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Reclaiming clay - how-to?



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 29th 05, 01:10 AM
Bubbles
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Default Reclaiming clay - how-to?


Hi guys!

What I have been doing up until now is to slop my lefotovers (a LOT when you
are a newbie on the wheel!) into a 10-liter bucket. Then I crunch the bits
down into maximum 2 cm bits or less.

But is 10 liters of clay too much to reclaim at once on a gypsum board? Am I
being too impatient?

Give me your tips on manually reclaimin clay, please!

Marianne


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  #2  
Old June 29th 05, 03:24 PM
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any amount is fine - especially as a nebie. start with a small batch &
get used to the method. then in time you'll graduate to larger loads.


see ya

steve



Bubbles wrote:
Hi guys!

What I have been doing up until now is to slop my lefotovers (a LOT when you
are a newbie on the wheel!) into a 10-liter bucket. Then I crunch the bits
down into maximum 2 cm bits or less.

But is 10 liters of clay too much to reclaim at once on a gypsum board? Am I
being too impatient?

Give me your tips on manually reclaimin clay, please!

Marianne


  #3  
Old June 29th 05, 04:39 PM
DKat
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That is about the size I work with from dry trimmings, failures, etc (5
gallon buckets). For wet clay that comes from working, I just put it on a
plaster board as I'm working and then at the end of the session wedge that
all up, bag it to add to or use it to make stamps if it isn't enough to
throw with. (just remembered I have some recycling at home that I forgot to
wedge and bag up - hope the plastic cover was enough to keep it moist...).
Donna

"Bubbles" wrote in message
...

Hi guys!

What I have been doing up until now is to slop my lefotovers (a LOT when
you are a newbie on the wheel!) into a 10-liter bucket. Then I crunch the
bits down into maximum 2 cm bits or less.

But is 10 liters of clay too much to reclaim at once on a gypsum board? Am
I being too impatient?

Give me your tips on manually reclaimin clay, please!

Marianne



  #4  
Old June 29th 05, 06:12 PM
Monika Schleidt
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Default

Bubbles wrote:
Hi guys!

What I have been doing up until now is to slop my lefotovers (a LOT when you
are a newbie on the wheel!) into a 10-liter bucket. Then I crunch the bits
down into maximum 2 cm bits or less.

But is 10 liters of clay too much to reclaim at once on a gypsum board? Am I
being too impatient?

Give me your tips on manually reclaimin clay, please!


Servus Marianne,

I have a lot of clay to recycle, since i have children here working once
a week. I found it the easiest way to let it dry completely, bonedry,
then put it in a bucket, pour water over it to cover it, after a couple
of days I syphon the water off the top, use a drill with one of those
mixing fixtures to make a nice cream out of it and then spread it out
onto a plasterboard of two, about two inches thick, leave it there,
depending on weather conditions, and then wedge it to make usable clay
again. If you have bits which are almost leatherhard and submerge them
in water, they will never become soft.
If this sounds a bit complicated, send me an email and i can explain it
in german.

Liebe Gruesse, Monika

--
Monika Schleidt

www.schleidt.org/MSKeramik
if you wish to write me a mail, remove the number from my user name
  #5  
Old June 29th 05, 07:52 PM
Brad Sondahl
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I always work with 5 gallon buckets of scraps--the slop will spread out
onto two 4 foot boards.
These are the instructions from my website:
http://www.sondahl.com/potterytips.html#recycling
Dry the scrap clay on the bisque kiln or in kiln room (this loosens clay
particle bonds--critical step). Slake (wet) it by pouring water over
scraps in 5 gallon bucket. Let it sit for awhile, then poke with stick
to mix and debubble it. Pour off excess water into another bucket. Leave
in kiln room till dry enough to spread on boards. Wedge when workable,
store when proper consistency.

I think the drying is the main things newbies miss--since they throw
extra wet and the stuff seems so gloppy already. The problem is that
semidry lumps of clay don't admit water readily, but if they're dried
completely, they will. The poking with the stick to remove bubbles and
allow water to penetrate lumpier areas is also an important point.
Brad
--
For my pottery how-to videos, original art, music, pottery, and
literature, visit my homepage
http://sondahl.com

To reply to me directly, don't forget to take out the "garbage" from my
address.

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  #6  
Old June 29th 05, 11:17 PM
Bubbles
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"Brad Sondahl" wrote in message
...
I always work with 5 gallon buckets of scraps--the slop will spread out
onto two 4 foot boards.
These are the instructions from my website:
http://www.sondahl.com/potterytips.html#recycling
Dry the scrap clay on the bisque kiln or in kiln room (this loosens clay
particle bonds--critical step). Slake (wet) it by pouring water over
scraps in 5 gallon bucket. Let it sit for awhile, then poke with stick to
mix and debubble it. Pour off excess water into another bucket. Leave in
kiln room till dry enough to spread on boards. Wedge when workable, store
when proper consistency.

I think the drying is the main things newbies miss--since they throw extra
wet and the stuff seems so gloppy already. The problem is that semidry
lumps of clay don't admit water readily, but if they're dried completely,
they will. The poking with the stick to remove bubbles and allow water
to penetrate lumpier areas is also an important point.


Hi Brad.

The stick idea is a good one. But hubby has one of these stirrer-things for
his drill that he uses to mix small batches of concrete. Would that be
better? Or would it just put more air into the clay, thus making me wedge
for hours (something my wrists wouldn't be happy about).

