Reclaiming clay - with or without lumps?

Hi folks!

Full of questions tonight!

I have just started my first time trying to reclaim my used clay. I have 3
different types in 3 different buckets. Seems I got the water/clay ratio a
bit wrong in one or two, but evaporation (or adding a bit more water) should
fix that, right?

My "problem" now is if I should wait until the lumps are gone - or try to
work them out by hand - or will they "disappear" by themselves during the
rest of the process?

I have some old pillow-cases I will hang the clay in, as I haven't gotten
around to making a good plaster bat. Will that work OK?

I have tons of books on ceramics, but none seem to cover the lump aspect
much. I should also ask my teacher, but she is under enough stress at the
moment and I don't have class until Thursday - by which time I am worried
the clay might have somehow "gone off".

Thanks so much for any help/advice!

Marianne

In article ,
Bubbles wrote:

My "problem" now is if I should wait until the lumps are gone - or try to
work them out by hand - or will they "disappear" by themselves during the
rest of the process?

Marianne

I'm not entirely sure if this answers your question, but when I have
reclaimed clay that's partially wet with lots of slurry and partially
dryer (leather hard projects that I changed my mind about for example)
I first put them all together into a plastic bag for a week or so. Then
I take small handfulls, alternating the wetter clay with the lumpier clay and
throw them down together onto my wedging table, into one mixed pile.
Depending on how different the consistencies are, I might do this a
couple of times through to integrate them better. After I've thrown
down these small handfulls, I wedge the whole thing together. If the
clay still is too stiff to work with, I'll sprinkle a little water on the
wedged clay and wrap it up tightly in plastic again and re-wedge later.

I don't think I'd want to do this with a hundred pounds of clay, but
for smaller amounts (10 or 20 lbs, or less, at a time) it works well.

Sorry if this isn't clear--it's hard to describe without visuals.

Deb R.

Bubbles wrote:
Hi folks!

Full of questions tonight!

I have just started my first time trying to reclaim my used clay. I have 3
different types in 3 different buckets. Seems I got the water/clay ratio a
bit wrong in one or two, but evaporation (or adding a bit more water) should
fix that, right?

My "problem" now is if I should wait until the lumps are gone - or try to
work them out by hand - or will they "disappear" by themselves during the
rest of the process?

I have some old pillow-cases I will hang the clay in, as I haven't gotten
around to making a good plaster bat. Will that work OK?

I have tons of books on ceramics, but none seem to cover the lump aspect
much. I should also ask my teacher, but she is under enough stress at the
moment and I don't have class until Thursday - by which time I am worried
the clay might have somehow "gone off".

Thanks so much for any help/advice!

Marianne


Hallo Marianne,

i have a lot of clay to recycle, since i have about 20 kids working in
my shop once a week. What i do is the following: i let it dry out
completely, bone dry, then throw it in a bucket and cover it with water.
(If you have pieces that are leatherhard or not totally dry, they will
not soften sufficiently.) A few days later i syphon off the excess water
and take an electric drill with one of those stirring things which you
use to stir paint or mortar, and stir it to the consistency of thick
buttercream. This way all the lumps are gone. I then dry it on a plaster
bat for a fiew days (depending on the weathercondition) and wedge it.

Best regards from sunny Austria
Monika

--
Monika Schleidt

www.schleidt.org/mskeramik
(If you wish to send me a mail, please leave out the number after my name!)

Dear Marianne,

I find it better to dry out my clay for reclaim before doing anything to
it, that way I get no lumps.
Pillow cases, old trouser legs, etc. are the best way to dry clay slop
out. Personally I dislike plaster bats; prone to damage so bits can get
into the clay, heavy and awkward in a small workshop, and tend to get
*hairy* underneath. At least with pillow cases et al, when you've
finished with them they fold up out of the way!

Steve
Bath
UK


In article , Bubbles
writes
Hi folks!

Full of questions tonight!

I have just started my first time trying to reclaim my used clay. I have 3
different types in 3 different buckets. Seems I got the water/clay ratio a
bit wrong in one or two, but evaporation (or adding a bit more water) should
fix that, right?

My "problem" now is if I should wait until the lumps are gone - or try to
work them out by hand - or will they "disappear" by themselves during the
rest of the process?

I have some old pillow-cases I will hang the clay in, as I haven't gotten
around to making a good plaster bat. Will that work OK?

I have tons of books on ceramics, but none seem to cover the lump aspect
much. I should also ask my teacher, but she is under enough stress at the
moment and I don't have class until Thursday - by which time I am worried
the clay might have somehow "gone off".

Thanks so much for any help/advice!

