Making Glaze Testing Cones
Section: Glazes, Subsection: General
ArticleJoe Schmidt, lab technician at Plainsman Clays, has developed a glaze testing cone that is very practical. Perhaps more important, it is a standard shape and size that is always used, this serves very well for comparison and documentation purposes.
Advantages
- They are easy to make.
- They are easy to photograph
- They are stable and less likely to tip over and break
- They stack well in boxes
- They display a glaze in a way that is akin to a piece of pottery or ceramic, thus showing what it does on rims, edges, in varying thickness on an uneven surface
Steps to make these:
- Print the pattern and cut it out
- Roll the clay over 6mm (1/4 inch) thickness guages
- Cut the shape out of the clay using the pattern
- Apply a band of slip to one end and attach the other using a 15mm (1/2 inch overlap)
- Press the joint firmly togther (use a stick on the inside to support), press the three indentations
- Stamp the identification of the clay at the bottom
- Dry the testers carefully to avoid cracking
- Use a knife to trim off any sharp edges
- Bisque fire.
When dipping these in glaze consider the following:
- Dip down to within 15mm (1/2 inch) of the base
- Label clearly on the bare clay section
- Dip the top half again for a double-thickness.
Pictures
Preparing to make a glaze testing cone: cutting around the pattern.
Making a glaze testing cone: applying the slip for the join.
Making a glaze testing cone: finishing the join.
Making a glaze testing cone: Incising the surface to provide variation.
Making a glaze testing cone: Stamping an identification.
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