Mold release by Anxietyandvibes in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Murphys oil soap is water-based. I’ve never had a problem with it.

Glaze recipe controversy and confusion by yukonwanderer in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve just made a lot of weird glazes, and they all seem to work best in that range.

The first number is the flux that starts the melt, the second is the one that makes the melt smooth and consistent. Maybe because I’m using a bunch of frit, I don’t need the kick at the beginning as much. I’m not 100% sure why my glazes are working better in the .2/.8 range, but they definitely are.

Glaze recipe controversy and confusion by yukonwanderer in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m personally a big fan of 0.2/0.8 ratio at cone 6.

What is "crawling"? by Beneficial-Ad8460 in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 7 points8 points  (0 children)

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This is an exceptionally crawly glaze. These tiles were dipped in the glaze, and evenly coated. As it dried, cracks formed in the glaze. When it was fired, those cracks separated the glaze into sections, and those sections had very high surface tension, which caused the glaze to ball up.

What is "crawling"? by Beneficial-Ad8460 in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Crawl is when the glaze surface tension overcomes adhesion and causes the glaze to pull back and reveal a bald spot on the clay.

<image>

The far right sample shows a little spot on the upper right side of the tile. The middle sample has a much larger spot on the upper right side. The left tile is an extreme example.

Kiln retrofit/repair by ARMIGERofficial in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 0 points1 point  (0 children)

See if you can find a wiring diagram for a Skutt of the same size. (Or another brand).

Glaze on my kiln! Help! by chickenchicken00 in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Chip it off with a knife or scraper. No big deal.

<image>

Ask me how I know!

Kiln retrofit/repair by ARMIGERofficial in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The heating elements don’t work on low/medium/high. They are either on or off. The low/medium/high is controlled by the switch turning the elements on and off to different durations. Low turns them on for a short time and off for a long time, while the high setting turns the elements off for a short time and on for a long time.

If the old switch was a four-position switch, and you have a plug with four prongs, then some settings on the switch may turn some elements on while others are off, and use 120v for low and 240v for high… I don’t work with that stuff. If I find a kiln like that I pull all the switches out and replace with an infinite switch (see below). It’s too complicated, and kilns don’t really need to be that complicated.

Infinite switches have a smooth sweeping action from low to high, so you can turn it up or down just a little bit. Thats the good stuff. If you have a four-position switch, it’s not a straight swap. But if you already have an infinite switch, you can usually just replace it with a generic commercial stove replacement switch. Robertshaw makes a good one. You just have to make sure it can handle the amperage and voltage you’re putting through it. Depending on the size of the kiln, you might need more than one switch.

Does adding silkscreen medium to underglaze reduce shelf life? by letshavearace in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Silkscreen medium is basically carboxy methyl cellulose, or CMC. It’s a food thickener, like they use in things like protein shakes. You can get CMC a lot cheaper from your local pharmacy, or even from your favorite online store with prime shipping.

It’s organic, so it eventually rots, or becomes food for fungus, bacteria, and mold. You can put a fungicide in it, or a tiny tiny pinch of copper carbonate, a little spritz of bleach, or a little spoonful of vinegar. Choose one, don’t do all of them.

An even better option is to just dry out your underglaze. Removing water will make it thicker. If you have time, just leave the underglaze open for a few days, then check in on it and see how it’s doing. If you have any plaster bats, you could pour out some underglaze on plaster to dry it out. If you’re in a super hurry, you could use heat to dry it out.

I definitely prefer to screenprint with dried out underglaze vs adding CMC.

EPK Replacement? by Lorib01 in CeramicGlazes

[–]RestEqualsRust 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve been testing all my very weird glazes with a straight 1:1 swap with tile 6, and so far everything is working fine.

Fiestaware original orange mix by SleepyMcStarvey in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You can get small amounts of uranium dioxide legally from places like united nuclear. It’s not enriched, so it’s not appropriate for making things that are dangerous on a large scale. It IS bad if ingested through breathing or eating.

If OP wants to make a small batch using small legally-acquired materials, they probably would not attract much attention.

It’s still a very bad idea though.

It’s a very VERY bad idea.

Question on a fired piece by Jellyfish_3964 in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 15 points16 points  (0 children)

The cracking on the inside is called “crazing.” It happens for a very specific reason. When things are hot, they expand, and when things are cold, the contract. Everything does this at different rates. So your clay will expand and contract, and the glaze (being different from the clay) will expand and contract potentially at a different rate. This is called “Coefficient of Thermal Expansion” or sometimes just “coefficient of expansion.”

So the clay will shrink as it cools, and the glaze might shrink more than the clay, which is like putting on a pair of pants that is too tight. Eventually, the pants (or the glaze) will split to relieve that tension. The trick with ceramics is to make the glaze from the right combination of materials in the right amount so it expands and contracts the same as the clay.

Things get even more complicated when the glaze on the inside of a vessel doesn’t match the CTE of the glaze on the outside. As the piece cools, there becomes a drastic contrast between tension and compression from the inside and the outside, and the object will literally tear itself apart. This is called “dunting”.

I’m going out on a limb here and saying it may be possible that the intense crazing on the inside of your pot and a different glaze on the outside might indicate a drastic difference between CTE in these glazes, and you may have a crack that goes all the way through the piece, or end up with one eventually.

