Mechanical help mixing recycled clay?

Hi folks!

Up until now, I have been recycling my clay manually, but this is holding me
back when it comes to doing repetitive exercises on my wheel, as I think
about all that clay I will then have to moosh and dry and wet and dry and
knead.

We have spent quite a bit on equipment for the workshop lately, so buying a
new machine is out of the question, though I might get lucky and find a used
one at a more sensible price.

But - my husband is really great at building things, so I thought maybe some
of you could give me ideas that would make my process easier, if not
easiest, if you know what I mean.

At the moment, I hang my remixed clay in a pillow-case, but what with other
drying clay and standing water, etc., the humidity in my studio is so high,
that the clay takes ages to dry to a workable consistency. I don't really
have any other place to hang it, though.

Anyway - you guys are so great sharing your experiences and ideas, so I
though I would ask for input :-)

Thanks!

Marianne

well, a pug mill is pretty much the same as a big meat grinder.
possibly your husband can rig up an old meat grinder for you to use as
a small pug mill? add a hopper over the inlet to keep the mess down.

give it a shot, and keep your fingers clear!

see ya

steve

"Bubbles" wrote in message
...

Hi folks!

Up until now, I have been recycling my clay manually, but this is holding
me back when it comes to doing repetitive exercises on my wheel, as I
think about all that clay I will then have to moosh and dry and wet and
dry and knead.

We have spent quite a bit on equipment for the workshop lately, so buying
a new machine is out of the question, though I might get lucky and find a
used one at a more sensible price.

But - my husband is really great at building things, so I thought maybe
some of you could give me ideas that would make my process easier, if not
easiest, if you know what I mean.

At the moment, I hang my remixed clay in a pillow-case, but what with
other drying clay and standing water, etc., the humidity in my studio is
so high, that the clay takes ages to dry to a workable consistency. I
don't really have any other place to hang it, though.

Anyway - you guys are so great sharing your experiences and ideas, so I
though I would ask for input :-)

Thanks!

Marianne


Sometimes its worth belonging to a group where there is more equipment
available. In my area here there are three groups that I know of that have
pug mills, the membership cost is small. I belong to two of these groups
) Might be worth checking out. One lady in one group who is financially
stretched manages to buy very little clay herself by using clay that people
dump at the rooms and are too lazy to recycle themselves, we often see her
there grinning away while she is using the pug mill. Whats more she is in
her mid 70's and still turns out some very interesting stuff.

"Xtra News" wrote in message
...

Sometimes its worth belonging to a group where there is more equipment
available. In my area here there are three groups that I know of that
have pug mills, the membership cost is small. I belong to two of these
groups ) Might be worth checking out. One lady in one group who is
financially stretched manages to buy very little clay herself by using
clay that people dump at the rooms and are too lazy to recycle themselves,
we often see her there grinning away while she is using the pug mill.
Whats more she is in her mid 70's and still turns out some very
interesting stuff.

That's not the system here in switzerland - I don't know of any groups of
potters of more than a couple sharing a studio. The studio my teacher has,
doesn't have a pug mill, sadly. I don't know of any others close by.

If you have a chance to take some pics of "your" lady's stuff, I would love
to see some!

Marianne

wrote in message
oups.com...
well, a pug mill is pretty much the same as a big meat grinder.
possibly your husband can rig up an old meat grinder for you to use as
a small pug mill? add a hopper over the inlet to keep the mess down.

give it a shot, and keep your fingers clear!

I might get lucky somewhere with that. But - does such a device de-air as
well, or do I still have a lot of wedging to do?

Also - how long would I have to let the clay mature before I could use it on
the wheel? Or should I exclusively use it for hand-building?

Marianne

i pug & use pretty much right away. although i often have pug clay
around for up to a year.

i wedge sometimes but not too much.

i often hand build the pug clay, maybe because i mix it wetter just in
case i have it hanging around for a year. some 60% of what i pug is
hand built.

i think de-airing pug mills are mainly for production houses or people
who pug straight into an extruder.

see ya

steve

Bubbles wrote:
Hi folks!

Up until now, I have been recycling my clay manually, but this is holding me
back when it comes to doing repetitive exercises on my wheel, as I think
about all that clay I will then have to moosh and dry and wet and dry and
knead.

