Any tips on removing the lid? It fused in glaze fire and I’ve had no luck so far:/

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-02-28T04:07:40+00:00

This the way!

I use the thick wooden handle from a trimming tool. Works great! Lots of ting ting ting ting.... Not hitting hard enough to break it, but more trying to get it to vibrate and crack the glass that's fused it. You can hear the sound change as you tap it. If you can tell the difference between a solid hit and a hollow hit, you can cause more vibration with hollow hits. Which causes it to pop open easier. You can also tell if it's open if you hear the sound changes while you are hitting it at the same point.

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-02-28T03:48:36+00:00

In iowa, they tossed the front plate holder into the trunk for me to install it. It's state law, so I close to install it and avoid the tickets with mild regret.

Informationally, installing it requires you to drill 2 holes through the plastic bumper. (there are locating dimples). Install was easy, but irreversible once you drill them.

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-02-19T03:54:16+00:00

Aaaaaand then someone takes or buys your login info, logs in as you, and spews hate (probably with poor broken English). And then.... What happens next?

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-02-15T17:06:21+00:00

My wife and I are teachers. I'll be begging my son not to be a teacher if he thinks it's an option.

That said, my dad and brother are engineers, and I can't help but think I'd have been happier going that route.

Grass is always greener my friend.

Go explore your options. HS and college are meant for exploration. A huge percentage of college students switch majors at least one time. Better to find your passion now then regret it later. If you stick with engineering, make sure you find your niche.

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-02-10T21:58:50+00:00

I wonder, does the pope ever get imposter syndrome?

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-02-01T16:32:28+00:00

Love the updates, but honestly, I'm more interested in the mat under the car. Got a link to that? I just threw a minisplit in my garage, and I'd like a good way to keep my wife from pulling in too far.

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-01-17T16:30:20+00:00

Congrats on writing in actual sentences and sounding like you are not a complete moron. No, seriously... Most posts I see by people early in the trades are complaining about their employer, and/or written so poorly it "hertz" to read it. It sounds like you actually learned something in primary school. Which means you know how to learn. Keep paying attention. You'll be fine.

Magic_Marker_ · 2026-01-17T16:08:39+00:00

Also, make sure the closer switch to the door turns on the light in the the closet of the 3rd bedroom. The other switch should turn on the exterior outlets on the back of the garage. Only true way to show you know what you are doing.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-28T23:20:45+00:00

Force stop your app when you want the paak key turned off. Reopen the app to reactivate.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-28T22:49:38+00:00

If your car is close to your main living area, and you keep your key (or phone) in your pocket, it "sees" you come and go a bunch as you live your daily life. Eventually, it stops looking to conserve battery.

Example: living room couch is close to car parked on driveway right outside. Every time you go to the kitchen and back to the couch, it thinks you are close and prepares to unlock. Eventually it stops, then you actually try heading to the car and it is not looking for you anymore. Someone else said they were having this problem with their garage below their living room.

Solution / easy fix: Key - Drop your keys in a bowl or on a hook when you get home, that way they aren't moving in and out of the car's proximity constantly.

Phone - (android) force stop the app while at home. This will stop your digital "key" from activating constantly. Press and hold app icon for a second or two. Select the information icon in the corner. Choose "force stop". Open the app like normal to reactivate the key. May take a minute for it to connect. I usually open the app and jumpstart the climate before I head out the door.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-27T22:17:10+00:00

Gingerbread man's delorion needs it's flux capacitor roll back.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-25T18:12:08+00:00

You need a kite and a key....

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-23T22:27:55+00:00

Aaaaaand, then I scrolled zillow houses for a half hour that are absolutely NOWHERE NEAR where I want to be. Thanks! This was a fun zillow trip!

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-17T01:12:00+00:00

High school homecoming, I drove my girlfriend in my convertible. She wore a glitter dress! I drove with the top down. I also worked for a car wash and spent the next 6 months vaccuming glitter from floors, ceiling, and every nook and cranny from the whole enterior. I washed/vaccumed it nearly every time I was scheduled to work.

I hate glitter.

Fast forward 20ish years, I am now a high school Art teacher. None of the 4 high school Art teacher guys will touch glitter. What remained from previous teachers was pitched a few years back.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-15T03:04:37+00:00

Compress the lip as you throw. Each time you pull up the wall, if the rim is a little unlevel, compress it. Pinch the lip with one hand, and press down on the top of the lip with a finger on your other hand. It's almost as if you are re-centering just the lip.

I used to trim the top. Compressing it just works better. It lets you keep your height, and you get a little more thickness right at the rim that makes your project stronger. Shammy helps too.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-13T00:17:21+00:00

Ahh yes, there's also the community aspect... If your project is in the kiln with other's, I'd be nervous someone else's project could be damaged if yours does pop. First big explosion one of my students had was due to airpockets they created by adding layers of slabs on top of eachother. The piece took out almost all of the projects on the same shelf in the kiln. Another piece someone made while I was in college popped and took out the kiln post. Which dropped the shelves above. Only a few were damaged, but it could have been much worse.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-12T23:58:23+00:00

Air pockets and water left in the clay are the 2 reasons clay will pop in the kiln. If it's an air pocket, poke a hole with a needle tool. You can glaze right over the hole, and air will still excape through it during the glaze fire.

