mel jacobson on fri 29 sep 06
i love the idea of a `toilet brush.`
there are many new paint mixers for sale
at a variety of big box stores...just have seen
two new designs yesterday.
bought them both...buck 99/ 3.99.
when you compare the 50 bucks you pay for
that stainless jiffy mixer....well, these new ones are
really nice.
and for big batches, like the 50 gallon
pails that i use...the sheet rock folks
have come up with some great paddles
that attach to a drill motor.
i have used for a long time, a very fine kitchen
sieve/strainer on a long broom handle.
it mixes well, and takes out many of those pesky
bits of bisque that can fall off a big platter or
bowl. you know, those little bits that stick to
the ring foot. it is hard to strain those big batches...and
using my mounted strainer i keep the glaze clean as i
stir it.
i use dippers for glazing. i have found some nice measuring
cups with flat handles that mount nicely on a bamboo
rod. i use duct tape, and or, electricians tape to strap them
to the rod.
by using the handled dipper, you can stir/reach to the bottom
of the pail and always have rich fully homogenized glaze.
i drill motor with a paddle to start the mixing process, but then
put that away...and use the dipper or strainer on a stick.
i stir before every dip...and use the dipper to fill my pots
with glaze...then start the counting of the seconds.
the rule for me is: no pot is glazed for more than
10 seconds...total...so, a dip may be two seconds, another
three seconds, base coat in and out. in japan we had an old
clock with a big sweep second hand...cut off the hour and minute
hand...and, we counted the seconds that pots were in glaze.
fussy. but that is how you get consistent glazes from firing
to firing. test the glaze for water amount, count the seconds
for a perfect coating...both inside, and outside.
(it seems that it is critical with `floating blue`, that the glaze
is the right thickness, the coating has to be perfect and
the firing has to be dead on cone 5. anything else, and the
glaze is ruined....i just learned that for the 80th time
here on clayart...the `floating blue blues.`)
each glaze bucket has a dipper, just for that color.
50 gallon dippers are two/three cup dippers.
for decorative glazes i often use a half cup measure.
when i glaze, i keep two 5 gallon buckets of fresh water to
clean my dippers, brushes etc. and, i use the garden hose
to clean my glazing area. lots of water...a big old kitchen mop.
i never leave glaze on the floor, or on my ware boards.
takes just a second to hose them off.
that was one of the most important factors in building
my studio. a floor that sloped to the center, with a drain
that went to the garden. a garden hose cleaning every few months,
and the floor is clean as new. and one of those nice squeegees
on a long handle and push it to the center, down the drain hole.
put on the ceiling fans, and the place is dry in a few hours.
nice. i have mounted two ceiling fans in my studio. both on
reo/stats...also have two box fans on the floor...they work
great for controlled drying of my pots. (of course dust control
is critical if you use fans.) i also spread oiled/saw dust on my
floor every day. just a cup or so...it keeps the dirt and dust
on the floor.
like wayne and i say to each other: (wayne is in the professional
cleaning business.)
`amazing how dirty some studios are...just pig pens of filth.
some think it is cool, chaos. artistic.`
no. just a lung full of dust now and then...it never goes away
and builds over the years. think of that oxygen hose stuck
up your nose..for the rest of your life.
clean it up.
stay healthy.
listen to ron roy...he knows. and it saddens me no end to
know that warren mackenzie has `white lung disease`.
fine silica in glaze is the major danger.
clean it with water.
i just had my lungs tested, i think about things like
that....my doctor is very pleased...very strong lung
and air control. as she says...`you are doing something
right mel...keep it up.`
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Patrick Cross on thu 5 oct 06
Here's an idea on stiffening the toilet bowl brushes you buy...slip the
handles into a short length of pipe and cut the pipe to whatever length you
feel is comfortable. You could even get fancy and put a rubber grip on the
top end. You wouldn't necessarily have to physically attach the pipe to the
brush as long as it was a close fit...then maybe just have one or
two handles for use with multiple brushes.
You could use galvanized steel pipe...or maybe that grey PVC electrical
conduit...or PVC plumbing. If you use PVC, the grey electrical conduit is
stiffer thatn plumbing pipe.
If the handle of the brush doesn't allow it to fit inside the pipe I would
suggest cutting it's handle off but leave a stub of say 3-5
inches...assuming that the handle isn't as wide toward the brush end...you
might need to attach it by putting a long 1/4 inch bolt through the pipe and
brush head stub if you were to do that.
I might even cut the pipe long enough so that I could stand upright and stir
the bucket down on the floor....To save my back.
*Double, double...TOIL and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble..*
*Eye of newt, and toe of frog. *
*Wool of bat, and tongue of dog...*
This the season for witches after all. Maybe the glazes would come out
better if you actually recite the above while stirring...
Can you get wool of bat at High Water Clays?
Patrick Cross (cone10soda)
On 10/5/06, Charan Sachar wrote:
>
> I have been using toilet brushes to stir my glazes and I absolutely love
> them.
