Potters & Sculptors - Making Rock from Mud
Tags:
Tang Lime is a beautiful glaze, the only problem is it turns into an ugly uncrackled tan if slow-cooled.
If you want to make your own, here's the recipe.
Tang Lime ^5/6
80% Ferro Frit 3269
12% Silica/flint
8% Kaolin
2% Bentonite (less or none depending on how you want to use the glaze)
(some bentonites turn the glaze into an opaque mustard, add with caution)
0.5% Chrome Oxide
And a sprinkle of Calcium Chloride, or Epsom Salts if you don't have calcium chloride
Using Nickel Carbonate instead of Chrome Oxide makes a beautiful brown crackle, like the color of the glass in the tile below but without the green areas.
Yes, I had some pieces in the same kiln load come out a nasty bubbly brown, The only difference was the clay, not the firing. I used some piece with Laguna No. 50 Clay. The No. 50 clay turned out bad. The shop I get my clay from said it was probably the Magnesium content in the No 50 Clay. I am not sure this makes sense, But the No 50 clay body definitely made a negative difference. I Did re-glaze some with coastal Blue from ClayScapes, and it gave a much nicer surface with some flavor.
Sometimes when something doesn't work, like Tang Lime interacting poorly with Laguna WC-606 (aka #50) or a slow-cool firing, it's not worth the effort and cost to find out why. After all, it's just one data point.
But over time a pattern can emerge and it finally becomes clear what the problem was.
http://www.lagunaclay.com/clays/northeastern/wc606.php
One big advantage in making your own glazes is you know what you put into so you have a better chance of fixing problems with the chemistry. I don't know for sure that my recipe is identical to what Laguna Clay uses as Tang Lime, but it fires the same and is the same sort of simple and inexpensive recipe that Jon Brooks favors for production purposes.
Your vendor may know more about WC-606 than Laguna publishes, or they may seen a similar problem with magnesium. If you call the tech support guy at Laguna Clay (Spanish is his first language), sometimes he or Jon Brooks have good suggestions as they know what they put in their stuff.
Thank you for the good advice, I have had great results on most white clays, except for the No.50. How do you know it is WC-606? Is there a conversion chart? My clay supplier only lists it as No. 50.
Thanks again for the help, I learn something everyday.
Norm Stuart said:
Sometimes when something doesn't work, like Tang Lime interacting poorly with Laguna WC-606 (aka #50) or a slow-cool firing, it's not worth the effort and cost to find out why. After all, it's just one data point.
But over time a pattern can emerge and it finally becomes clear what the problem was.
http://www.lagunaclay.com/clays/northeastern/wc606.php
One big advantage in making your own glazes is you know what you put into so you have a better chance of fixing problems with the chemistry. I don't know for sure that my recipe is identical to what Laguna Clay uses as Tang Lime, but it fires the same and is the same sort of simple and inexpensive recipe that Jon Brooks favors for production purposes.
Your vendor may know more about WC-606 than Laguna publishes, or they may seen a similar problem with magnesium. If you call the tech support guy at Laguna Clay (Spanish is his first language), sometimes he or Jon Brooks have good suggestions as they know what they put in their stuff.
Laguna's website has information on the products they sell. The easiest way to find this information is to use Google. In this case type in the following search:
Laguna Clay #50
Google takes you here . . . http://www.lagunaclay.com/clays/northeastern/wc606.php
This is Laguna's home page for clay http://www.lagunaclay.com/clays/#list
The website for Laguna Clay's Axner subsidiary in Florida is usually easier to use, but they only provide information on clays and material their Axner subsidiary sells. Tony Hansen of Digitalfire designed and maintains the Axner website and does a terrific job.
http://www.axner.com/clays.aspx
Your WC-606 clay is a Northeastern U.S. Clay product so it's not listed on the Axner website, but Laguna Clay's website has information on all of their regional products. It's just harder to use than the Axner website.
We're less than 30 miles from Laguna Clay in the City of Industry, California, so we order from them direct.
Unfortunately Laguna's website doesn't list pricing so we use the volume prices on the Axner website to budget our order before we fax or email our quote request to them. Laguna's price is similar to their Axner website pricing but not the same. The quote on our total order has always been a little less than the prices quoted on the Axner website.
Low cost flat lapping disc can be used on you potters wheel if you, drill bat pin holes in it, and provide a trickle of water to cool it. At amazon.com, 120 grit for aggressive material removal. Click the image to purchase
Members have had great things to say about John Britt's new book, Mid-Range Glazes. Click the image to buy from Amazon.com
Purchase Glazes Cone 6 by Michael Bailey, The Potters Book of Glaze Recipes by Emmanuel Cooper, or Making Marks by Robin Hopper, all available at amazon.com. Mastering Cone 6 Glazes by John Hesselberth & Ron Roy is now out of print.
Harbor Freight is a great place to find unbeatable prices for better HVLP spray guns with stainless steel parts and serviceable economy models, as well as detail guns, all tested by our members for spraying glazes, as well as compressors to power the guns. As yet no one has tested and commented on the remarkably inexpensive air brushes at harbor freight.
The critter siphon gun is a spray alternative that is well liked by some of our members, and is available at amazon.
Amazon is also a competitive source for photo light tents for shooting professional quality pictures of your work. They also have the EZ Cube brand favored by several of our members. You might also want to purchase the book Photographing Arts, Crafts and Collectibles . . .
If you are up to creating videos of your work or techniques you might want to invest in a flip video camera
Following are a few scales useful for potters. Ohaus Triple Pro Mechanical Triple Beam Balance, 2610g x 0.1g, with Tare $169.00
And finally a low cost clone of the OHaus. The Adam Equipment TBB2610T Triple Beam Mechanical Balance With Tare Beam $99.62
ebay is a great alternative for many tools and the equipment used in the ceramics studio - kilns, wheels, extruders, slab rollers are often listed there both new and used.
If you just want to spout off, it is best accomplished as a blog posting. If you want to get more guidance and ideas from other members, ask a question as a new discussion topic. In the upper right corner of the lists for both types of posting, you will find an "+Add " button. Clicking it will open an editor where you create your posting. 4/16/2014
© 2024 Created by Andrea Wolf. Powered by