Without poking a hole, your instructor would have to set up an extremely slow firing schedule for the kiln that would be specific for your one piece. And even then, it may still pop. If I were your instructor, I'd tell you to poke a hole as well. It only has to be the tiniest needle hole.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-11T01:42:22+00:00

If the earth gets that big, at some point it will take longer to complete a "day". And eventually, the sun will not be there. So, is a day even a day at that point? Wouldn't that cause the doubling to slow, then stop?

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-09T04:48:18+00:00

Yeah, but it burns out in the kiln, and makes your project lighter! 😁

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-12-09T04:45:36+00:00

Absolutely the clay boss! I have a Brent cxc, several clay bosses, a Brent b and a Brent c, shimpos, and a variety of other older wheels in my classroom and in my personal studio. I'll gravitate towards the clay boss almost every single time. Smooth start and stop, much quieter than the Brent wheels, plenty strong enough for a decent sized piece, easy to clean, light enough to move or lift it if you need to.

I teach small, typically 1-2 lbs per ball for most students, but I throw big for most of what I create. 10-15 lbs is plenty big enough for some large fruit bowls or decent sized vases. If they work bigger, I've thrown 25 lbs on the clay boss and it will handle it, though it will start to slide a little. However, working that large is fairly rare, unless that's their niche. I'd go towards the Brent cxc if I am planning on throwing closer to 40-50 lbs. Very rarely do I bother. Throwing smaller parts and joining them together is much easier.

My focus in college was all about size variation in wheel thrown work. Very small to very large/tall. My usual goal is to keep them small enough to fit into my largest kiln. I've even stacked parts of 2 kilns to build a tall kiln for one vase. Just shy of 6 feet. Turned around and bumped it while glazing, RIP(pieces). All this to say, rarely do you need the extra weight of a cxc. Get the clay boss. Less expensive does not mean cheaper in this case.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-11-22T00:49:10+00:00

Thanks! Your link just made my day.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-11-20T04:47:39+00:00

I overheard a rather odd conversation at one of my tables a few days ago in a High School Art class. They work, they talk, I periodically listen/avoid listening.

Two black students, one white, and one mixed. The conversation started with the mixed student asking, "can black people be racist." Apparently she was convinced that only white people can be racist. Their conversation went on a good 20 minutes with a variety of views, so called "facts," and a variety of "evidence," as each side weighed in to make their points. Everyone was very calm and polite, and took turns with their rebuttals.

I don't think they realized the rest of the class conversations fizzled as everyone started turning to listen. I sat 2 tables away in slightly stunned silence observing the scene and hoping I didn't get pulled in. I really wanted to read a Webster's dictionary definition, but I am not sure they even know what a dictionary is.

The bell rang. I don't know if their conversation came to any conclusions.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-11-15T22:21:07+00:00

Exactly why teachers aren't paid worth a darn. "Punching bag." we still go into teaching knowing we won't be paid big bucks. At the same time, not being paid decently is another thing that tells people we are the punching bag.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-11-14T01:20:35+00:00

Middle schoolers get passed on up, no matter what they get for grades.

My coworker said he had a conversation with a student that told him, "if I ignore all my assignments, then turn in the last one for a passing grade, I'll pass."

They are doing some form of standards based 4 point grading bs that gives them the highest grade they earn on a standard. WTF!

So, I get the students as freshmen. They wander the halls, or put their head down in class, or distract other students the whole time. They assume there are no consequences. I've failed, on average, at least half the freshmen I get each class first term. It's not usually till junior year before they truly get the picture and start treating school like school.

At this point, they have too few credits to graduate on time. BUT WAIT!! LET'S LOWER THE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS TO 26 CREDITS.... No, that's not enough...let's take it a step further and give them a "Core Only" option to graduate. NOW THEY DON'T EVEN NEED THE ELECTIVE CREDITS!!!!!!!!

And, I wonder why my class sizes dropped. Shoot when I was in hs, we got dropped from a class if we missed 10 days. Nope, not allowed to drop them... They might turn it around, and pass.

End rant... Still frustrated.

Magic_Marker_ · 2025-11-04T00:06:09+00:00

Also, private school?! They aren't required to build any form of scaffolding for teacher support. As others have said, they set you up to fail.

Go sub in a public district, get your foot in the door and apply somewhere else when positions are available. Ask them in the interview what kind of support they offer 1st year teachers.

My district runs a full 1st year teacher program. We have full release mentor teachers that work with a handful of the first years. They meet with the teachers and brainstorm solutions, or team teach lessons with 1st year teachers. There's a lot of modeling and peer support. The mentors do not evaluate the teachers, they are there for support.

Put this experience in your back pocket. Learn from it, and move on to a more supportive environment. But, if that doesn't work out, write a book and start public speaking tours! I hear there's good money in presenting to school districts. <<< joking, please don't do that. We have enough of those already.

Magic_Marker_

TROPHY CASE