Michael Wendt on sun 19 mar 06
BJ,
First try wire wedging the clay 30 times and see if
that
solves the problem.
A full description of the method is in the March-April
issue of Pottery Making Illustrated.
Another aid in slow even drying is to cover the pieces
with cloth. This allows moisture to leave but prevents
drafts from accelerating edge drying.
Good luck,
Michael Wendt
Wendt Pottery
2729 Clearwater Ave
Lewiston, Idaho 83501
USA
wendtpot@lewiston.com
www.wendtpottery.com
BJ wrote:
Hello,
I'm trying to dry some slabs of Southern Ice. They are
less than 1/4" thick
and about 12" in any one direction, but they are
perfectly flat.
I'm having problems with cracking (BIG SURPRISE
right?). Seems to me that
the outside edge is drying much faster than the
interior and "rim" cracks
come in from the outside.
Anyone have any suggestions on how I can dry these out
super slow but more
even than what I'm doing now?
Thanks,
--
BJ Clark
BJ Clark | Stinking Desert Ceramics on sun 19 mar 06
Hello,
I'm trying to dry some slabs of Southern Ice. They are less than 1/4" thick
and about 12" in any one direction, but they are perfectly flat.
I'm having problems with cracking (BIG SURPRISE right?). Seems to me that
the outside edge is drying much faster than the interior and "rim" cracks
come in from the outside.
Anyone have any suggestions on how I can dry these out super slow but more
even than what I'm doing now?
Thanks,
--
BJ Clark
Stinking Desert Ceramics
bjclark@stinkingdesert.com
www.stinkingdesert.com
Grand Junction, CO
Marcia Selsor on sun 19 mar 06
Wax the edges, and dry them sandwiched between sheetrock.
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
On Mar 19, 2006, at 5:25 PM, BJ Clark|Stinking Desert Ceramics wrote:
> Hello,
> I'm trying to dry some slabs of Southern Ice. They are less than
> 1/4" thick
> and about 12" in any one direction, but they are perfectly flat.
> I'm having problems with cracking (BIG SURPRISE right?). Seems to
> me that
> the outside edge is drying much faster than the interior and "rim"
> cracks
> come in from the outside.
> Anyone have any suggestions on how I can dry these out super slow
> but more
> even than what I'm doing now?
> Thanks,
> --
> BJ Clark
> Stinking Desert Ceramics
> bjclark@stinkingdesert.com
> www.stinkingdesert.com
> Grand Junction, CO
Antoinette Badenhorst on mon 20 mar 06
You need to find a way that these slabs will slide on the surface. With
stoneware for instance one would use grog or sand. I would consider =
using
silica, but then you will have to make sure that you get it all off =
before
firing to glaze temp, or it will affect your glazes. Next obtion will be =
to
consider adding paper to the clay.
Hope this give you some ideas.
Do you need sharp trimming tools that will not wear out quickly? Contact =
me
for information.=20
Antoinette Badenhorst
105 Westwood Circle
Saltillo MS, 38866
662 869 1651
www.clayandcanvas.com
www.southernartistry.org
=20
=20
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of BJ Clark |
Stinking Desert Ceramics
Sent: Sunday, March 19, 2006 6:25 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Drying thin southern ice slabs
Hello,
I'm trying to dry some slabs of Southern Ice. They are less than 1/4" =
thick
and about 12" in any one direction, but they are perfectly flat.
I'm having problems with cracking (BIG SURPRISE right?). Seems to me =
that
the outside edge is drying much faster than the interior and "rim" =
cracks
come in from the outside.
Anyone have any suggestions on how I can dry these out super slow but =
more
even than what I'm doing now?
Thanks,
--
BJ Clark
Stinking Desert Ceramics
bjclark@stinkingdesert.com
www.stinkingdesert.com
Grand Junction, CO
_________________________________________________________________________=
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Chris Campbell on mon 20 mar 06
Southern Ice needs to be dried extremely slowly to
prevent the edge cracks.
Keep them under two layers of dry cleaner plastic ...
lift the plastic and shake off any moisture that gathers
a couple times a day.
Slow means a week ... not a day or two.
If this idea makes you impatient, then add some paper
pulp to it and then you can dry it almost overnight.
I use 1 roll of cheap one ply toilet paper per bag of
Southern Ice. Details are on my website.
Good Luck
Chris Campbell - in North Carolina
Chris Campbell Pottery LLC
9417 Koupela Drive
Raleigh NC 27615-2233
Fine Colored Porcelain since 1989
1-800-652-1008
Fax : 919-676-2062
website: www.ccpottery.com
wholesale : www.wholesalecrafts.com
Snail Scott on tue 21 mar 06
At 05:25 PM 3/19/2006 -0700, you wrote:
>Hello,
>I'm trying to dry some slabs...
>the outside edge is drying much faster than the interior and "rim" cracks
>come in from the outside.
What are they sitting on? I like drywall
sheets for drying flat slabs and tiles: one
sheet on top, one on the bottom, as many
sheets in the stack as needed, then wrap the
edges of the 'sandwich' so the air can't get
to the gap. It'll dry through the absorbency
of the drywall. To be extra-even, cover the
sheet on the top so it won't get dryer than
the one(s) on the bottom.
I take a utility knife to the hardware store
and cut the 4'x8' sheets of drywall down to
2' squares right there in the store, though
I wait to tape the edges until I'm home.
-Snail
Dannon Rhudy on tue 21 mar 06
You could cover them with thin plastic. You
could wax the edges for a few inches inward.
Might not help, much, though. You could try
placing them between flat pieces of drywall/plaster
board. BUT - that thin, they may still give trouble.
If you don't need too many of them, then you might
find it worthwhile to wedge in chopped nylon
fiber. I've built life-size human forms doing that
without a crack. The wedging takes time, though,
and I was using grolleg porcelain, not Southern Ice..
regards
Dannon Rhudy
---
---
Jeanie Silver on tue 21 mar 06
Dear Bj Clark
You might try making a larger slab than need-cut to the desired dimension.
But don't remove from the surrounding clay. The margin of the larger clay
slab will act as a buffer and slow the drying of the edges of your cut slab.
Of course you would still do all the traditional things-dry between
wallboard-flip sides-expose the middle everyday so it will start drying a
little in advance of the edges-keep out of drafts-avoid chills,take vitamin
C...no wait,perhaps I've drifted a bit here.but you get the picture....
Jeanie in Pa.
Marcia Selsor on tue 21 mar 06
One other thing you might try,
between the sheet rock, I line my sheet rock with end roll newsprint
paper. Then the clay won't stick to the board.
I do this for my big raku slabs. You have to be fast because the
paper starts to crinkle when it starts absorbing the water.
I get my sheet rock in place asap on top of the paper.
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
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