watering dry clay

"DKat" wrote:

Oh Hell! If you are just making up a cup or so DON'T follow my
instructions! Sorry - a potter would never make up that little clay. You
could modify what I said and just use an old sock. The thing is, you want
your clay saturated but you also want it drained to the right consistency.
Since you are not going to have a clay mixer the easiest way it to do as I
said, but on a small scale. Sorry, I had no idea what you were aiming for.

Your sock suggestion is excellent for my current needs. Since my heat treat
oven is a pottery kiln, maybe I'll get to use your levi leg suggestion at a
future point for watering clay for actually making pottery.

My hobby is machining, where we often turn things and cut away stuff. It
might be fun to spin a lump of clay and shape it into something.

What rpm range do potters wheels turn at?

I do thank you for your advice,

Wes

My wheel does 0-250 RPM - however there is wide variance in how fast people
turn their wheels when they throw. I have seen people work at such slow
speeds that it makes me grit my teeth - others can go full speed from start
to finish.

I'm having a hard time imagining lathing a piece of clay although some parts
of throwing can be very much like that. You might be able to do that if the
clay was leather hard... Don't know, could be interesting. Let us know if
you succeed!

Donna

"Wes" wrote in message
...

My hobby is machining, where we often turn things and cut away stuff. It
might be fun to spin a lump of clay and shape it into something.

What rpm range do potters wheels turn at?

I do thank you for your advice,

Wes

"DKat" wrote:

I'm having a hard time imagining lathing a piece of clay although some parts
of throwing can be very much like that. You might be able to do that if the
clay was leather hard... Don't know, could be interesting. Let us know if
you succeed!


Oh no, I'd build a conventional wheel and do it the traditional way. FWIW,
ceramic inserts used in lathes for turning are very effective.

Thanks,

Wes

"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...

I am intrigued by Donna's approach of putting the dry clay in the
pants leg and then immersing it. I will probably give it a try the
next time I mix clay. (Thanks, Donna!) However, this is the first I
have heard of that.

I don't have space in my workshop for a big plaster slab, so I use a
similar method.

Mesh paper-baskets are the big clue in my system. I line a paper-basket with
one of hubby's old cotton shirts or a piece of cotton bed-linen. Put the
basket into a plastic waste basket that is a tad larger, dump in the dry
clay and pour water well over the top. Fold the shirt over the clay and let
sit for a few days.

Then I take the mesh basket out and put it on a couple of pieces of wood
inside a water-proof plastic box. As the days go on, I poke the clay through
the cloth to see how it is coming along and wedge it when it has reached a
good consistency.

I used to hang the clay up in bedclothes to drip off, but A) the material
wasn't strong enough to be reused and B) it took space in my teeny workshop.
So - with this waste-paper basket system, I can just shove the container
under my shelves and still get the job done. And less work intesive than the
plaster slab system as well.

Marianne

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:16:27 +0200, "Bubbles_"
wrote:


"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...

I am intrigued by Donna's approach of putting the dry clay in the
pants leg and then immersing it. I will probably give it a try the
next time I mix clay. (Thanks, Donna!) However, this is the first I
have heard of that.

I don't have space in my workshop for a big plaster slab, so I use a
similar method.

Mesh paper-baskets are the big clue in my system. I line a paper-basket with
one of hubby's old cotton shirts or a piece of cotton bed-linen. Put the
basket into a plastic waste basket that is a tad larger, dump in the dry
clay and pour water well over the top. Fold the shirt over the clay and let
sit for a few days.

Then I take the mesh basket out and put it on a couple of pieces of wood
inside a water-proof plastic box. As the days go on, I poke the clay through
the cloth to see how it is coming along and wedge it when it has reached a
good consistency.

I used to hang the clay up in bedclothes to drip off, but A) the material
wasn't strong enough to be reused and B) it took space in my teeny workshop.
So - with this waste-paper basket system, I can just shove the container
under my shelves and still get the job done. And less work intesive than the
plaster slab system as well.

Marianne


Marianne and Donna:

Does this method work equally well for new powdered clay and for
reclaimed scraps? (Not in the same batch.)

Thanks!


Bob Masta

DAQARTA v3.50
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com
Scope, Spectrum, Spectrogram, Signal Generator
Science with your sound card!

I have only used it to reclaim clay but since I bone dry my clay and break
it down to as small of pieces as I can, it should be comparable - If you
are mixing clays (dry materials - i.e. 40% fireclay, 20% EPK 40% Ballcly),
IMO you should make a slurry first. If you are using plastic burlap like I
am, I could imagine doing this inside the bag which is in the bucket,
letting the clay settle, then pulling the bag out of the bucket to drain.
If you are doing it in something like a levi pant leg, I would make the
slurry and then pour this into the pant leg (leg in bucket) and then pull
the leg out and let drain. Dozens of ways to skin a cat and I am just
imagining what I would do in this case.

Donna

"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 12:16:27 +0200, "Bubbles_"
wrote:


"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...

I am intrigued by Donna's approach of putting the dry clay in the
pants leg and then immersing it. I will probably give it a try the
next time I mix clay. (Thanks, Donna!) However, this is the first I
have heard of that.

