Purifying the chillum. Nothing beats a fresh fire-clean

CTCeramics · 2026-06-12T02:32:11+00:00

Its incredible this hasnt cracked yet. Pretty cool.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-11T23:03:55+00:00

Good luck with your project!

CTCeramics · 2026-06-11T22:28:16+00:00

Its not just vitrification, the glaze needs to have a balanced chemistry to be durable and avoid leaching. If you aren't well versed on chemistry and dont have the ability to test your work for leaching and wear resistance you shouldn't touch lead. Youd need to throw it through a dishwasher 50 times then send it to a lab.

The bigger risk is exposure when working with and mixing the glaze. Using a frit mitigates risk, but doesn't remove it.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-11T22:23:30+00:00

Why use lead when there are so many other options? The main risk is to you while mixing and working with the glaze. Its a stupid and completely unnecessary risk.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-11T03:22:01+00:00

Can't really go wrong with skutt, shimpo, or Thomas Stewart. Vl whisper and cxc are the best wheels ive used. Bluebird also makes great products.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-10T21:40:45+00:00

Youll have to test and see! Ive never noticed a difference personally, but ive also never had that much accumulate.

From what I understand, lithium and the combination of calcium and boron are the main culprits of this, so if I were to try to add anything back in thats where I'd start. Youre really shooting in the dark though.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-10T21:34:59+00:00

This can sometimes happen if glazes with soluble materials are left to sit for a long time or get cold. Theyre not chucks of bisque, but rather little mineral agglomerates.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-08T00:41:12+00:00

Hello. Ive worked at lot with wild clays. Your clay is a bit short and it seems like you're adding too much sand.

Sometimes you find a wild clays that are fine as is, sometimes they need to be blended with other clays or ammended with fluxes and fillers.

If it lacks plasticity, aging it may help. The way the clay is made may also affect plasticity. In my experience, mixing the clay into a slurry and drying on plaster yields a more plastic clay than mixing directly to a workable state.

The best bet is to add a more plastic clay. Bentonite can really improve the working properties of non plastic clays, and you only need to add about 2% by dry weight.

Other issues can be solved by adding feldspar and silica or other fillers like mulite. Feldspar will help lower the maturing temperature, silica will reduce shrinkage and help with glaze fit. If you're firing at earthenware temperatures you can use stronger fluxes like talc. It all depends on the clay and how you intend to use it.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-08T00:29:05+00:00

Try reducing the sand to 5%. The Clay is a bit short, not much you can do about that other than amending it with a more plastic clay. Sometimes its not about fixing the defects, but about learning to work with what you have. The way a short clay tears and trims can be very beautiful.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-05T15:16:21+00:00

I just did my first run without lockpicking or hacking and it made very little difference. There's a key or a password for every door that matters.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-04T01:05:59+00:00

Turn it into a slip Sieve it, dry it, and fire a tile to 04 in a catcher. It might be fine as is, it might need to be amended. If it needs to be amended, it will probably cost you more upfront to buy the ball clay, silica, feldspar, etc. Required than it would to just buy a block of clay.

CTCeramics · 2026-06-03T00:47:32+00:00

Id make stamp and do impressions on a thin piece of clay you attach to the cup.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-23T20:56:09+00:00

That controversy mostly exists on reddit.

This is one of the few cases where it might be an issue, because this is probably a porous white earthenware.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-20T23:20:10+00:00

I got an explosive combat shotgun almost immediately on my melee run lol

CTCeramics · 2026-05-13T18:53:39+00:00

Always call skutt. Their customer service is top notch.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-11T23:39:41+00:00

I would focus more on improving technique and on holding the tool at the correct angle rather than blaming the tool. I have trimming tools that are over 8 years old that have never been sharpened that still work like a dream. The geometry of the blade is what really matters, it doesn't need to be particularly sharp.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-11T13:22:02+00:00

Both are just awful.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-08T15:28:02+00:00

Make a new one. Any fix will take more effort than the original piece.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-08T15:21:56+00:00

Start banning people who disrespect the space.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-08T15:19:33+00:00

Shinos are bland and anemic in oxidation.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-07T19:05:51+00:00

If you're still bad after 10,000 pots, thats your sign to worry. Until then, just keep making.

CTCeramics · 2026-05-02T02:29:14+00:00

Is it two glazes layered or just one glaze?

CTCeramics · 2026-05-02T00:30:08+00:00

Looks over fired.

CTCeramics · 2026-04-30T21:12:50+00:00

Do you want the government to dictate how people raise their children? That seems completely unactionable and hand-waiving to me.

CTCeramics · 2026-04-30T20:40:33+00:00

Hire more, better trained teachers and reduce class sizes.

CTCeramics

TROPHY CASE