I don't use the pillow case method, i do the following:

Let the used clay get *really* dry, put it in a bucket and pour water
over it to cover it. In a couple of days, when it is quite soft, i
syphon off the excess water, then i use an electric drill with one of
those paint stirring attachments you get in every hardware store and mix
it until it is quite smooth, sort of like butter cream. I then spread it
on a plasterboard and let it sit, depending on weather conditions, for
two or three days, and wedge it. This way it doesn't need to be wedged
too much, since all the lumps in it are removed and there is
practically no air in it. Works well without too much ellbow grease.

try it.
Monika

--
Monika Schleidt

www.schleidt.org/MSKeramik
if you wish to write me a mail, remove the number from my user name

"Monika Schleidt" wrote in message
. ..


I don't use the pillow case method, i do the following:

Let the used clay get *really* dry, put it in a bucket and pour water over
it to cover it. In a couple of days, when it is quite soft, i syphon off
the excess water, then i use an electric drill with one of those paint
stirring attachments you get in every hardware store and mix it until it
is quite smooth, sort of like butter cream. I then spread it on a
plasterboard and let it sit, depending on weather conditions, for two or
three days, and wedge it. This way it doesn't need to be wedged too much,
since all the lumps in it are removed and there is practically no air in
it. Works well without too much ellbow grease.

I have tried it. I even made my own plasterboard, but I am getting bits of
plaster flaking off into the clay and a very slow dry even on the board, so
I am fed up with it - also as the clay must then take bench space, which I
do not have a lot of at all.

How small are your clay bits? I got lumps in my last batch, though the bits
were very small, and I think it was because I added water to clay instead of
clay to water.

Thanks for the input!!

Marianne

Hi, Pug mills are strange beesties and you can get de-airing pug mills
but they are v.expensive. Though I don't doubt your hubbies abilities,
I should imagine it would be very dificult to make one; they are like
big mincers but if you imagine the robust nature of the cast body of a
mincer and magnify this by ten!???! If it is possible to build the
body, screw etc. you will need a motor that can deal with a lot of
torque and as I've used these beesties in a number of schools and
colleges I can tell you that the old ones(with tired motors) are hard
work; having said that, these are often the best places to pick one up
second hand.Catering size grinders/mincers might be the answer for
relitivly small amounts.

If you have trouble with the plaster bat 'method' I've often thought
that an old stone trough or even thick biscuit fired troughs might
work.It might even be possible to make them so they stack, saving
bench/floor space.
I don't get time to use huge amounts of clay but I save it up and dry
it over time (the drier it is, the easier it is to re-constitute). When
added to water it takes a day or so to break down. After mixing and
syphoning water from the top, I use a similar drying method to the
'pillow case' one. Now, don't laugh at this next bit, it works for me!
I have a stone floor in my workshop, so when the recycled clay has
matured a bit, I make a huge pile of it, roll up my trousers and take
of my shoes and socks(phew!), and wedge/knead it with my feet. After
this it needs very little kneading by hand.

If you are talking about the pieces you take off of the wheel and not what
you are drying out and rewetting then it really is easier to do it as you
go. If you have a good plaster board this is really a easy task that is
mindless and a pleasant break from work that calls for thought and
attention. I have my plaster board near where I throw. When I trim off
clay from a piece, get too much slip built up or lose a piece, etc. I just
dump it on the board. I make piles of the size I want to wedge, smash it
into a pancake and leave it. I may then need to peel if off the board and
turn it over if the top is not drying as fast as the bottom but that is
about all. Yesterday I had forgotten one of my piles and half was too dry
and the other too wet. I simply wadded it up and took it into the TV room
and played with it while watching TV. Nice finger exercise and totally
mindless. My plaster board is about 15" by 30". If your plaster board is
coming off in pieces then something is drastically wrong with it. The
surface should almost be like high quality cement - smooth and solid. It
should absorb water much faster than anything else. If you are doing a
large batch of clay then just make sure to with the heal of your hand push
the clay out to thin layers, fold it over and push it out again until it is
not chunky with wet and dry. It should still be soft though. Then wegde it
up.

"Bubbles" wrote in message
...

Hi folks!

Up until now, I have been recycling my clay manually, but this is holding
me back when it comes to doing repetitive exercises on my wheel, as I
think about all that clay I will then have to moosh and dry and wet and
dry and knead.

We have spent quite a bit on equipment for the workshop lately, so buying
a new machine is out of the question, though I might get lucky and find a
used one at a more sensible price.

But - my husband is really great at building things, so I thought maybe
some of you could give me ideas that would make my process easier, if not
easiest, if you know what I mean.

At the moment, I hang my remixed clay in a pillow-case, but what with
other drying clay and standing water, etc., the humidity in my studio is
so high, that the clay takes ages to dry to a workable consistency. I
don't really have any other place to hang it, though.

Anyway - you guys are so great sharing your experiences and ideas, so I
though I would ask for input :-)

Thanks!

Marianne