mel jacobson on wed 18 oct 06
I am very new to the discussions; but have been reading through them and
the archives for the past month or so. I have a question for anyone who can
give me some help. I am very new to mixing my own glazes. I have purchased
the chemicals I needed for certain glazes that I wanted to start off with.
Today I finally tried my hand at mixing. I started with two glazes:
Nutmeg (5 gallons)
Dolormite 2330 g
Spodumene 2330 g
OM #4 Ball Clay 2330 g
Silica (325 Mesh) 2330 g
Ferro Frit 3134 680 g
then:
Red Iron Oxide 107g
Yellow Ochre 324 g
Tin Oxide 485 g
Bentonite 190 g
and
Teal Blue (2 1/2 gallons)
Custer Feldspar 1000 g
EPK 1000 g
Ferro Frit 3134 1000 g
Wollastonite 1000 g
Silica (325 Mesh) 1000 g
Cobalt Carb 50 g
Chrome Oxide 25 g
I mixed them separately and weighed everything out to the gram. I had my
buckets ready with 5 gallons of water in a 6 1/2 gallon bucket and 2 1/2
gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. I mixed the dry chemicals together
and then while using a bucket paint stir hooked up to an electric drill, I
began slowly mixing the dry to the water. (So far so good......so it seemed).
When I got finished; the glazes were both extremely watery. Then I started
dipping my stoneware pots. The glazes did not adhere to the pots very well
and dried with streaks that looked as though the glaze had separated.
As much as this will probably make some of you laugh out loud -- I just
want to remind you -- you started out not knowing at sometime; didn't
you.????? Well, here's the "stupid questions" then.
What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny? Is there a set amount
of time you need to wait before you try to glaze the pots? When making a 5
gallon batch or even a 2 1/2 gallon batch; are you suppose to decrease the
amount of water so that the batch is thicker? Did I ruin my glazes in any
way? Do I need to start over with new chemical? Do I need to add more of
one or more of the ingredients to thicken it up? Please help me. I don't
live in an area with a lot of potters; or at least ones that make their own
glazes so I have no one to turn to locally. Please write back if you can
help me. My personal email address is: meshlemn@ptd.net
Thanks so much.
Marianne
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Gari Whelon on wed 18 oct 06
Hi Marianne
The problem is the amount of water used.
When I mix glazes, I mix the dry ingredients with a small amount of water
and add water until it gets the glaze close to a usable consistency, then
screen it and if needed add more water. Different glazes need different
consistencies or amounts of water. Someone may be able to answer you with
information on the specific gravities needed and there information will
likely be better than my advice, but, for what its worth..., I use the old
fashioned and probably unsafe method of a finger dip (does it coat the
finger thickly or thinly when you pull it out) to test the glaze and usually
aim for a consistency around or between 2% milk and cream. With some slips
I use for woodfire I mix them to skim milk texture. If you have any bisqued
shards you should probably use those as guides instead of your fingers..much
safer.
Getting the texture right is just a matter of practice. If you don't have
it at the right thickness it won't absorb or attach properly.
Visit some other potters if you can or community centers or schools that
have glazes and get a look and feel for them.
If you want to salvage the current glazes, you will need to add more dry
material in the glaze specific correct proportions, and mix them in and
sieve them until you get to a useable consistency. If its too thick you can
always add water, a bit at a time, if its too wet you have to keep adding
the chemicals and minerals.
Gari Whelon
Proletariat Pots
Nanaimo B.C., Canada
whelon@island.net
-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG]On Behalf Of mel jacobson
Sent: Wednesday, October 18, 2006 1:43 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: member glaze question
I am very new to the discussions; but have been reading through them and
the archives for the past month or so. I have a question for anyone who can
give me some help. I am very new to mixing my own glazes. I have purchased
the chemicals I needed for certain glazes that I wanted to start off with.
