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greenware repair

updated wed 21 apr 04

 

Longtin, Jeff on wed 3 apr 02


She recently completed a beautiful handcarved ceramic bongo, which separated
while in transport
to her kiln site. (It was greenware)
The poor girl is just devastated, put in huge amounts of time on it
(I know, I'm still cleaning the floor of my recording studio)
I figured that it could be fixed by applying a paste of clay.
Is this so??
What are her options if it cracks during the bisque firing ? (^6 in a
rarely fired 70s American Beauty)
I got a few spooze recipes, would any of these be applicable?

Jon,
Not quite a repair response per se but...

The piece could be glued back together after its probable seperation and a
mold could be made from the resulting piece. With this mold your wife could
then make as many clay bongos as she would like. She could either press mold
pieces or slip-cast them, depending on the shape of the piece. Though not a
simple, or cheap, remedy it is a way to preserve the effort your wife put
into the work.
Jeff Longtin
Complex Molds Made Easy

Jonathan R Smith on wed 3 apr 02


Many many thanks to the busy clayarters who took time from their hectic skeds
to answer my wife Sandy's questions.

I'll let y'all know tomorrow how it turned out.
(Unless she hauls my ass outta bed this AM cause she cain't wait)
No explosions, unexpected shutdowns, and the prognosis is excellent.
(I was upstairs at the other end of a wireless monitor, swearing at 15 gallons of
misstinted paint)

(One time I had found both the 60A fuses crystallized, still passing electric,
but acted like a REALLY big resistor)

Susan, my wife would be happy to correspond with you on udus and the like.
This usually means that I'll wind up doing it..... ;-)>

JOn and Sandy at SB Ceramix

Annie Chrietzberg on fri 9 apr 04


Hey Patricia,

Yes. You can repair bisqueware with paper clay. I use Lana Wilson's
recipe: rip up toilet paper and pour boiling water over it. Let it
soak for awhile - 10-20 minutes. Then put it in a blender and chop it
up. You want it about the consistency of watery yogurt. Then take
clay slip, of thick cream consistency, then mix about 3/4 slip to 1/4
watery paper. A touch of sodium silicate will give it more grab. See
pg. 44 of Lana Wilson's "Ceramics: Shape and Surface"

The trick to repairing bisqueware is to wet it first. Run the pieces
under the tap, so that when you apply the paper clay, it will stay wet
enough to grab the other piece. Let the piece dry slowly and
completely, then fill in any cracks that appear with paper clay. Then
you must bisque the piece before glazing or applying a decorative slip
or anything else.

This technique is very appropriate for sculptural work, or for fixing a
handle or knob on a pot. However, I do not think it would be
appropriate to repair the main body of a piece of thrown functional
ware.

Good luck!

Annie Chrietzberg
Ceramic Design Group
Steamboat Springs, CO
970.879.9139


On 9 Apr 2004, at 13:01, Patricia Gilmartin wrote:

> Does anyone know of a product that can be used to repair broken pieces
> of greenware before bisque firing? Thanks, PG
>
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Kathy Forer on fri 9 apr 04


On Apr 9, 2004, at 3:01 PM, Patricia Gilmartin wrote:

> Does anyone know of a product that can be used to repair broken pieces
> of greenware before bisque firing? Thanks, PG

Having read about it here, I used a paperclay slip mix (non-gyrated :)
on well-dried greenware today and the pieces attached like strong
magnets, way beyond my expectations. First spray or brush wet and
lightly scratch-score. It really works!

Kathy
............
Kathy Forer
http://kforer.com
http://jerseymac.com

William Sheppard on fri 9 apr 04


PATCH-A-TACH works wonders. It is either a Duncan or Gare product. I have
put totally split apart bowls togeather and fired to bisque and then to
glaze with out even seeing a seam mark.

Patricia Gilmartin on fri 9 apr 04


Does anyone know of a product that can be used to repair broken pieces
of greenware before bisque firing? Thanks, PG

Annie Evans on sat 10 apr 04


Try Blender Mender: Put dried, crumbled clay in a mixer, add vinegar then
torn toilet paper. It makes a fluffy mix.

Then on your piece, wet each side with lots of vinegar, put the Blender
Mender on each side and wiggle together. Clean the join, wrap in plastic.

This usually works.

Patricia Gilmartin on tue 20 apr 04


Thanks to all who responded to my question about greenware repair. Now
another query: some folks recommended a product called Patch Attach. Is
this product intended to be used on _greenware_ which can then be bisque
fired at about 06-05? I'm work with sculpture, not pots, so I'm less
inclined to just toss the piece and start over. PG

BobWicks@AOL.COM on tue 20 apr 04


I have been using paper clay made of the clay I am repairing and I cannot say
enough for it. An example of this is I had a 10 hole ocarina fully tuned and
I dropped it. Needless to say it was in many pieces so I used the same kind
of clay the ocarina was made of and patched it back together and it still
plays in tune. Paper clay is fantastic for situations like this.

Bob Wicks, Prof. Emeritus Art/Photography
Harrisburg Area Community College