Stephani Stephenson on fri 23 sep 05
The outer perimeters of the slab can be trimmed away.
Two ways you can finish edges on slabs which serve to also compress
are to lay some clear plastic wrap on edge and run hand or
template/tool along edge (plastic wrap reduces drag) and gently
compress.
You can also true up a slab by using 2 straight sturdy pieces of wood
, placed on opposite sides of slab and tapped inward, toward each
other, then repeat on the other two sides of the rectangular slab.
however, all this said... you can overdo it and cause warping by over
compressing the edge in relation to the center
.
For awhile I intentionally and perhaps too vigorously compressed edges
of larger hand pressed tiles and also slabs
I thought the compressing would solve the problems I was having with a
particular clay body, on larger pieces.
I began to notice the strangest areas of warping on them
I would find small buckled areas along the edge.. very pronounced
warping , and in very specific areas.
Finally the light bulb went on
I was reminded about things I learned with regard to throwing,
especially plates.
maintaining equal compression from the bottom/center of a piece to the
outer rim
Similar concept applies to to rolled slabs and pressed tiles as well
UNEVEN compression IS the problem
where compression is UNEVEN... areas under tension tend to crack
areas under compression will tend to warp
my overcompensating by over compressing and also uneven
overcompressing was actually
causing some problems with warping
ay!
Stephani Stephenson
steph@revivaltileworks.com
http://www.revivaltileworks.com
L. P. Skeen on fri 23 sep 05
Yo Steph,
I have a similar suggestion, which I discovered quite by accident when I had
a cut finger. Finger Cots are excellent for smoothing out rough spots on
clay. They come in a package of 20 or so in various sizes, look like
miniature condoms without all the goo. Since they are not textured, they
won't pick up clay as you run your finger down the edge of your piece, and
if you're careful, you can reuse them (unlike condoms, haha). I do NOT
recommend leaving a package of these things out in a studio that is not air
conditioned in summer - they literally melt and stick together, blech - but
they're great to use, and good conversation starters too, hehheh. When I am
making tiles, I always wear a finger cot, (or a vinyl medical glove if I'm
out of cots), first to smooth the raggedy edges of clay on the bottom of the
tile before removing it from the cutter, and then again to round over the
edges on top of the tile.
L
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephani Stephenson"
> Two ways you can finish edges on slabs which serve to also compress are
> to lay some clear plastic wrap on edge and run hand or> template/tool
> along edge (plastic wrap reduces drag) and gently compress.
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