Today I finally tried my hand at mixing. I started with two glazes:
Nutmeg (5 gallons)
Dolormite 2330 g
Spodumene 2330 g
OM #4 Ball Clay 2330 g
Silica (325 Mesh) 2330 g
Ferro Frit 3134 680 g
then:
Red Iron Oxide 107g
Yellow Ochre 324 g
Tin Oxide 485 g
Bentonite 190 g
and
Teal Blue (2 1/2 gallons)
Custer Feldspar 1000 g
EPK 1000 g
Ferro Frit 3134 1000 g
Wollastonite 1000 g
Silica (325 Mesh) 1000 g
Cobalt Carb 50 g
Chrome Oxide 25 g
I mixed them separately and weighed everything out to the gram. I had my
buckets ready with 5 gallons of water in a 6 1/2 gallon bucket and 2 1/2
gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. I mixed the dry chemicals together
and then while using a bucket paint stir hooked up to an electric drill, I
began slowly mixing the dry to the water. (So far so good......so it
seemed).
When I got finished; the glazes were both extremely watery. Then I started
dipping my stoneware pots. The glazes did not adhere to the pots very well
and dried with streaks that looked as though the glaze had separated.
As much as this will probably make some of you laugh out loud -- I just
want to remind you -- you started out not knowing at sometime; didn't
you.????? Well, here's the "stupid questions" then.
What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny? Is there a set amount
of time you need to wait before you try to glaze the pots? When making a 5
gallon batch or even a 2 1/2 gallon batch; are you suppose to decrease the
amount of water so that the batch is thicker? Did I ruin my glazes in any
way? Do I need to start over with new chemical? Do I need to add more of
one or more of the ingredients to thicken it up? Please help me. I don't
live in an area with a lot of potters; or at least ones that make their own
glazes so I have no one to turn to locally. Please write back if you can
help me. My personal email address is: meshlemn@ptd.net
Thanks so much.
Marianne
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
____________________________________________________________________________
__
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.
Lori Pierce on wed 18 oct 06
Oh Marianne that is much too much water. Probably the simplest thing to do is
let the glazes settle for a week or more, then dip the water out and save
it. You can get the last water off the top with a kitchen baster. Mix them up
again and sieve thru an 80 mesh sieve, adding enough of the saved water back to
make a glaze that looks like those pictured in the 'How-to-do-it'pottery
books. Some say the consistency of creamothers that if it is as thin as milk it is
too thin. It may help to have pieces of a broken bisqued pot that you can
test-dip. When you mix glazes again, add the dry batch to enough water to
completely dampen it after it has slaked for a while. I let mine sit over night. The
next morning I mix it to the 'right' consistency, adding more water as
nessesary.Different glazes on different pots take more or less water. Only trial and
error experience will teach you.
Check out your local potters guild or other organization and try to find a
knowledgeable friendly potter who could show you the ropes;It would be worth it
to pay for a few professional lessons if you cannot take a whole beginners
course.
There are also very good books to help you. Read 'How to Mix a Glaze' on page
17 of Morgen Halls book, the Potter's Primer: Clay and Glazes for the Potter
by Daniel Rhodes has an excellent section on glazes that would help you. Tony
Birk's the Complete Potter's Companion has wonderful glazing pictures in
chapter 15, Dipping and Pouring.
Many potters find a 2000 gram batch is ample to get aquainted with a glaze
after the 200 gram test tiles they first fired looked promising. Good luck to
you... It is a wonderful adventure you have embarked on. I'm still hooked after
all thse years!
Lori Pierce in Orange Park, Florida.
Dannon Rhudy on wed 18 oct 06
> Today I finally tried my hand at mixing. I started with two glazes:
> gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. > When I got finished; the glazes
were both extremely watery. .
> What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny?
It is not a matter of how much time letting the glaze
set up. You used too much water. A general rule of
thumb would be that it takes about 10,000 grams of
dry material to make four gallons of glaze, or a bit more.
That is, you can mix it in a five gallon bucket, but the
bucket would not be quite full.
When I mix glaze I add a gallon or two of water to the
bucket, put in my 8-10,000 grams of dry material, and
mix, then add water until the mixture is about the consistency of cream. If
you add the water incrementally,
when you reach the proper consistency you can stop
adding. All glazes are not the same, so more or less water may be needed to
reach the consistency you want.
In order to salvage the glazes you have now, let them sit
until the glazes settle out, and remove the excess water
from the top of the bucket. Some glazes settle out better
than others, but most will settle out in a day or two if they
are too wet. You can skim the water from the bucket
with a flat dipper, or syphon it out with a plastic tube.
Try to remove as little of the glaze as possible. Otherwise, all you can
do is let the glazes sit without lids
for however many days it takes for the water to evaporate off. Might take a
while, but it does work.
