Tig Dupre on fri 30 jun 06
Cherished Mudbuds,
I am of the opinion that none of us gets any extra "Claypoints" for the number of posts we write, the intrinsic value of information contained therein, or the quantity of scathing replies to offending counter-opinions. Mel has it correct when he says that we are all over the map as potters. From non-religious to near fanatic; from apolitical to foaming-at-the-mouth; from production potter to one-piece-a-week. There are several thousand subscribers to Clayart, and not all of us are Constant Posters, but the vast majority are Constant Readers.
Most of the time, when I read someone's opinion which happens to run contrary to mine, I either ignore it, or reply directly to the person. I do not yell, "FLAME ON!" and commence a running gun battle in the pages of Clayart. There is a time and a place for everything, and I owe much of what I know to the good folks here in this forum.
What a group we are! Revel in the differences! Mine them for information. Sift and glean for the jewels of knowledge, and share the results with those from whom you have learned. We are all students and teachers.
////
By the way, those reactive iron heating pads have another use when the heat's gone. They do indeed, contain iron--the potter's best friend. I use a bunch of the heat pads for various reasons (most to do with getting older and having the vagaries of youth return for vengeance). When they are spent, I harvest the iron-rich cakes or powder, dry grind them in a ball mill, and coarse sieve the powder through a kitchen mesh strainer. Add 2-7% to a white glaze of your choice. Run a few test tiles. SHAZAM! Marvel at your amazing recycling abilities!
Just as an aside: when I was allowing my curiosity to tickle me, I asked a manufacturer of the heat pads to give me a non-proprietary break-down of the chemical content of the compound, explaining that I wanted to use it in pottery glazes. The person who replied cautioned me that iron can be "EXTREMELY TOXIC" (emphasis is in the original) and that I should not use this material in my pottery. I chuckled and thanked the sender.
Another thought: I understand that silicon carbide is used to give local reduction for copper glazes in electric fire. Has anyone tried SiC in iron glazes? Just curious...
Thanks to you all for being a very important part of my ClayLife.
Tig Dupre
in GLORIOUSLY Summer Port Orchard, Washington, USA
Brian Fistler on sun 2 jul 06
On Fri, 2006-06-30 at 10:56 -0700, Tig Dupre wrote:
> Just as an aside: when I was allowing my curiosity to tickle me, I
> asked a manufacturer of the heat pads to give me a non-proprietary
> break-down of the chemical content of the compound, explaining that I
> wanted to use it in pottery glazes. The person who replied cautioned
> me that iron can be "EXTREMELY TOXIC" (emphasis is in the original)
> and that I should not use this material in my pottery. I chuckled and
> thanked the sender.
If I remember right, the two main ingredients are iron and carbon
(charcoal) in them. When the package is opened, oxygen and moisture are
allowed to enter the mix, causing the iron to "rust" (oxidize) producing
the heat.
Brian
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