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stop pin holes

updated thu 25 mar 99

 

Bill Williams on mon 22 mar 99

I have been using a buff cone 6-8 stoneware clay for a couple of months. =
(has to
change from my beautiful black) So am just getting to the stage of serious
glazing. I am using glazes that I have used a lot, so I know who reliable =
they
are. I am finding a pin hole or two on a lot of my pieces. I fired my =
bisque
at 06 but started firing bisque at 04 to try to solve the problem. It did =
help,
but didn't stop it completely. I have wondered if wetting the piece before
glazing it would help. Connie
PS : I have been thinking. What is it about pottery that keeps us there? =
It is
the one field of art probable most prone to disaster and failure. Yet, we
stick. Six months work could literally =22go up in smoke=22. Yet, we love =
it and
won't leave it. hmmm.

Nils Lou on tue 23 mar 99

Sometimes pinholes occur because pots are stacked too tightly. Give then
space to breathe, at least 1/2" or more. Nils Lou

On Mon, 22 Mar 1999, Bill Williams wrote:

> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> I have been using a buff cone 6-8 stoneware clay for a couple of months. (has
> change from my beautiful black) So am just getting to the stage of serious
> glazing. I am using glazes that I have used a lot, so I know who reliable they
> are. I am finding a pin hole or two on a lot of my pieces. I fired my bisque
> at 06 but started firing bisque at 04 to try to solve the problem. It did hel
> but didn't stop it completely. I have wondered if wetting the piece before
> glazing it would help. Connie
> PS : I have been thinking. What is it about pottery that keeps us there? It
> the one field of art probable most prone to disaster and failure. Yet, we
> stick. Six months work could literally "go up in smoke". Yet, we love it and
> won't leave it. hmmm.
>

Arturo M Devitalis on wed 24 mar 99

Bill - with a smiliar problem, ie, tried and true glazes over a claybody
which included grog from a different supplier I found pinholes & small
blisters. Providentially while eating supper I browesed through "Ceramic
Spectrum" and opened up to the paragraph on pinholes - so I tried a long
soak when the last cone went down (cone 10). With the oxyprobe it is
easy to hold the temp and control the atmosphere, and the results were
quite good. They would have been even better I think had I not soaked
for 3 hours and had dropped the soaking temp down a few cones...too many
pots ran!! but there were no pinholes!!! I'll do better next time.
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