Likely you should wash the bisque ware, and start with
fresh pots for your next glaze session.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
Richard G. Ramirez on thu 19 oct 06
Mel,
You know the answer!? Are you just trying to get impute from us all?
I'm sure you are!
Glaze mixing is like, comparing how each of us like our breakfeast eggs in the morning! Some of us like it running, some of us like them dry and fluffy. So, essence, it's a personal preference. How long we dip, how thick is the glaze. All this amounts to the timing! Thin, more time in the glaze, the thicker the glaze, less time. The type of minerals, also plays important part.
What it really amounts too, is experiment with what you have, take notes, try again, again until you ge what you want! It's that easy!!! Most people are looking for an easy way out. Missing out on the discovery of the solution
Later, Richard.
mel jacobson wrote:
I am very new to the discussions; but have been reading through them and
the archives for the past month or so. I have a question for anyone who can
give me some help. I am very new to mixing my own glazes. I have purchased
the chemicals I needed for certain glazes that I wanted to start off with.
Today I finally tried my hand at mixing. I started with two glazes:
Nutmeg (5 gallons)
Dolormite 2330 g
Spodumene 2330 g
OM #4 Ball Clay 2330 g
Silica (325 Mesh) 2330 g
Ferro Frit 3134 680 g
then:
Red Iron Oxide 107g
Yellow Ochre 324 g
Tin Oxide 485 g
Bentonite 190 g
and
Teal Blue (2 1/2 gallons)
Custer Feldspar 1000 g
EPK 1000 g
Ferro Frit 3134 1000 g
Wollastonite 1000 g
Silica (325 Mesh) 1000 g
Cobalt Carb 50 g
Chrome Oxide 25 g
I mixed them separately and weighed everything out to the gram. I had my
buckets ready with 5 gallons of water in a 6 1/2 gallon bucket and 2 1/2
gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. I mixed the dry chemicals together
and then while using a bucket paint stir hooked up to an electric drill, I
began slowly mixing the dry to the water. (So far so good......so it seemed).
When I got finished; the glazes were both extremely watery. Then I started
dipping my stoneware pots. The glazes did not adhere to the pots very well
and dried with streaks that looked as though the glaze had separated.
As much as this will probably make some of you laugh out loud -- I just
want to remind you -- you started out not knowing at sometime; didn't
you.????? Well, here's the "stupid questions" then.
What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny? Is there a set amount
of time you need to wait before you try to glaze the pots? When making a 5
gallon batch or even a 2 1/2 gallon batch; are you suppose to decrease the
amount of water so that the batch is thicker? Did I ruin my glazes in any
way? Do I need to start over with new chemical? Do I need to add more of
one or more of the ingredients to thicken it up? Please help me. I don't
live in an area with a lot of potters; or at least ones that make their own
glazes so I have no one to turn to locally. Please write back if you can
help me. My personal email address is: meshlemn@ptd.net
Thanks so much.
Marianne
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
______________________________________________________________________________
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.
Marcia Selsor on thu 19 oct 06
Dear marianne,
Two things maybe:
When you say 5 gallon batch.. it doesn't necessarily mean you add
water til the 5 gallon bucket is full.
Many chemicals,especially frits, are denser than say ash. A 10,000
batch may not alwayd fit into a 5 gallon bucket if the chemicals are
not dense.
You should start by filling the 5 gallon bucket halfway and then add
your chemicals. stir it with your mixer. Sift it. Then work on
getting the glaze to the consistency of creamy milk..thicker than
milk in most cases.
Now, your glaze seems to be too watery. Let it sit for a day and
recant the water from the top. In most cases this will work unless
you lose too much in soluable salts. Try it and see if it works.
Also, you say the glaze is not absorbed into you pots. Is it possible
the pots were fired too hot in a bisque?
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
On Oct 18, 2006, at 4:43 PM, mel jacobson wrote:
> I am very new to the discussions; but have been reading through
> them and
> the archives for the past month or so. I have a question for anyone
> who can
> give me some help. I am very new to mixing my own glazes. I have
> purchased
> the chemicals I needed for certain glazes that I wanted to start
> off with.
