marianne kuiper milks on sun 24 apr 05
Greetings.
I am a wannabe potter, learning much and spenidn much
of my life and most of my money, which isn't that
much.
I have a very small Duncan electric, which is great
for biscque firing. I want a (small) gas kiln. We have
propane, newly installed for home and kiln heating.
The kiln will be in a covered area outside.
I have looked at the Olympic top-loading 2827G, which
Axner has on sale for a little over $1100, which is
withing my budget. There is 10 c ft space. I can buy
an extra ring - now or later -a and stuff like shelf
package etc are $180 each.
Is this a good kiln? (I am careful)
Would I be better off getting an electric kiln for
this size? (I really like the glaze results of gas)
An regarding a slab roller: is it stupid to buy a
table model -go gently on me here :) - for now? I work
probably 60% with slab.
I'd really appreciate help!
Marianne Kuiper Milks, Spokerstick Pottery, PA
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Susan S on sun 24 apr 05
In a message dated 4/24/2005 1:45:32 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
travelartnmusic@YAHOO.COM writes:
> An regarding a slab roller: is it stupid to buy a
> table model -go gently on me here :) - for now? I work
> probably 60% with slab.
Hi Marianne,
I know that there have been opinions flying about this here recently, several
of which made me cringe but I'm going to put in my two cents for you. So for
those of you who have decided that slab rollers suck, or if you've declared
yourself anti-slabroller, or you either feel sorry for those of us who use
them, or you think that we are unable to make worthy (in your viewpoint) artwork
with a slabroller, then please just delete this message now. You're not going
to be interested in what I have to say.
I have a Bailey slab roller, including the table, and I love it. I don't own
a wheel because I haven't been able to use one due to an injured spine. It
was injured in two places - cervical and lumbar -- so I'm in pain when I throw
whether I'm sitting or standing. So I've been a handbuilder and I love it.
But I also can't wrestle out big slabs without my slabroller. And the Bailey
compresses from the bottom as well as the top as it forms the slab so you don't
have the warping problem that you get with the type of slabroller that rolls
over the top of the clay while the bottom of the slab stays still.
I also got the table because the area that feeds the clay is slightly lower
than the rest of the table because as the clay lifts through the rollers, it's
at just the right height to feed and compress properly. I have zero problems
with my slabs. And the table section that the slabs roll onto is at a good
height for me to be able to slide the canvas off and onto a work table.
Since we just moved and I'm finally going to have a real studio area where I
can work at home now (I have always worked at a local community college before
this) I'm planning on getting a wheel since I'll be able to leave
work-in-progress on it when I need to stop. At school everything had to be removed.
Since I can only throw about 10 minutes at a time, I'll have some other options
once I can afford a wheel.
I have had my own slabroller all along at home though. It's nice now that
it's no longer in the family room! ;-)
Susie
Cindy in SD on mon 25 apr 05
Dear Marianne,
I can't say much about the kiln except that, if it's the reduction
glazes you love, you should go with the kiln that will do it for you. I
have heard gas firers say, however, that it's not a matter of whether
one will experience a fire, but when. So, for me, a separate
metal-framed and sheathed building will be an absolute requirement
should I ever install a gas kiln. That said, I have no personal
experience in this matter. This is hear-say and nothing else.
As for the slab roller, I recently purchased one and I love it. I don't
do that much slab work yet, but the quality of the slabs more than makes
it worthwhile to me. I have the "Rolling Thunder" model made by Axner in
Florida. I didn't order the table. Any table which is wide enough and
can have the slab roller bolted to the surface will do. I built my own
table and haven't gotten around to bolting the slab roller down yet. It
works fine as is, so long as I don't feed in really fat clay, and it's
better not to do that in any case for the sake of the longevity of the
gears. I will bolt it down soon, I suppose, but it is convenient to be
able to move it out of the way when I want the table space for other things.
Hope this helps,
Cindy in SD
Annie Chrietzberg on mon 25 apr 05
Susan,
I never, EVER, implied that artwork made on a slabroller was inferior.
Vince uses a slabroller, and I think his work is fabulous. The
original post was about SLAB WARPAGE. In my opinion, and in my
experience, slab-rolled slabs are weaker and more prone to warpage than
slabs I can make myself through throwing & rolling, and are especially
weaker, in my experience, than slabs that are meticulously beaten out
with a Chinese clay mallet.
That being said, if physical limitations make a slab roller necessary,
or if you just disagree with me, and love your slab roller - Hooray!
The suck was non-transferable, and only applied to the strength and
non-warpage of the slab-rolled slabs RELATIVE to other forming methods
. Declaring myself anti-slab roller forever was a JOKE! Who would
ever fly such a flag and mean it? I was making fun of my own strong
opinion about slab rollers. Get it?
There is really no reason to be offended by my over-the-top opinion
about equipment, especially when I confessed to being a kick-wheel
junkie - or, dork, as I called myself. And there is surely no reason
to extrapolate a post about equipment into a jab about the worthiness
of anyone's artwork, period.
Annie Chrietzberg
Ceramic Design Group
Steamboat Springs, CO
970-879-9139
On Apr 24, 2005, at 7:38 PM, Susan S wrote:
> In a message dated 4/24/2005 1:45:32 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> travelartnmusic@YAHOO.COM writes:
>
>> An regarding a slab roller: is it stupid to buy a
>> table model -go gently on me here :) - for now? I work
>> probably 60% with slab.
>
> Hi Marianne,
>
> I know that there have been opinions flying about this here recently,
> several
> of which made me cringe but I'm going to put in my two cents for you.
> So for
> those of you who have decided that slab rollers suck, or if you've
> declared
> yourself anti-slabroller, or you either feel sorry for those of us who
> use
> them, or you think that we are unable to make worthy (in your
> viewpoint) artwork
> with a slabroller, then please just delete this message now. You're
> not going
> to be interested in what I have to say.
>
> I have a Bailey slab roller, including the table, and I love it. I
> don't own
> a wheel because I haven't been able to use one due to an injured
> spine. It
> was injured in two places - cervical and lumbar -- so I'm in pain when
> I throw
> whether I'm sitting or standing. So I've been a handbuilder and I
> love it.
> But I also can't wrestle out big slabs without my slabroller. And the
> Bailey
> compresses from the bottom as well as the top as it forms the slab so
> you don't
> have the warping problem that you get with the type of slabroller that
> rolls
> over the top of the clay while the bottom of the slab stays still.
>
> I also got the table because the area that feeds the clay is slightly
> lower
> than the rest of the table because as the clay lifts through the
> rollers, it's
> at just the right height to feed and compress properly. I have zero
> problems
> with my slabs. And the table section that the slabs roll onto is at a
> good
> height for me to be able to slide the canvas off and onto a work table.
>
> Since we just moved and I'm finally going to have a real studio area
> where I
> can work at home now (I have always worked at a local community
> college before
> this) I'm planning on getting a wheel since I'll be able to leave
> work-in-progress on it when I need to stop. At school everything had
> to be removed.
> Since I can only throw about 10 minutes at a time, I'll have some
> other options
> once I can afford a wheel.
>
> I have had my own slabroller all along at home though. It's nice now
> that
> it's no longer in the family room! ;-)
>
> Susie
>
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