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san diego & mending question

updated mon 7 oct 02

 

joan woodward on fri 4 oct 02


Hi All,

One note and one question. I made reservations for San Diego and thought people might like to know that the $120 rooms are already full up. So make haste if you don't want to spend more than $130!

My question relates to breakage in some large planters that I make. I throw a 10 or 11 lb. planter, then attach legs, neck, head, etc. So far 3 out of the 5 that I have made have survived. One goat lost a horn and ear when I was underglazing. Yesterday I placed a truly charming rabbit with an attitude (the assessment of friends who saw him) in the kiln. Then, being very careful so as not to hit one handle of a bowl that I was trying to fit in next to Mr. R, I managed to clip Sir Rabbit's ear with the other handle. It fell to the kiln shelf and broke into smithereens. I was, to say the least, unhappy. I went ahead and bisqued the rabbit. Now I'm bisque firing another load and have included a new ear. My question is: is there anyway to use a combination of glue and clear glaze to put the bisque pieces together, clamp them for 24 hours, and then glaze fire? I can't just use glaze, since that wouldn't cause the pieces to adhere prior to firing.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated, as always.

Joan, in Grand Junction, who planned to sell these planters next week, but whose husband thinks we will soon have the equivalent of an animal hospital on our front porch.







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Chris on fri 4 oct 02


Joan,
I am new to clayart and excited that i actually have some information to
offer -
i have had similar problems with breakage (I tend to make spindly things and
it doesn't help that i tend to be rather clumsy) Anyway, after trying
several other methods I found that Marx Magic Mender worked wonderfully.

I purchased through thebigceramicstore.com, but it is probably also
available from other suppliers.
but here is a link if you are interested
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/Supplies/Additives.htm

chris


----- Original Message -----
From: "joan woodward"
To:
Sent: Friday, October 04, 2002 11:05 AM
Subject: San Diego & mending question


> Hi All,
>
> One note and one question. I made reservations for San Diego and thought
people might like to know that the $120 rooms are already full up. So make
haste if you don't want to spend more than $130!
>
> My question relates to breakage in some large planters that I make. I
throw a 10 or 11 lb. planter, then attach legs, neck, head, etc. So far 3
out of the 5 that I have made have survived. One goat lost a horn and ear
when I was underglazing. Yesterday I placed a truly charming rabbit with an
attitude (the assessment of friends who saw him) in the kiln. Then, being
very careful so as not to hit one handle of a bowl that I was trying to fit
in next to Mr. R, I managed to clip Sir Rabbit's ear with the other handle.
It fell to the kiln shelf and broke into smithereens. I was, to say the
least, unhappy. I went ahead and bisqued the rabbit. Now I'm bisque firing
another load and have included a new ear. My question is: is there anyway
to use a combination of glue and clear glaze to put the bisque pieces
together, clamp them for 24 hours, and then glaze fire? I can't just use
glaze, since that wouldn't cause the pieces to adhere prior to firing.
>
> Any thoughts greatly appreciated, as always.
>
> Joan, in Grand Junction, who planned to sell these planters next week, but
whose husband thinks we will soon have the equivalent of an animal hospital
on our front porch.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
> Do you Yahoo!?
> New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo!
>
>
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william schran on sat 5 oct 02


Joan - Gluing then glazing and firing the rabbit's ear won't work
cause as soon as the glue burns out, the ear will fall off. You can
glaze the pieces, fire separately, and glue with a clear epoxy after
the firing. There are also some commercial repair products for
assembling broken bisque, but you'll still probably need to support
the ear during firing.
In the future try repairing with paperclay while the work is still in
the greenware state. I've had my students doing this for a couple of
years with a fairly good success rate.
Bill

kruzewski on sun 6 oct 02


Dear Joan,

I keep a little pot of paper clay in my studio for this sort of thing. equal
parts of dry powdered clay and either celulose fibre or toilet paper soaked
and pulped and a good measure of vinegar - you want a fairly stiff paste.
Sometimes it works (usually if a sprig lifts round the edge), sometimes it
works to a point - and I get another 2nd in my home. I have used it on
greenware - any degree of dryness - and bisc - sometimes I re-bisc,
sometimes I use the glaze straight over the "raw" paperclay. Paint the
pieces to be mended with vinegar first then apply the paperclay and stick
together fast - with a wiggle so it does adhere.

One Christmas I made a tankard for my Polish father in law, on the front was
a crest with a detailed Polish eagle. I had miscalculated the time I had
left till I saw him with the amount of firing I could get in on a very full
shedule - I had a few pieces I just couldn't fit in - so someone I knew at
the local pottery put them in their kiln. There must have been a tiny space
behind the eagle sprig and the firing must have been fast - the eagle blew
straight off the front. I had no time to make another. I used the paperclay
to stick it back on and fill in some of the details that had been lost round
the edges. I glazed over it and, to my delight it worked - only I know where
the join is.

Now I've started my degree course I've started making more sculptural pieces
( I make functional wear at home) and one brief made it necessary to use
copper wire armature and model the clay round it. Before a communal great
intake of breath is expressed, I must say that this was an exercize of
expression - most were using paper and glue etc, and the piece was not
expected to be permanent. However, me being me, I wanted to fire what I'd
done. Once the whole piece was dry I filled the cracks and strengthened the
whole thing with my paperclay mix. It worked too.

I would never suggest that handles or any other structural part of
functional wear be mended in this way - I would not trust it that far, but
for scultpural pieces it could be the answer you are looking for.

Jacqui
North Wales - at length as usual.

----- Original Message -----
From: "joan woodward"
To:
Sent: Friday, October 04, 2002 5:05 PM
Subject: San Diego & mending question


. My question is: is there anyway to use a combination of glue and clear
glaze to put the bisque pieces together, clamp them for 24 hours, and then
glaze fire? I can't just use glaze, since that wouldn't cause the pieces to
adhere prior to firing.
>