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clay mixing problem

updated mon 31 mar 97

 

Guenter Haltmayer on tue 25 mar 97

Dear clayarters, I did already reply personally to Jon Pettyjon, but got
additional information today from a friend who prepares clay for other potters
in a huge filter press. He states:" When the screw in the middle of the filter
plate does not seal properly, you will get the effect of having the silica sand
accumulated there, because the slip loosing screw is sealed after a while by
the silica sand which blocks together with finer particles the opening. In fact
we used this effect on purpose to seal our screws.
When after switching on the filter press you see for a prolonged time slip
dripping from the filter plates instead of water, it is likely that you have a
problem with the screws.
This effect does not seem to occur with grog.
Ball milling is used for slaking wet clay witch comes fresh from the pit. You
could not use a blunger for this purpose- or it will take days to make a slurry
out of wet clay lumps. But maximum milling time is 1-2 hours - prolonged milling
"kills" the clay, it gets short"

I have to apologize for not using the appropiate technical terms for the
machinery, but I hope everybody who knows a filter press could understand what I
mean...
Yours Guenter, Kalkspatz, Germany