Glazeing Rules of Thumb

Glazing can be very challenging. Everything from picking colors and combination to how long and where to dip can all be confusing.

Opening the kiln is always very exciting. Sometimes there is also disappointment...

Glaze ran right off the pot onto the kiln shelve

Here are some very basic, tips to use as rule of thumb:

• Wax should be applied to the bottom of the piece as well as 1/4 inch up the side
• Mix the glaze completely before using it
• Re-mix the glaze between dips to ensure it has not begun to settle
• Dip no longer than 3 seconds on the first dip and less on the second
• Hold the piece upside down for the drips to fall back into the glaze bucket, this also pools the glaze towards the top rim of the piece instead of the bottom where it is more likely to run off the pot.
  
• Glaze should be the thickness of a postcard
• Using more than 3 colors on a piece can create stunning results or ugly browns and greens
• Use extreme caution double dipping the bottom 1/2 of the piece if using a runny glaze
• To minimize finger prints on the finished piece, wait until the piece is dry before handling (no longer shinny and without darker spots)
  
• Clean all glaze off waxed areas, from the bottom and 1/4 up the side of the piece.

Pully for lifting kiln lid

The hinge on my kiln never seemed to work correctly. After a few years of use, the kiln rings and lid were really showing wear from the torque of the lid mechanism.

Not sure what if others have had the same problem, here is what Stu did to fix it.



He made a pully system so I can crank the lid up and down.


















The crank on the wall



The crank ratchets which is fine for lifting the lid. In order to lower, I have to hold down the lever at the bottom. So Stu drilled a hole in and put the bungie cord on to keep it in the open position.

On the wall- he used a hinge and welded a piece of metel to it- that swings out to hold the handle so it can not turn on its own. It pushes against the wall, out of the way when raising.




Stu made the arm out of scrap metal and put pullies on it.


















Here you can see, we added one more handle to the lid and attached it with scrap metal and carabeaners.

Test Tile Extruder die

Here is the die I made to extrude test tile. Notice there are two cutouts, not only is it easier to push the clay out, it is twice as fast! The edges are not straight on purpose (really)the rough edge makes nice texture so we can see what the glaze will do.

It works great, I have over 450 waiting to go into the next bisque load.

Glaze Chemical Storage

I'm so lucky to have such a talented husband!

Shown is the chemical storage and glaze mixing area. Stu made the unit from scrap steel. He then used drawer slides for the shelves.


Each bin (rubbermaid ones I found on sale) is it's own shelve which pulls out for easy access.
The shelves about the work area contain oxides and colorants. Most of the containers are from the Dollar Store. The "disposable" ones from the grocery store also work well.

I like the digital postage type scale the best. I do use the triple bean for measureing small amounts, like 100 g test batches.

facebook

I am on facebook! Still figuring it out... I really need a 4 1/2 yr old like the adorable girl on the TV commercial to help me out!


Be my friend :)

Glaze Test Tiles

Seems that everyone who glazes at the studio wants to know what colors look like together. I just counted glaze buckets- there are 19 colors to choose from that means there are over 360 possible combinations... no wonder people get overwhelmed choosing glaze colors!

So, I have started the task of making test tiles.

The first time I made 'em, I used the extruder to push out 6 sided hallow forms then cut them 3" tall. The tiles were easy to make and showed the color well but, they take up a lot of space.

Currently, I throw a 10" wide bottomless cylinder about 3" tall with marks on one side for texture. Easy enough to throw yet, often times, it dries to much before I cut out the pieces.

So, the newest plan is to make a 3 inch "L" shaped die with built in texture for the extruder. All I will have to do is cut it every 1 1/2 inch. and put a hanging hole in the top.

I'll keep you posted with the progress!

Using Foam instead of Wax Resist

Chris, a potter from New Jersey, has been frequenting drop-in the past few months while he is staying with his sister in Truckee. He showed me how he learned to use a foam pad (consistency of a sponge) to wipe the bottoms of pieces on after glazing.

The idea is to glaze a piece, once the glaze is dry enough to lift with your hands, you push down and twist the piece back and forth on a moist piece of foam. The friction, caused by pushing and twisting, removes the glaze on bottom and up the side a little ways.

First we tried a fairly stiff piece of foam I had laying around the studio, it worked pretty well. Being it is on the stiff side, it only removed glaze about 1/8" up from the bottom. I love the straight line where the glaze has been removed. But, I want a little more clearance since many of my glazes can run and with drop-in pottery nights there are so many people using the glazes who are not failure with them.

Last night at drop-in, we tried foam from Wal-mart which is used for seat cushions. It is much easier to push down on but, does not remove the glaze as well. Some of the "testers" last night commented it took longer to then sponge off the glaze than dipping in hot wax.

I'll keep you posted on the results- last nights glaze pieces are in the kiln as I write this.

Let me know if you have tried something similar or other alternatives to using wax!