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cracking tiles: more specifics

updated thu 30 aug 01

 

Stephani Stephenson on tue 28 aug 01


Pat Wrote
"Thanks for responding everyone.
To address things you brought up;
Tiles are dried between two sheets of drywall over 2
to 3 wks.
Tile, design, and everything is pressed.
tiles are a uniform 3/8" with 1/8" relief.
I redesigned one piece with a more shallow relief and
it did the same thing.
The only thing I can think of now is that maybe i'm
not generating enough pressure.
I welcome any suggestions or ideas
Thanks again"


Pat
It is now obvious.
Your problem stems directly from what I call the 'Mergatroid' phenomena,
whereby aberrant aluminosilicate molecules, driven by self styled,
outlaw 'mergatroid' photons, stage a coup, a rebellion , and focus
their riotous uprising upon ONE of your tile designs. They do this
with one purpose in mind, to manipulate the body of the clay in a way so
as to drive you stark, raving mad.

I have seen this phenomena in other instances. Once when I , along
with two other dedicated and skilled ceramists, endeavored to make
several hundred extruded boxes . All boxes came OUT of the extruder
perfectly square, Every third or fourth box swelled upon drying so that
by the next day it was a rectangle or even sort of an oval. the rest of
them were still square. No rhyme , no reason as to why one was square
and the very next one, made the same , dried the same ...was not.

The mergatroid phenomena strikes again , with no mercy!

Stephani Stephenson
Carlsbad CA
steph@alchemiestudio.com