Hey all! I’m new to the maker space and was excited to try out the wheel, so I purchased some clay today at Evan’s to practice with. I haven’t thrown on a wheel since high school over 20 years ago, but I don’t think I did too bad on my first practice round, so I decided to keep it! I had a hard time moving it off the wheel when I finished so I need to clean up the bottom a bit. My question is, how long do I need to wait to clean up the bottom and what are my next steps after that, and did I post this question to the right place? Still trying to figure out the forum. Thank you in advance!
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A nicely shaped bowl! Good Job!
There are two stages prior to bisque fire. 1) Leather hard. This stage is when the clay is firm yet still has moisture content. It is still slightly playable yet when you touch it you don’t leave a finger print. This is the perfect time to “trim” your item. 2) Bone Dry. once it has gotten to bone dry it is rather difficult to trim your item. This is the stage when all the moisture has evaporated and the item is read to go on the shelf for Bisque firing (in the kiln room)
The time it takes to get to these stages can depend on many variables including; season, room temperature, and how tightly it has been covered with plastic (the used plastic bags on the middle shelf and a box of new plastic bags on the bottom shelf, in the middle of the room). The leather hard stage can be 6 hrs to 4 days, depending on how covered your piece is. A piece left completely uncovered will be bone dry in about 3-5 days. It is really a bit of trial/error. You will need to check your piece often and see how it is progressing.
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Thank you, Scott! I appreciate the info!
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Nice bowl looking forward to meeting you.
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Nice job! I’d cover it fully with a plastic bag and check on it each day. It will probably be ready in 24 hours, but as Scott said—depends on room temp and other factors. You’ll quickly get a feeling for when a vessel is ready for trimming—but it takes a little practice. Don’t leave it uncovered. It can get too dry quickly if someone has the heater going.
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Thank you! Did you teach the ceramics safety course? I was there, so thank you for the quick tutorial on the wheel. Also looking forward to trying the cast pours!
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Yes then we have already met.
DWH
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Welcome to ceramics. Good Job!!
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