[Clayart] plaster

[John Rodgers]

Not exactly the same purpose, but I have used plaster bats for throwing for
years. Never had problems. Loved the way they self released a pot or plate.
Sometimes used then to dry reclaimed clay. I made them using the Pure and
Simple Bat System. I used USG #1 pottery plaster. I pressed hemp fiber into
the plaster while still wet and very soft for strength once the plaster
set. In twenty years I only had one to break, and that was my fault.
Also made a number of drying slabs using the hemp for strength. Funny thing
about the hemp. I could not buy hemp fiber grown in the USA, but through
one of my pottery suppliers  I  could get hemp fiber grown in Turkey. How
twisted is that. I figured with all the twists and turns about hemp I
better get it while it lasted so bought a 50 pound bale. The bats held up
well so I never did have to buy more hemp fiber.

On Wed, May 10, 2023 at 5:02 PM Snail Scott <claywork at flying-snail.com>
wrote:

> > On May 7, 2023, at 3:41 PM, James Miner <woodfirejim at gmail.com> wrote:
> > ...plaster bats to dry reclaimed clay... But I have seen on line that
> people also add silica to their
> > mixes (1:1 with plaster).  What is the reasoning behind this?
>
>
> I have used a 50/50 mix of plaster and silica to make glass slumping
> molds. It gives heat resistance, so I am told, but have not tested
> alternatives to be sure. As for making reclaim slabs, I suppose it would
> work, but I am not sure what differences it might make to strength or
> absorbency. Reclaim surfaces can me made from a variety of materials, and
> most work adequately.
>
> I quit using hard surfaces for reclaim many years ago. I now use the
> ‘pants’ method, and avoid both the mess of spreading the slurry and peeling
> it up later, and the annoyance of storing or moving a solid slab.It is also
> less time-critical, and does not require that I get the stiffened reclaim
> gathered up with such a strict timing…’in a few days’ is specific enough
> for the larger volume of pants-clay!
>
> -Snail
>
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