> Today I finally tried my hand at mixing. I started with two glazes:
> Nutmeg (5 gallons)
> Dolormite 2330 g
> Spodumene 2330 g
> OM #4 Ball Clay 2330 g
> Silica (325 Mesh) 2330 g
> Ferro Frit 3134 680 g
> then:
> Red Iron Oxide 107g
> Yellow Ochre 324 g
> Tin Oxide 485 g
> Bentonite 190 g
> and
> Teal Blue (2 1/2 gallons)
> Custer Feldspar 1000 g
> EPK 1000 g
> Ferro Frit 3134 1000 g
> Wollastonite 1000 g
> Silica (325 Mesh) 1000 g
> Cobalt Carb 50 g
> Chrome Oxide 25 g
> I mixed them separately and weighed everything out to the gram. I
> had my
> buckets ready with 5 gallons of water in a 6 1/2 gallon bucket and
> 2 1/2
> gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. I mixed the dry chemicals
> together
> and then while using a bucket paint stir hooked up to an electric
> drill, I
> began slowly mixing the dry to the water. (So far so good......so
> it seemed).
> When I got finished; the glazes were both extremely watery. Then I
> started
> dipping my stoneware pots. The glazes did not adhere to the pots
> very well
> and dried with streaks that looked as though the glaze had separated.
> As much as this will probably make some of you laugh out loud -- I
> just
> want to remind you -- you started out not knowing at sometime; didn't
> you.????? Well, here's the "stupid questions" then.
> What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny? Is there a set
> amount
> of time you need to wait before you try to glaze the pots? When
> making a 5
> gallon batch or even a 2 1/2 gallon batch; are you suppose to
> decrease the
> amount of water so that the batch is thicker? Did I ruin my glazes
> in any
> way? Do I need to start over with new chemical? Do I need to add
> more of
> one or more of the ingredients to thicken it up? Please help me. I
> don't
> live in an area with a lot of potters; or at least ones that make
> their own
> glazes so I have no one to turn to locally. Please write back if
> you can
> help me. My personal email address is: meshlemn@ptd.net
> Thanks so much.
> Marianne
>
>
>
Marcia Selsor
http://marciaselsor.com
William & Susan Schran User on thu 19 oct 06
On 10/18/06 5:43 PM, "mel jacobson" wrote:
> Well, here's the "stupid questions" then.
> What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny? Is there a set amount
> of time you need to wait before you try to glaze the pots? When making a 5
> gallon batch or even a 2 1/2 gallon batch; are you suppose to decrease the
> amount of water so that the batch is thicker? Did I ruin my glazes in any
> way?
Marianne,
As others have posted, no, you haven't ruined your mixed glazes, you have
simply used too much water. Just be patient and allow the materials to
settle out - may take a day, may take several days - then decant the clear
water off the top.
Three things:
#1 - A good rule of thumb is to add dry ingredients to water as after you
weigh them out. This allows time for the materials to become wetted and they
are easier to mix. So then you say: "Well, how much water do I start with?"
I have found with most any glaze or slip, starting with a proportion of
1/4 cup water to 100 grams of glaze works well to wet the materials. Each
glaze will then need different quantities of additional water to get to a
consistency that works best for you. Then you ask: "Well, what's the proper
consistency?" I would start with a whole milk/half & half consistency. Since
there are so many variables: porosity of your bisqueware (how high you fire
your bisque firing), how you apply the glaze (dipping/pouring - how quickly
you dip), whether you wet your bisqueware prior to glazing and the thickness
of glaze application to achieve the desired result all are factors that you
will discover with each glaze over time.
#2 - If you've not used a glaze before, mix up smaller test batches so you
don't waste time money and materials on a glaze that looked great on another
potter's ware, but may not work for you.
#3 - be sure to wash all glaze from you thin glaze application off your pots
before you re-glaze them. Do this at least 24 hours before you re-glaze. If
you leave the first application on the pot, it could act like dust and repel
the next application or cause crawling problems.
Hope this helps,
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Snail Scott on thu 19 oct 06
Different glazes require different amounts of water.
The amount you used would be appropriate for a
few glazes, but is too much water for most.
Glazes with large percentages of very absorbent
ingredients (especially gerstley borate) need
much more water. Gerstley (and to a lesser extent,
other materials) almost seem to 'puff' when wetted.
