovely red. However, lately, the =
glaze has turned yellowish and/or blackish. I'm losing the nice red. =
I've tried varying the thickness of application but it doesn't seem to =
make much of a difference. This is not a new batch of glaze and I've =
remained consistent in the firing process.
Any thoughts on why the sudden change?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Grace
www.gracesheese.com
John Hesselberth on mon 25 oct 04
Hi Grace,
Thanks for your comments on the book. I'm glad you are finding it
helpful.
Just a guess, but have you thoroughly stirred and rescreened before
each use? If not you probably have a varying composition with time. I
used to try just shaking or lightly stirring before I started glazing,
but I found that wasn't enough to thoroughly redisperse the soft sludge
that settles on the bottom of the bucket. When I force the discipline
of rescreening I assure that the glaze gets thoroughly mixed because I
see the bottom of the bucket. It doesn't take but a few extra minutes
and, for me at least, has greatly improved the consistency of my glazes
from beginning to end of the batch.
Mix up a small new batch and see if the problem goes away.
Regards,
John
On Sunday, October 24, 2004, at 10:33 AM, Grace Sheese wrote:
> Hello,
> First, I'd like to agree with others in saying that Mastering Cone 6
> is a life changing book for the electric kiln potter!
>
> I've been using the same bucket of waterfall brown for 1 or more years
> now. They always come out in this lovely red. However, lately, the
> glaze has turned yellowish and/or blackish. I'm losing the nice red.
> I've tried varying the thickness of application but it doesn't seem to
> make much of a difference. This is not a new batch of glaze and I've
> remained consistent in the firing process.
>
> Any thoughts on why the sudden change?
>
>
John Hesselberth
http://www.frogpondpottery.com
http://www.masteringglazes.com
Ron Roy on tue 26 oct 04
Hi Grace,
Thank you for your kind words - you are in our hall of fame file - it means
little to many but so much to John and I.
I don't work much at cone 6 so I don't have a clue about the waterfall
problem - but I am interested in finding out more.
I have used a Tenmoku glaze now for 25 years - and some of the original
glaze is still in that bucket. It went bad about 5 years ago - it started
to separate - thin on the bottom - hard layer in the middle and watery on
the top - very hard to deal with and impossible to control the application
- I'm using an all new mix now.
I did find some mysterious granules when I put some of it through 100 mesh
- I am guessing the iron was reacting with something - it has 7.5 red iron
in it.
So - see if you can find some granular material in that old glaze - it has
a lot of iron - I'm just guessing but we have to start somewhere.
Is your water highly mineralized? Look in your kettle - if so you may need
to use distilled water for that glaze - for a new batch.
RR
>First, I'd like to agree with others in saying that Mastering Cone 6 is a
>life changing book for the electric kiln potter! I started with firing a
>reduction kiln, lost that opportunity and floundered for several years,
>until the publication of this book. The glazes in MC6 is all I use. The
>variations are endless! Thank you so much Ron and Jon. Your book is
>definitely a big contribution to the pottery field.
>
>I've been using the same bucket of waterfall brown for 1 or more years
>now. They always come out in this lovely red. However, lately, the glaze
>has turned yellowish and/or blackish. I'm losing the nice red. I've
>tried varying the thickness of application but it doesn't seem to make
>much of a difference. This is not a new batch of glaze and I've remained
>consistent in the firing process.
>
>Any thoughts on why the sudden change?
>
>Any help is greatly appreciated.
>
>Grace
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
Grace Sheese on sat 30 oct 04
Ron,
Interesting points you've brought up. I'm not sure if we are talking about
the same thing but the water here does leave things a bit yellow. It tinges
the toilet bowl, my dogs' water bowls etc. I'll try mixing a new batch with
different water and see how that goes. We'll be moving soon so maybe Oregon
water will be better. In the meantime, I'll re-sieve it and see if any
mysterious granules pop up.
Thanks for the tips!
Grace
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Roy"
To: "Clayart"
Cc:
Sent: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 12:09 AM
Subject: Re: problems with waterfall brown - please help!
> Hi Grace,
>
> Thank you for your kind words - you are in our hall of fame file - it
means
> little to many but so much to John and I.
>
> I don't work much at cone 6 so I don't have a clue about the waterfall
> problem - but I am interested in finding out more.
>
> I have used a Tenmoku glaze now for 25 years - and some of the original
> glaze is still in that bucket. It went bad about 5 years ago - it started
> to separate - thin on the bottom - hard layer in the middle and watery on
> the top - very hard to deal with and impossible to control the application
> - I'm using an all new mix now.
>
> I did find some mysterious granules when I put some of it through 100 mesh
> - I am guessing the iron was reacting with something - it has 7.5 red iron
> in it.
>
> So - see if you can find some granular material in that old glaze - it has
> a lot of iron - I'm just guessing but we have to start somewhere.
>
> Is your water highly mineralized? Look in your kettle - if so you may need
> to use distilled water for that glaze - for a new batch.
>
> RR
>
>
> >First, I'd like to agree with others in saying that Mastering Cone 6 is a
> >life changing book for the electric kiln potter! I started with firing a
> >reduction kiln, lost that opportunity and floundered for several years,
> >until the publication of this book. The glazes in MC6 is all I use. The
> >variations are endless! Thank you so much Ron and Jon. Your book is
> >definitely a big contribution to the pottery field.
> >
> >I've been using the same bucket of waterfall brown for 1 or more years
> >now. They always come out in this lovely red. However, lately, the
glaze
> >has turned yellowish and/or blackish. I'm losing the nice red. I've
> >tried varying the thickness of application but it doesn't seem to make
> >much of a difference. This is not a new batch of glaze and I've remained
> >consistent in the firing process.
> >
> >Any thoughts on why the sudden change?
> >
> >Any help is greatly appreciated.
> >
> >Grace
>
> Ron Roy
> RR#4
> 15084 Little Lake Road
> Brighton, Ontario
> Canada
> K0K 1H0
> Phone: 613-475-9544
> Fax: 613-475-3513
>
>
>
Ron Roy on sun 31 oct 04
Hi Grace,
There is a way to "wash" a glaze - like getting the salts out of a house plant.
You take off as much water as you can - and replace it with demineralized
water - stir - let stand - yake off the water again - good to use heated
water water maybe?
The problem is often due to the glaze having too much water - if ware is
bisque fired low the glazes needs to be thin and will settle more easily.
This is one of the reasons we recommend bisque firing to a full cone 04.
There is really nothing in that glaze that would make it settle out for
instance - no solubles - so I suspect the water - it can and does happen.
RR
>Ron,
>Interesting points you've brought up. I'm not sure if we are talking about
>the same thing but the water here does leave things a bit yellow. It tinges
>the toilet bowl, my dogs' water bowls etc. I'll try mixing a new batch with
>different water and see how that goes. We'll be moving soon so maybe Oregon
>water will be better. In the meantime, I'll re-sieve it and see if any
>mysterious granules pop up.
>
>Thanks for the tips!
>Grace
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
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