Pouring
Ceramic Green ware
Items We Learned About Pouring
When is your mold is dry enough to pour?
by Dolores Swaldi [c] 2004
http://www.dollyandernieceramics.com
Have you, or have you ever wanted to try making
your own ceramic item from beginning to end? A lot of us have and
quite frankly it’s a lot of fun. In this article we will cover
some of the lessons we have learned while pouring items at our
warehouse. Just a few tips to help you with some of the more
common situations we have encountered.
Well, you have just received a new mold from your supplier and
like all of us are very anxious to pour and remove the first
piece. But before we can do this we must ensure the mold is dry
enough to use. Most ceramic mold companies do not stock a large
number of any one mold. They keep expenses down by keeping
inventories to a minimum, and usually will not produce the molds
until after the order is placed. This means you will most likely
receive a mold that must dry completely before you can start
producing any items
The best way to check to see if the mold is
too
wet to pour is by using a moisture meter, a reading of under 12% is
desirable. These meters are readily available through many wood
working suppliers and specialty shops. If you do not have a moisture
meter, you can estimate the moisture level with practice (although
not as accurately), by using your hands to feel the texture and the
temperature of the mold. A very wet mold will feel slick and cold,
while a mold that is ready to be poured will feel dry and warm. When
using the latter method experience is the best teacher, the more you
pour the better you will become at judging when it is time to let a
mold sit and dry to avoid damage.
It is very important to never over produce from any
mold. It is best to set limits on how many items you will
consecutively produce from an individual mold before its next use.
We have a general rule to never pour the same mold more than five
times in a row without letting it dry thoroughly. This enables us to
increase its life span, and lowers our costs since the molds last
much longer keeping their details for a longer amount of time before
needing to be replaced
Some of you are probably wondering how can a
mold being to moist lead to damage? The simplest way to explain this
is to have you take a dry piece of plaster with small details
engraved and lightly run your finger over the surface. You will see
little or no plaster on your finger and no noticeable change to the
surface. But if you take the same piece of plaster and soak it in
water until it is saturated and again rub your finger lightly over
the surface. You will see the details disappear before your eyes and
your finger will be covered in plaster paste. This is why we never
want our molds to become over saturated, because once they do even
the simple action of pouring slip into the mold can wash away some
to the finer details.
Because of the amount of items we produce on a
weekly basis, we have been forced to adapt to this problem in
several ways. For the most requested items we always purchase
several molds so when one hits its allotted use, we can switch to
the other that has had ample time to fully dry. We have also
installed a drying booth which is nothing more than a closed room
with sturdy shelving and several dehumidifiers to expedite the
drying process. This substantially reduces the drying time and
allows us to produce more items in less time with less overhead
So there you are: We just about beat this
subject to death. For those of you who would like to begin pouring
green-ware we have listed links to a few ceramic mold suppliers
above. Please check back for future articles on the ceramic craft
or sign up for our free newsletter and never miss an article.
Copyright [c] 2004 Dolly & Ernie Ceramics.com
all rights reserved.
About the Author:
Dolly Swaldi is the proprietor of this
web site and has
been involved in the ceramic craft for over 28 years.
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