Such glazes, like many of the classic raku recipes,
will only allow about 5000 grams of dry material
when mixed in a 5 gallon bucket. With such glazes,
remember that although the consistency of the
glaze for application purposes may seem the same,
there is really only half as much actual material in
the slurry, so the glaze layer needs to seem thick
on the clay in order to get a good coating after firing.
Glazes with large percentages of nonabsorbent
ingredients like frits will need much less water
and may also require a deflocculant or other
suspension agent to keep them mixed. (Bentonite
is another of those 'puffy' materials, often added
to aid suspension.) A high-frit glaze (like many of
the gerstley-substitute raku glazes) may be able
to hold well above 10,000 grams in a 5 gallon
bucket. Correspondingly, a thin-looking glaze
layer may be adequate for good coverage after
firing, since each liquid volume contains more
than the average amount of dry material.
The '10,000 grams to a 5 gallon bucket' rule of
thumb is that and no more. It's a useful average,
and hold true pretty often, but every glaze needs
its own ratio. Don't get fixed to any measurement
until you've tested what works best for that glaze.
When you find a good ratio, write it down, or just
mark a line on the bucket, or do like many people
do - mix using most of the water you think you'll
need, then add in the rest gradually until it seems
right. A viscosimeter or specific-gravity gauge
can be useful for repeating very consistent
results, but only after you've determined the right
viscosity by trial-and-error. Most people don't use
them, though. They either keep a note of the
exact amount of water needed for each glaze
they use, or just mix it by eye and adjust as
needed.
Your glazes seemed pretty average, at a glance,
but note the wording of that rule of thumb - not
'five gallons of water' but 'a five gallon bucket'.
It allows for enough empty space in the bucket
to be able to mix vigorously, so it's really more
like four or four-and-a half gallons of water.
To salvage your present batch, just let it settle,
and draw off the excess with a turkey baster or
a shallow ladle.
-Snail
Lee Love on thu 19 oct 06
As folks mentioned, you can easily take extra water off once the
glaze settles off the top. If you can pour on the ground (if the
buckets are outside), just tip most of the water off the top. Or, as
someone mentioned, you can ladle off the top. Or, if you know how
to use a siphon hose, you can siphon the extra water off.
I take water off the top of my glazes, all except the soda
ash shinos before I use them every time. Then I add water to get the
right thickness.. During the glazing process, I glaze thin things
first and thicker last, adding water as I go, so I always have extra
water in the bucket when I glaze next time.
With my teacher's glaze application, the thickness is
very important, to show the inlay under the glaze. It is where I
learned this method.
Glazes with a lot of clay work good this way. If the
glaze is still too thin, you might have to add dry to thicken it.
I keep a bucket of thickened glaze for my standard ash glaze, just in
case I make it too thin.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
"When we all do better. We ALL do better." -Paul Wellstone
David Hewitt on fri 20 oct 06
In message , William & Susan Schran User writes
>On 10/18/06 5:43 PM, "mel jacobson" wrote:
>
>> Well, here's the "stupid questions" then.
>> What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny? Is there a set amount
>> of time you need to wait before you try to glaze the pots? When making a 5
>> gallon batch or even a 2 1/2 gallon batch; are you suppose to decrease the
>> amount of water so that the batch is thicker? Did I ruin my glazes in any
>> way?
>
Marianne,
I am sure all those who have answered your problem have given good
advice, but I am surprised that no one has mentioned adding the amount
of water by weight. All this business of gallons seems quite foreign to
me in this context.
As a general rule I find that adding 1 litre or 1 kg of water to 1 kg of
glaze is a good starting point. Some glazes need more, a very few need
less. Those needing less would have a lot of frit and little clay. Is
the problem that in the US you do not have jugs calibrated in litres or
kg?
David
--
David Hewitt
Web:- http://www.dhpot.demon.co.uk
Marianne Eshleman on sat 21 oct 06
In the past few days, I have received many emails in regard to my glazing
mistake and I just wanted to let you all know that syphoning off the
excess water worked very well. I'm letting it sit right now for a day or
so and will attempt to reglaze my pots then. You all were wonderful and
very kind. Thank you all.