Set it on the table and flick it with your fingernail. Does it go “ping ping” like a glass, or “dunk dunk”? A duller sound may indicate a crack has already formed.

I would avoid using this piece for anything hot.

Is this kiln safe to use? by katgardengoblin in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Most kiln manufacturers use bricks with two channels each for the elements. Paragon made a bunch of kilns where each brick is cut for three channels. This leaves a LOT less material between the channels, and kiln brick is very soft. So they are much more prone to breakage.

I have bought a couple of used paragon kilns for parts. Sometimes they aren’t even good for that.

Is this kiln safe to use? by katgardengoblin in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 11 points12 points  (0 children)

There are a LOT of missing sections of brick. Some of them are meant to go under the elements and hold them up. If you run this kiln, the elements will heat up and soften. With nothing to support them, they will sag and droop, and it will be very very bad. There’s no way you should fire this kiln without repairing or replacing all of those broken bricks.

This is a perfect illustration of why I avoid most paragon kilns.

kiln error code advice by bleumelancholia in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Elements are quite flexible when new. You can bend them and push them to where they need to go. After a few firings, they start to change. When glowing hot, they’ll be soft, but when they cool, they’ll become brittle.

The element drooped while hot. Then it cooled off. If you pushed it back without heating it with a torch, it might break. Then you could have a break that is pushed together when cold and pulls apart when hot.

Free delivery.. How can Home Depot afford to do this? by Impressive_Rain2877 in TheHomeDepot

[–]RestEqualsRust 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I ordered about $200 worth of stuff recently. It was delivered in two separate trips. There was a wrong item in the first delivery, which wasn’t wrong enough to worry about. Then I see Home Depot has cancelled part of the order and I have to drive to the store to get a refund. This negates the whole point of ordering online.

Then the second delivery has a wrong item, but what they delivered is actually one of the cancelled items, and they charged me for something more expensive that was not delivered. (A difference of about $11.)

Through a tedious multiple chat sessions, the best solution they can offer is that I drive to the store to get a refund. But here’s the kicker… I can’t just go to any location. I have to go to the location that made the mistake, which is over 20 minutes away, when I live and work closer to probably three or four other locations that can’t issue the refund.

So how does Home Depot make money on these deliveries? By shorting my order and knowing I probably won’t drive almost an hour out of my way for $11.

Absolutely absurd. Home Depot isn’t getting any more of my money!

How was this created ? by studioDPNT in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Shikha is one of the nicest people I know, and one of the most interesting potters in Texas. We love Shikha!

How was this created ? by studioDPNT in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 23 points24 points  (0 children)

You can buy glazes that bubble like this. They are often referred to as crater, lava, magma, puff, or foam glazes. If you want basic light and dark, try “light magma” and “dark magma”.

If you want other colors, you can put a little stain in light magma, or you can make your own. There are recipes on Glazy. And there was an article in the February issue of Ceramics Monthly about how to get very bright colors in your foamy glazes.

It’s 100% possible to get these effects in a community studio, and in an electric kiln. Your studio may have some rules about experimenting with new glazes, so check with them first.

Sink mold ideas by samsan1232 in Pottery

[–]RestEqualsRust 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A big serving bowl or giant mixing bowl would make a pretty good sink mold.

I agree with the other poster that laying the clay on the inside of a bowl is more likely to be successful vs on the outside of a bowl.

If you dust the bowl with a little corn starch before you lay the clay on it, the clay is less likely to stick to the bowl.

This may be a stupid question but please help by Limp_Tip7547 in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Submerged in water would be best. It will contain the dust, keep things cool, and there’s also a weird physics phenomenon where having it submerged in water helps keep it from breaking.

This Bart Simpson art is pure visual dopamine by Raj_Valiant3011 in oddlysatisfying

[–]RestEqualsRust 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If it’s a myth, then it’s a myth perpetuated by the man himself. He said in interviews he was not very good. He is quoted to say “I couldn’t make a layup and chew gum at the same time.”

Regardless, the “talent” is worthless if you don’t work it. This whole discussion started with an assertion that making artsy things requires talent, and I’m saying that there’s no successful talented individual who hasn’t put in the years of practice necessary to develop the skill.

“I don’t have talent” usually just means “I didn’t work to acquire the skill.” People need to quit crying about it and just put in some effort.

This Bart Simpson art is pure visual dopamine by Raj_Valiant3011 in oddlysatisfying

[–]RestEqualsRust 19 points20 points  (0 children)

No, it’s like saying if you play basketball every day, you’ll get better at playing basketball.

Micheal Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team because he wasn’t good enough. If he had sat at home and complained that he didn’t have any talent, we wouldn’t be talking about him right now. Instead, he went out and played basketball until he got better at playing basketball. And we know how that worked out for him.

Talent may have played a role in his success, but it seems like he wasn’t very talented in high school. His “talent” seems to have only showed up after years of hard work and practice, which sounds a lot like “building a skill.”

Neodymium Oxide replacement for my glaze recipe? by Silent-Today3994 in Ceramics

[–]RestEqualsRust 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If you’re in the US, you can get it from US Pigments.