Marianne



--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK

"Steve Mills" wrote in message
...
Dear Marianne,

I find it better to dry out my clay for reclaim before doing anything to
it, that way I get no lumps.
Pillow cases, old trouser legs, etc. are the best way to dry clay slop
out. Personally I dislike plaster bats; prone to damage so bits can get
into the clay, heavy and awkward in a small workshop, and tend to get
*hairy* underneath. At least with pillow cases et al, when you've
finished with them they fold up out of the way!

Hi Steve

Yeah - I was a bit sceptical about getting plaster bits into my clay as
well, so I figured I would try the pillow-case system first.

I have totally dried my clay - it has been sitting outside (under the roof)
for about a month to dry! Still it has lumps in it. But I can try using a
drill-stirrer :-)

Marianne

"Monika Schleidt" wrote in message
...

Hallo Marianne,

Greuzi, Monika :-)

i have a lot of clay to recycle, since i have about 20 kids working in
my shop once a week. What i do is the following: i let it dry out
completely, bone dry, then throw it in a bucket and cover it with water.
(If you have pieces that are leatherhard or not totally dry, they will
not soften sufficiently.) A few days later i syphon off the excess water
and take an electric drill with one of those stirring things which you
use to stir paint or mortar, and stir it to the consistency of thick
buttercream. This way all the lumps are gone. I then dry it on a plaster
bat for a fiew days (depending on the weathercondition) and wedge it.

I did dry it really well, but maybe I shouldn't have worked with it at all
until it had stood a couple of days? I will try to smooth it by hand, and if
that doesn't work, I will have to buy a stirrer for the drill. Money isn't
the problem there - space is, though! :-)

Marianne

On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 01:08:17 +0200, "Bubbles"
wrote:

Hi folks!

Full of questions tonight!

I have just started my first time trying to reclaim my used clay. I have 3
different types in 3 different buckets. Seems I got the water/clay ratio a
bit wrong in one or two, but evaporation (or adding a bit more water) should
fix that, right?

My "problem" now is if I should wait until the lumps are gone - or try to
work them out by hand - or will they "disappear" by themselves during the
rest of the process?

I'll second Monika's method of letting everything dry out competely.
I had some hand-dug clay that had lumps, and several weeks of
soaking did absolutely nothing. So then I dried it out thoroughly
(setting over the kiln) and broke up the lumps by passing it
through a windows screen. Turned out beautifully!


I have some old pillow-cases I will hang the clay in, as I haven't gotten
around to making a good plaster bat. Will that work OK?

I have used the plaster bat method in the past and only recently
started the hanging method. Hanging is much easier and I will
never go back to the plaster for drying. However, pillowcases
may be a bit weak for the weight of the clay. Heavy denim jeans legs
work well... you can tie the ends with wire to seal them into
long skinny sacks.

I found that just pouring the slip into the sacks leaves a lot
of thin slip coating the cloth near the top, which has a tendency to
dry out quickly. Then when you move the sack, it can fall onto
the mass of plastic clay. There are two things I do to avoid
this: I cover the top of the sacks with loose plastic bags
above the mass of clay, so that the thin coating never dries
out. (Might need to spritz that area occasionally if you don't get
the plastic just right.) Then the other trick is when it is time to
remove the mass of plastic clay, take it out of the *bottom*
of the sack by removing the wire that held the leg closed.

The clay in the sacks tends to dry faster on the outside,
so it may take some experimenting to know when to turn
it out. Sometimes the inside is still a little softer than you
want it. However, all in all this method seems to be a lot
easier than drying on plaster.

Hope this helps!



Bob Masta
dqatechATdaqartaDOTcom

D A Q A R T A
Data AcQuisition And Real-Time Analysis
www.daqarta.com

"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 01:08:17 +0200, "Bubbles"
wrote:

My "problem" now is if I should wait until the lumps are gone - or try to
work them out by hand - or will they "disappear" by themselves during the
rest of the process?

I'll second Monika's method of letting everything dry out competely.
I had some hand-dug clay that had lumps, and several weeks of
soaking did absolutely nothing. So then I dried it out thoroughly
(setting over the kiln) and broke up the lumps by passing it
through a windows screen. Turned out beautifully!

It had dried for over 4 weeks before I added the water. Are you saying it
wasn't dry enough, and that's why I have lumps in all 3 buckets?

I have some old pillow-cases I will hang the clay in, as I haven't gotten
around to making a good plaster bat. Will that work OK?

I have used the plaster bat method in the past and only recently
started the hanging method. Hanging is much easier and I will
never go back to the plaster for drying. However, pillowcases
may be a bit weak for the weight of the clay. Heavy denim jeans legs
work well... you can tie the ends with wire to seal them into
long skinny sacks.

Should I wait until there is a certain consistency, or can I just dump it
all in there and let any excess water drain out?