Marianne


  #7  
Old June 29th 05, 11:19 PM
Bubbles
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Default


"DKat" wrote in message
...
That is about the size I work with from dry trimmings, failures, etc (5
gallon buckets). For wet clay that comes from working, I just put it on a
plaster board as I'm working and then at the end of the session wedge that
all up, bag it to add to or use it to make stamps if it isn't enough to
throw with. (just remembered I have some recycling at home that I forgot
to wedge and bag up - hope the plastic cover was enough to keep it
moist...).


Hi Donna :-)

Good idea with the really wet stuff - but I am trying to avoid too wet - and
hope to get better at this - thus I will be mostly just leaving a bucket for
a couple of weeks or more (while filling up the next bucket) to dry, then
treat.

How do you mean about making stamps? Pattern stamps, I suppose. What do you
do then? Just form them into a stamp-shape first, then carve them when they
are hard enough?

Marianne


  #8  
Old June 29th 05, 11:24 PM
Bubbles
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Default


"Monika Schleidt" wrote in message
...

I have a lot of clay to recycle, since i have children here working once a
week. I found it the easiest way to let it dry completely, bonedry, then
put it in a bucket, pour water over it to cover it, after a couple of days
I syphon the water off the top, use a drill with one of those mixing
fixtures to make a nice cream out of it and then spread it out onto a
plasterboard of two, about two inches thick, leave it there, depending on
weather conditions, and then wedge it to make usable clay again. If you
have bits which are almost leatherhard and submerge them in water, they
will never become soft.


I always let the buckets stand a long time before I reclaim. That much I
have learned, that the clay must be as dry as possible.

I would be interested in reading about what you do with your kids! I have a
"tageskind" (day-kid? haha!) who likes to make stuff, but she sometimes
needs some little ideas to give her a creative push. So far, she has made a
grotto with holes for her guppies to swim in and out of, a totem-pole-like
pole with an alligator-pincher on to for pictures, several different bowls,
a cup with 2 handles and a snake wrapped around it, a ring for a giant, a
funny-looking frog and a few little other things. She turns 8 tomorrow
(30th).

It could be fun to invite her and 2-3 friends over to make stuff with me,
and then I get it fired at my teacher's workshop. I love to be around kids!

If this sounds a bit complicated, send me an email and i can explain it in
german.


Ummmm - that wouldn't be very helpful! HAHA! My English and Norwegian are
mother tongues, but my SWISS-German is only 4 years old! Though I do know a
lot of pottery-terms (though don't ask me about political stuff and so on -
vocab-building takes a long time! Hehe!).

Marianne


  #9  
Old June 30th 05, 01:36 AM
Steve Mills
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I dry out all my trimmings etc., then put them into a large bucket with
lots of water and mix it up with a heavy duty paint mixer in a drill, I
also add a bit of Cider Vinegar to help it sour quickly.
The next step is to pour the slop into a trouser leg, preferably one
made of man-made fibres (they don't rot), with the bottom either sewn up
or tied in a knot, and hang it up to sweat dry. When it's a bit too firm
on the outside, it's a bit soft inside, so I peal of the leg, cut it
into lumps and bag it. When I need some I wedge & knead enough for the
day and use it.
I know this sounds like a lot of work but it truly isn't; just a few
minutes each day and no BIG effort. Also a hanging *sock* of clay takes
up much less room than a full drying board.

Steve
Bath
UK



In article , Bubbles
writes

"Brad Sondahl" wrote in message
...
I always work with 5 gallon buckets of scraps--the slop will spread out
onto two 4 foot boards.
These are the instructions from my website:
http://www.sondahl.com/potterytips.html#recycling
Dry the scrap clay on the bisque kiln or in kiln room (this loosens clay
particle bonds--critical step). Slake (wet) it by pouring water over
scraps in 5 gallon bucket. Let it sit for awhile, then poke with stick to
mix and debubble it. Pour off excess water into another bucket. Leave in
kiln room till dry enough to spread on boards. Wedge when workable, store
when proper consistency.

I think the drying is the main things newbies miss--since they throw extra
wet and the stuff seems so gloppy already. The problem is that semidry
lumps of clay don't admit water readily, but if they're dried completely,
they will. The poking with the stick to remove bubbles and allow water
to penetrate lumpier areas is also an important point.


Hi Brad.

The stick idea is a good one. But hubby has one of these stirrer-things for
his drill that he uses to mix small batches of concrete. Would that be
better? Or would it just put more air into the clay, thus making me wedge
for hours (something my wrists wouldn't be happy about).

Marianne



--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
  #10  
Old June 30th 05, 11:56 AM
Bubbles
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Steve Mills" wrote in message
...
I dry out all my trimmings etc., then put them into a large bucket with
lots of water and mix it up with a heavy duty paint mixer in a drill, I
also add a bit of Cider Vinegar to help it sour quickly.


I've never heard of using vinegar in clay before. How do you mean that it
sours quickly? How much do you add? Tell me more, please!

The next step is to pour the slop into a trouser leg, preferably one
made of man-made fibres (they don't rot), with the bottom either sewn up
or tied in a knot, and hang it up to sweat dry. When it's a bit too firm
on the outside, it's a bit soft inside, so I peal of the leg, cut it
into lumps and bag it. When I need some I wedge & knead enough for the
day and use it.


I did that before I got my board made, but now I am trying the board method.
Problem with hanging socks, is that they drip! :-)

I know this sounds like a lot of work but it truly isn't; just a few
minutes each day and no BIG effort. Also a hanging *sock* of clay takes
up much less room than a full drying board.


I love to work reclaiming clay and wedging - it is a kind of meditation for
me - so it doesn't matter how long it takes.

Marianne


 




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