> I had bought the IKEA $1 toilet brushes, but with a full bucket of glaze
> they were very flimsy. I know Alisa you are not in the US, but at the "BIG
> LOTS" store out here very often they have "Mr. Clean" toilet brushes which
> ae grey and blue in color and very strong and sturdy (also for a $1). They
> are also large enough and have a better ergonomic handle. They are also
> the perfect length to fit in a cat litter square bucket. Cleaning glaze
> toilet brushes is a pain, so I have one in every bucket of glaze. And the
> brush size is just perfect that I can close the bucket with its brush in
> it.
> So this might not help Alisa, but others in the US can certainly look into
> this.
> BTW, Alisa,... you have a great website and love the way you have posted
> your glazes. I have tested several glazes and haven't been dissapointed.
> My database is mostly in Microsoft Access. Someday I will spend time to
> put it on the web.
> Take care
> Charan
> www.creativewithclay.com
>
> On Thu, 5 Oct 2006 03:00:42 -0400, Alisa Liskin Clausen
> wrote:
>
> >On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:29:33 -0500, mel jacobson
> wrote:
> >
> >>i love the idea of a `toilet brush.`
> >
> >
> >
> >Ikea has toilet brushes for less than one dollar and I am going to get a
> >few of them. Great idea. I use a large trimming loop, with vetenarian
> >examination gloves (farm animals, big farm animals) up to my shoulders,
> >to get the really panned glaze off the bottom.
> >
> >Scaling down, I have used set of extra large tooth brush type brushes, I
> >think are used for cleaning insides of pipes, to mix up glaze
> tests. They
> >are just like toothbrushes, and come in both nylon and steel bristles. I
> >use the nylon ones.
> >
> >Next, but not least for studio tips, I found the otherwise annoying
> dosage
> >cups that come with every bottle of liquid detergent, are excellent to
> >save for mixing up underglazes and stains. The cup can stand and is a
> >comfortable size for the hand and small enough to mix up preciously
> >expensive stains and underglazes.
> >
> >Best regards from Alisa in Denmark
> >
>
> >__________________________________________________________________________
> ____
> >Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> >You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> >settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> >Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
Alisa Liskin Clausen on thu 5 oct 06
On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:29:33 -0500, mel jacobson wrote:
>i love the idea of a `toilet brush.`
Ikea has toilet brushes for less than one dollar and I am going to get a
few of them. Great idea. I use a large trimming loop, with vetenarian
examination gloves (farm animals, big farm animals) up to my shoulders,
to get the really panned glaze off the bottom.
Scaling down, I have used set of extra large tooth brush type brushes, I
think are used for cleaning insides of pipes, to mix up glaze tests. They
are just like toothbrushes, and come in both nylon and steel bristles. I
use the nylon ones.
Next, but not least for studio tips, I found the otherwise annoying dosage
cups that come with every bottle of liquid detergent, are excellent to
save for mixing up underglazes and stains. The cup can stand and is a
comfortable size for the hand and small enough to mix up preciously
expensive stains and underglazes.
Best regards from Alisa in Denmark
Charan Sachar on thu 5 oct 06
I have been using toilet brushes to stir my glazes and I absolutely love
them.
I had bought the IKEA $1 toilet brushes, but with a full bucket of glaze
they were very flimsy. I know Alisa you are not in the US, but at the "BIG
LOTS" store out here very often they have "Mr. Clean" toilet brushes which
ae grey and blue in color and very strong and sturdy (also for a $1). They
are also large enough and have a better ergonomic handle. They are also
the perfect length to fit in a cat litter square bucket. Cleaning glaze
toilet brushes is a pain, so I have one in every bucket of glaze. And the
brush size is just perfect that I can close the bucket with its brush in
it.
So this might not help Alisa, but others in the US can certainly look into
this.
BTW, Alisa,... you have a great website and love the way you have posted
your glazes. I have tested several glazes and haven't been dissapointed.
My database is mostly in Microsoft Access. Someday I will spend time to
put it on the web.
Take care
Charan
www.creativewithclay.com
On Thu, 5 Oct 2006 03:00:42 -0400, Alisa Liskin Clausen
wrote:
>On Fri, 29 Sep 2006 04:29:33 -0500, mel jacobson
wrote:
>
>>i love the idea of a `toilet brush.`
>
>
>
>Ikea has toilet brushes for less than one dollar and I am going to get a
>few of them. Great idea. I use a large trimming loop, with vetenarian
>examination gloves (farm animals, big farm animals) up to my shoulders,
>to get the really panned glaze off the bottom.
>
>Scaling down, I have used set of extra large tooth brush type brushes, I
>think are used for cleaning insides of pipes, to mix up glaze tests. They
>are just like toothbrushes, and come in both nylon and steel bristles. I
>use the nylon ones.
>
>Next, but not least for studio tips, I found the otherwise annoying dosage
>cups that come with every bottle of liquid detergent, are excellent to
>save for mixing up underglazes and stains. The cup can stand and is a
>comfortable size for the hand and small enough to mix up preciously
>expensive stains and underglazes.
>
>Best regards from Alisa in Denmark
>
>__________________________________________________________________________
____
>Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
>You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
>settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
>Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
melpots@pclink.com.
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