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microwaveable bisque???

updated fri 22 jul 05

 

Jim Cullen on wed 20 jul 05


I have a customer looking for bisqueware she can glaze, but it has to be
microwaveable and dishwasher proof. Since there seems to be mostly low-fire
bisque, I know...there is some Cone 6 bisque out there, but there isn't a
very big selection, is low-fire (Cone 06) bisque microwaveable? What would
make it non-microwaveable? I would think that as long as it's fired to
maturity it should be okay. Is this correct thinking?

"An opportunity lost...is lost forever."
Roundhouse Pottery
JIM CULLEN
www.clay-king.com
jim@clay-king.com

Earl Brunner on wed 20 jul 05


Most clays are probably microwave and dishwasher safe, however since you
have no control over what she will glaze with or under what conditions, and
how stable her glazes are going to be, I would be hesitant to give any kind
of warranty beyond what is on the clay box. Since she is the one
controlling the glaze and firing, she is the one who should be doing the
testing and making the warranty to her customers.

Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of Jim Cullen
Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 4:49 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Microwaveable bisque???

I have a customer looking for bisqueware she can glaze, but it has to be
microwaveable and dishwasher proof. Since there seems to be mostly low-fire
bisque, I know...there is some Cone 6 bisque out there, but there isn't a
very big selection, is low-fire (Cone 06) bisque microwaveable? What would
make it non-microwaveable? I would think that as long as it's fired to
maturity it should be okay. Is this correct thinking?

"An opportunity lost...is lost forever."
Roundhouse Pottery
JIM CULLEN
www.clay-king.com
jim@clay-king.com

Snail Scott on thu 21 jul 05


At 07:49 PM 7/20/2005 -0400, you wrote:
>...is low-fire (Cone 06) bisque microwaveable? What would
>make it non-microwaveable?


The problem with earthenware is its porosity.
A glaze will protect it from moisture absorption,
but only until the glaze crazes, which is almost
inevitable. It also would require being fired on
a stilt, since a dry foot will absorb moisture
every time it's washed. Dishwasher washing will
force more moisture in through the foot (and the
crazing) than handwashing, but it will probably
get in there eventually, and like a cracked
sealed-beam headlight, it has a much harder time
escaping afterward. It's this trapped moisture
that causes problems in the microwave, when it
turns to steam.

-Snail