I found that just pouring the slip into the sacks leaves a lot
of thin slip coating the cloth near the top, which has a tendency to
dry out quickly. Then when you move the sack, it can fall onto
the mass of plastic clay. There are two things I do to avoid
this: I cover the top of the sacks with loose plastic bags
above the mass of clay, so that the thin coating never dries
out. (Might need to spritz that area occasionally if you don't get
the plastic just right.) Then the other trick is when it is time to
remove the mass of plastic clay, take it out of the *bottom*
of the sack by removing the wire that held the leg closed.

The clay in the sacks tends to dry faster on the outside,
so it may take some experimenting to know when to turn
it out. Sometimes the inside is still a little softer than you
want it. However, all in all this method seems to be a lot
easier than drying on plaster.

Would maybe spraying the bag with water about once a day possibly help keep
the same wetness throughout?

Hope this helps!

Certainly does! I am so glad to have found this forum, where I can get great
advice and learn more about clays and pottery!

Marianne

Just a note... I only dry out my clay for recycling if it has reached the
leather hard stage. Other wise I just throw it in a bucket with water in it
for reclaiming later. When we had a large studio everyone put their clay
for recycling in a large trash can. When the clay reached to top we would
dump it out on the cement porch and do the "I Love Lucy" grape dance in it.
That was some 25+ years ago though. I can't even imagine emptying a large
trash can of clay now. It sure was fun dancing through it though.


"Bubbles" wrote in message
...

"Bob Masta" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 01:08:17 +0200, "Bubbles"
wrote:

My "problem" now is if I should wait until the lumps are gone - or try
to
work them out by hand - or will they "disappear" by themselves during
the
rest of the process?

I'll second Monika's method of letting everything dry out competely.
I had some hand-dug clay that had lumps, and several weeks of
soaking did absolutely nothing. So then I dried it out thoroughly
(setting over the kiln) and broke up the lumps by passing it
through a windows screen. Turned out beautifully!

It had dried for over 4 weeks before I added the water. Are you saying it
wasn't dry enough, and that's why I have lumps in all 3 buckets?

I have some old pillow-cases I will hang the clay in, as I haven't
gotten
around to making a good plaster bat. Will that work OK?

I have used the plaster bat method in the past and only recently
started the hanging method. Hanging is much easier and I will
never go back to the plaster for drying. However, pillowcases
may be a bit weak for the weight of the clay. Heavy denim jeans legs
work well... you can tie the ends with wire to seal them into
long skinny sacks.

Should I wait until there is a certain consistency, or can I just dump it
all in there and let any excess water drain out?

I found that just pouring the slip into the sacks leaves a lot
of thin slip coating the cloth near the top, which has a tendency to
dry out quickly. Then when you move the sack, it can fall onto
the mass of plastic clay. There are two things I do to avoid
this: I cover the top of the sacks with loose plastic bags
above the mass of clay, so that the thin coating never dries
out. (Might need to spritz that area occasionally if you don't get
the plastic just right.) Then the other trick is when it is time to
remove the mass of plastic clay, take it out of the *bottom*
of the sack by removing the wire that held the leg closed.

The clay in the sacks tends to dry faster on the outside,
so it may take some experimenting to know when to turn
it out. Sometimes the inside is still a little softer than you
want it. However, all in all this method seems to be a lot
easier than drying on plaster.

Would maybe spraying the bag with water about once a day possibly help
keep
the same wetness throughout?

Hope this helps!

Certainly does! I am so glad to have found this forum, where I can get
great
advice and learn more about clays and pottery!

Marianne

Bubbles wrote:



I find it better to dry out my clay for reclaim before doing anything to
it, that way I get no lumps.
Pillow cases, old trouser legs, etc. are the best way to dry clay slop
out. Personally I dislike plaster bats; prone to damage so bits can get
into the clay, heavy and awkward in a small workshop, and tend to get
*hairy* underneath. At least with pillow cases et al, when you've
finished with them they fold up out of the way!


Hi Steve

Yeah - I was a bit sceptical about getting plaster bits into my clay as
well, so I figured I would try the pillow-case system first.

I have totally dried my clay - it has been sitting outside (under the roof)
for about a month to dry! Still it has lumps in it. But I can try using a
drill-stirrer :-)

Marianne


I have a plaster bat that fits nicely on one of those supermarket
cardboard boxes in which peppers, grapes and the like come in. I have a
bunch of those for various purposes (transporting things from the
workplace to the kiln etc.) Nothing "hairy" under that. To avoid getting
plaster into the clay, i use a piece of sheet fabric over the board, put
the clay on that and the problem is solved. The clay never touches the
plaster.

Monika

--
Monika Schleidt

www.schleidt.org/mskeramik
(If you wish to send me a mail, please leave out the number after my name!)