I don't have space in my workshop for a big plaster slab, so I use a
similar method.

Mesh paper-baskets are the big clue in my system. I line a paper-basket
with
one of hubby's old cotton shirts or a piece of cotton bed-linen. Put the
basket into a plastic waste basket that is a tad larger, dump in the dry
clay and pour water well over the top. Fold the shirt over the clay and
let
sit for a few days.

Then I take the mesh basket out and put it on a couple of pieces of wood
inside a water-proof plastic box. As the days go on, I poke the clay
through
the cloth to see how it is coming along and wedge it when it has reached a
good consistency.

I used to hang the clay up in bedclothes to drip off, but A) the material
wasn't strong enough to be reused and B) it took space in my teeny
workshop.
So - with this waste-paper basket system, I can just shove the container
under my shelves and still get the job done. And less work intesive than
the
plaster slab system as well.

Marianne


Marianne and Donna:

Does this method work equally well for new powdered clay and for
reclaimed scraps? (Not in the same batch.)

Thanks!


Bob Masta

DAQARTA v3.50
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com
Scope, Spectrum, Spectrogram, Signal Generator
Science with your sound card!

"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...

Marianne and Donna:

Does this method work equally well for new powdered clay and for
reclaimed scraps? (Not in the same batch.)

To be honest, Bob, I have never made "fresh" clay, but I would think the
method would work OK, as you have the cotton lining the mesh inside the
plastic, so not much room for flow or movement of water, really. I am not
sure if you add the powder to the water or vice versa. I would be tempted to
add powder to water in that case, as I imagine it might otherwise lump
itself at the bottom and take longer to absorb the water right through.

I use the method for all my clay reclaiming, and I am very pleased with it.
I try to do as Donna and make my clay as little as possible - though I tend
to just squish the bits thin before putting them in the reclaiming buckets
to dry. I actually think I have better results NOT breaking into tiny
pieces, as then there is better water flow between the pieces, but I can't
say 100%, because I just let that clay sit in the water for days on end! It
being under the shelf, I sometimes just forget about it! Must remember the
one I have had drying before I go on holidays, though!

Hope that answers your query. Best thing is just to try it out on a smaller
scale and see what happens. Worst case, redry the clay and then retry.

Oh yes - and I would DEFINITELY mix the powdered ingredients very well
before mixing with water. But you knew that already, right? ;-)

Marianne

On Tue, 16 Oct 2007 15:30:44 -0400, "DKat"
wrote:

I have only used it to reclaim clay but since I bone dry my clay and break
it down to as small of pieces as I can, it should be comparable - If you
are mixing clays (dry materials - i.e. 40% fireclay, 20% EPK 40% Ballcly),
IMO you should make a slurry first. If you are using plastic burlap like I
am, I could imagine doing this inside the bag which is in the bucket,
letting the clay settle, then pulling the bag out of the bucket to drain.
If you are doing it in something like a levi pant leg, I would make the
slurry and then pour this into the pant leg (leg in bucket) and then pull
the leg out and let drain. Dozens of ways to skin a cat and I am just
imagining what I would do in this case.

I've always added powdered clay to water in the "traditional" way,
then let it settle a few days and remove the clear water before
pouring the slurry into the pant leg (which may become the
new "traditional" way of drying, instead of plaster bats). But I'm
always open to new ideas. Based upon your advice, I'll probably
keep doing it this way for new clay, and save your method for
reclaim. On the other hand, maybe I'll do a small-scale experiment
with your method on new clay, next time I make up a batch.

Thanks, to you and Marianne, for sharing new ideas!







Bob Masta

DAQARTA v3.50
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com
Scope, Spectrum, Spectrogram, Signal Generator
Science with your sound card!

"Wes" wrote in message
...
Pardon my ignorance but I bought some fire clay and it is in dry powdered
form. Do I just add water and start stirring? Any idea of weight of
water
to weight of clay? My application is to seal a metal box that will be
used
for case hardening in order to keep air out.

Thanks in advance,

Wes

[Ir doesn't sound like this will work too well, Wes. Clay shrinks
considerably as it dries, while the metal will expand as it gets hot. The
clay won't adhere, and will break up and flake off, making a mess. Can't you
make your metal box seal itself, with bolts? A refractory gasket of some
sort would help; look for ceramic fiber in rope form, or a piece of
refractory sheet material. Here's a link to some of that:
http://www.armilcfs.com/pages/products.htm .]

Andrew Werby
www.unitedartworks.com

"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...

Thanks, to you and Marianne, for sharing new ideas!

New and old, sharing is the most important part, don't you think?

Anyway - I must add a PS to my previous posts. You might want to turn the
paper-bin out after a while, so the water goes the other way through the
clay and makes it more homogenously the same softness. I forgot to do one of
mine last week, caught up with it this week and it was squishy down bottom
and pretty hard up top. Took quite a bit more muscle to wedge, for sure!

Again - enjoy your weekend!

Marianne

PS - mentioned the cone discussion to my teacher, and used the words "you
must do such-and-such" (translating to German is not my forte), and she just
looked at me and said "anyone who uses the word _must_ in connection with
pottery....." and the look said the rest! LOL! Think she has a point?