Marianne
John Rodgers on sun 22 oct 06
Marianne,
I read all the responses to your problems with your glaze mixing, but
the one thing missing from all of them is the recommendation that you
work by the numbers. I don't do it any other way, and I get marvelous
consistency from one batch to another, and from pot to pot. If ou will
learn to do that, you will eliminate some of the "by guess and by golly"
that plagues clay work.
By working the numbers, I mean working with timing on a clock, and
weight of the glaze. I will explain.
You need to determine the density of the glaze and then knowing that
density, dip the pot and hold it submerged for a specific period of
time. For my glazes I immerse for 20 seconds. But that can vary
depending on the glaze density, but one must know the density before one
can adjust the time.
To determine density - get two containers - plastic cups, pint jars, or
what have you, but they must be identical. Plastic cups work well.
1) Put a mark near the top of the cup, or use some marking point already
on the cup.
2) Place the cup on the scale, and "zero" the scale with the cup on it.
Now add water up to the mark and weight it. Write down the weight in.
3) Pour out the water, dry the cup, and then add glaze up to the mark
4) Weight the glaze. Write down the results.
Now you have the weight of an equal volume of water and an equal volume
of glaze. Note that we are working with EQUAL VOLUMES here. Very important.
Water is taken as the standard, and no matter what size containers you
are using, water will always be "1".
Divide the weight of the water into the glaze. The number you arrive at
will be greater than "1". It will be something on the order of 1.1 or
1.3 or 1.5 or something. If the number happens to be 1.3, what that
number tells you is the glaze is 1.3 times more dense than the water is.
Most of my glazes work best at 1.3, to 1.5 so I adjust the glaze/water
mix to reach those magic numbers
When you mix a new glaze add only half the amount of water you think you
will need. Then mix thoroughly. Next begin adding more, a little at a
time, until you have a VERY heavy cream consistency. At that point,
begin checking the density of the glaze by weighing it and working the
numbers, adding a little water at a time until you get it right on.
This is the method I use, and it works every time.
You may ask "How do I know what density is best for a glaze?" You don't.
It varies from glaze to glaze. You must test, test, test. and work up a
set of standard numbers for each of your glazes. But to begin with, a
glaze density of 1.2 is a good starting point for most glazes. It will
take some experimentation to find just the right time for immersion of
your pots in a glaze of a certain density, but consistency is the name
of the game, and you get that by working up a set of numbers for your
own glazes. Determinig the desity of the glaze is step one.
To recover a glaze that has too much water - let it sit for a couple of
days. The solids Will settle and you can darin off excess water. If you
have a glaze known to have solubles in it, you may have to evaporate the
water off, which will take a while, or you can add more dry glaze to it
to change the water/glaze ratio and thereby alter the density to your
liking.
For my glazes, I dip for 20 seconds in a glaze of density 1.3. For
spraying that same glaze, it requires 10 coats.
Good luck,
Regards,
John Rodgers
Chelsea, AL
mel jacobson wrote:
> I am very new to the discussions; but have been reading through them and
> the archives for the past month or so. I have a question for anyone
> who can
> give me some help. I am very new to mixing my own glazes. I have
> purchased
> the chemicals I needed for certain glazes that I wanted to start off
> with.
> Today I finally tried my hand at mixing. I started with two glazes:
> Nutmeg (5 gallons)
> Dolormite 2330 g
> Spodumene 2330 g
> OM #4 Ball Clay 2330 g
> Silica (325 Mesh) 2330 g
> Ferro Frit 3134 680 g
> then:
> Red Iron Oxide 107g
> Yellow Ochre 324 g
> Tin Oxide 485 g
> Bentonite 190 g
> and
> Teal Blue (2 1/2 gallons)
> Custer Feldspar 1000 g
> EPK 1000 g
> Ferro Frit 3134 1000 g
> Wollastonite 1000 g
> Silica (325 Mesh) 1000 g
> Cobalt Carb 50 g
> Chrome Oxide 25 g
> I mixed them separately and weighed everything out to the gram. I had my
> buckets ready with 5 gallons of water in a 6 1/2 gallon bucket and 2 1/2
> gallons of water in a 5 gallon bucket. I mixed the dry chemicals together
> and then while using a bucket paint stir hooked up to an electric
> drill, I
> began slowly mixing the dry to the water. (So far so good......so it
> seemed).
