Mechanical help mixing recycled clay?

Another material worth investigating is Heat Resistant Insulating Board
which is widely used these days in buildings. Here in the UK they are
Vermiculite based, which is a safe, heat resistant, insulator. The
pieces I use are one inch and half an inch thick (25 & 12.5mm). it is
known here as either Superlux or Vermiculux. When not in use I lean them
against the wall to dry out, and on the rare occasions a bit gets into
the clay it doesn't matter at all!

Steve
Bath
UK


In article , DKat
writes
If you are talking about the pieces you take off of the wheel and not what
you are drying out and rewetting then it really is easier to do it as you
go. If you have a good plaster board this is really a easy task that is
mindless and a pleasant break from work that calls for thought and
attention. I have my plaster board near where I throw. When I trim off
clay from a piece, get too much slip built up or lose a piece, etc. I just
dump it on the board. I make piles of the size I want to wedge, smash it
into a pancake and leave it. I may then need to peel if off the board and
turn it over if the top is not drying as fast as the bottom but that is
about all. Yesterday I had forgotten one of my piles and half was too dry
and the other too wet. I simply wadded it up and took it into the TV room
and played with it while watching TV. Nice finger exercise and totally
mindless. My plaster board is about 15" by 30". If your plaster board is
coming off in pieces then something is drastically wrong with it. The
surface should almost be like high quality cement - smooth and solid. It
should absorb water much faster than anything else. If you are doing a
large batch of clay then just make sure to with the heal of your hand push
the clay out to thin layers, fold it over and push it out again until it is
not chunky with wet and dry. It should still be soft though. Then wegde it
up.

"Bubbles" wrote in message
...

Hi folks!

Up until now, I have been recycling my clay manually, but this is holding
me back when it comes to doing repetitive exercises on my wheel, as I
think about all that clay I will then have to moosh and dry and wet and
dry and knead.

We have spent quite a bit on equipment for the workshop lately, so buying
a new machine is out of the question, though I might get lucky and find a
used one at a more sensible price.

But - my husband is really great at building things, so I thought maybe
some of you could give me ideas that would make my process easier, if not
easiest, if you know what I mean.

At the moment, I hang my remixed clay in a pillow-case, but what with
other drying clay and standing water, etc., the humidity in my studio is
so high, that the clay takes ages to dry to a workable consistency. I
don't really have any other place to hang it, though.

Anyway - you guys are so great sharing your experiences and ideas, so I
though I would ask for input :-)

Thanks!

Marianne




--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK

"DKat" wrote in message
...
If you are talking about the pieces you take off of the wheel and not what
you are drying out and rewetting then it really is easier to do it as you
go. If you have a good plaster board this is really a easy task that is
mindless and a pleasant break from work that calls for thought and
attention. I have my plaster board near where I throw. When I trim off
clay from a piece, get too much slip built up or lose a piece, etc. I just
dump it on the board. I make piles of the size I want to wedge, smash it
into a pancake and leave it. I may then need to peel if off the board and
turn it over if the top is not drying as fast as the bottom but that is
about all. Yesterday I had forgotten one of my piles and half was too dry
and the other too wet. I simply wadded it up and took it into the TV room
and played with it while watching TV. Nice finger exercise and totally
mindless. My plaster board is about 15" by 30". If your plaster board
is coming off in pieces then something is drastically wrong with it. The
surface should almost be like high quality cement - smooth and solid. It
should absorb water much faster than anything else. If you are doing a
large batch of clay then just make sure to with the heal of your hand push
the clay out to thin layers, fold it over and push it out again until it
is not chunky with wet and dry. It should still be soft though. Then
wegde it up.

Thanks, Dkat

I think I will junk my home-made board and buy one. I was also putting the
clay on the board as I was turning or throwing, but when bits come off, it
isn't pleasant :-)

Marianne