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  1. a friend suggested that before i re-drill my sloppy fitting bats that i simply exchange the pin heads for new ones. sure enough the old pin heads were worn to the point of making my bat holes fit sloppy! and here i was thinking i was just using the wrong kind of bats! and also putting off the task of re-drilling ALL my bats.

try it before spending the time drilling new bat holes. it's funny how most ALL of my sloppy bats are suddenly ok again??

  1. another friend showed me his method of making lids at the last minute - and zapping them in his microwave for about 2 minutes to force them leather dry real fast to trim RIGHT NOW. useful if you forgot to make a lid, or messed up a lid.

he threw off the hump and essentually kept some of the huimp material as a clay bat for later trim use.

the concept of using the microwave to trim something so fast from just thrown is pretty neat.

see ya

steve

steve graber

Reply to
Slgraber
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Steve: A very interesting concept, but I have a question or two: How does your friend address the moisture content in the clay when put in the nukebox? The moisture has to go somewhere, since most nukeboxes don't vent well, and thrown clay (especially what is left as the hump) has additional moisture as a result of being thrown. Is here a method you use to remove it prior to heating or just mop out the inside of the oven afterward? Seems to me that it would be hard to get the clay to leather hard if it were dripping wet. What am I missing here? May I assume that plastic or wood bats are being used, and that the clay is not removed from them before putting it in the oven? That would make it much easier to trim afterward, since it is still "stuck" to the bat.

Wayne in Key West

Reply to
psci_kw

don't worry about the moisture - but also don't nuke the pot for "too long".

30 seconds to 2 minutes seems to work out ok. even a couple of shots at 30 seconds is a good way to sneak up on leather. overall the clay seems to be robust enough to handle that. (we were using cone 10 soldate 60).

i haven't tried to simply nuke a pot till it explodes in the microwave. i think my wife would shoot me if i did that...

see ya

steve

steve graber

Reply to
Slgraber

Thanks Steve. I'm going to try that, as soon as I pick up a "used" microwave from a yard sale. Gotta keep the SO happy :>) Wayne in Key West

Reply to
psci_kw

A propane torch also works nicely to quickly dry out pieces if needed. Works nicely while still spinning on the wheel so you don't get one spot too hot. I have used this on occasion to save pieces that were getting to soft while throwing. Microwaving sounds interesting too however I would be careful not to heat too long or you could pop-out a spot (like chicken does).

Reply to
Brad Panek

I use a heat gun, you know for stripping paint. Leave the piece on the wheel turning slowly and point the heat gun at it. This is really useful if you want to alter your thrown piece you can quickly get it to just the right stage so that the outside is dry enough to touch without marking but it is still flexible enough to alter. Annemarie

Reply to
annemarie

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