> When I got finished; the glazes were both extremely watery. Then I
> started
> dipping my stoneware pots. The glazes did not adhere to the pots very
> well
> and dried with streaks that looked as though the glaze had separated.
> As much as this will probably make some of you laugh out loud -- I just
> want to remind you -- you started out not knowing at sometime; didn't
> you.????? Well, here's the "stupid questions" then.
> What did I do wrong to have them come out so runny? Is there a set amount
> of time you need to wait before you try to glaze the pots? When making
> a 5
> gallon batch or even a 2 1/2 gallon batch; are you suppose to decrease
> the
> amount of water so that the batch is thicker? Did I ruin my glazes in any
> way? Do I need to start over with new chemical? Do I need to add more of
> one or more of the ingredients to thicken it up? Please help me. I don't
> live in an area with a lot of potters; or at least ones that make
> their own
> glazes so I have no one to turn to locally. Please write back if you can
> help me. My personal email address is: meshlemn@ptd.net
> Thanks so much.
> Marianne
>
>
> from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
>
> Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
>
> 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.
>
>
Lee Love on sun 22 oct 06
On 10/22/06, Marianne Eshleman wrote:
> excess water worked very well. I'm letting it sit right now for a day or
> so and will attempt to reglaze my pots then. You all were wonderful and
> very kind. Thank you all.
Welcome Marianne!
After it sits, you may find more water settling on the top
of the bucket, you can siphon that off too.
If it is still too thin, you might want to add a
deflocculant like Epsom Salts or a comercial one. Adding a little
completely mix up dry glaze can help you adjust too.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Japan
http://potters.blogspot.com/
"Let the beauty we love be what we do." - Rumi
"When we all do better. We ALL do better." -Paul Wellstone
Ron Roy on sun 22 oct 06
Epsom Salts is a flocculant - make sure it is disolved and only add a small
amount at a time - adding too much can have the opposite effect.
RR
> If it is still too thin, you might want to add a
>deflocculant like Epsom Salts or a comercial one. Adding a little
>completely mix up dry glaze can help you adjust too.
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Lori Pierce on mon 23 oct 06
John, that was a beautifully written lucid post to Marrianne, and I have a
couple of questions regarding your technique; at what temperature do you bisque
, do you soak the kiln when you bisque and one more; do you either dip the pot
in water before glazing or dampen it with a sponge? thank you, Lori P. in
Florida
Taylor Hendrix on mon 23 oct 06
I love this list because it is a real schooling on how varied are our
approaches. When I read that John dippes for 20 seconds I almost
swallowed my tongue! Now I realize that I am inexperienced in how many
people work. If I immerse for longer than 4 seconds I start to worry.
I guess I have medium soft bisque (04) and I think I do like my glazes
a little on the milkshake side of thickness. Fire to cone 5 and 6. I
haven't really been systematic with my pint weights, though 1.3 sounds
familiar.
Anyway, glad to be exposed to more and more new ways.\
Taylor, in Rockport TX
On 10/22/06, John Rodgers wrote:
...
> You need to determine the density of the glaze and then knowing that
> density, dip the pot and hold it submerged for a specific period of
> time. For my glazes I immerse for 20 seconds. But that can vary
> depending on the glaze density, but one must know the density before one
> can adjust the time.
...
Ron Roy on mon 23 oct 06
Taylor,
20 seconds in the glaze is a very long time - I would say the usual time
would be more like 2 seconds.
RR
>I love this list because it is a real schooling on how varied are our
>approaches. When I read that John dippes for 20 seconds I almost
>swallowed my tongue! Now I realize that I am inexperienced in how many
>people work. If I immerse for longer than 4 seconds I start to worry.
>I guess I have medium soft bisque (04) and I think I do like my glazes
>a little on the milkshake side of thickness. Fire to cone 5 and 6. I
>haven't really been systematic with my pint weights, though 1.3 sounds
>familiar.
>
>Anyway, glad to be exposed to more and more new ways.\
>
>Taylor, in Rockport TX
>
>On 10/22/06, John Rodgers wrote:
>...
>> You need to determine the density of the glaze and then knowing that
>> density, dip the pot and hold it submerged for a specific period of
>> time. For my glazes I immerse for 20 seconds. But that can vary
>> depending on the glaze density, but one must know the density before one
>> can adjust the time.
>...
>
>______________________________________________________________________________
>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.
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
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