[Clayart] Reclaimed, Pug Milled Clay not always perfect.

[Dan Saultman]

I have a Peter Pugger.
It does it's job well enough. I'm glad I have it.
However, reclaiming second generation clay becomes a problem for me.
All of it's creaminess and plasticity seems to have been siphoned out of it; perhaps by ending up in the throwing water bucket or other applications that ultimately screen out the good stuff.
Ultimately I found that my reclaimed clay was short and fibrous. You couldn't pull handles with it - not plastic enough anymore.
I work in cone 10 porcelain. I found a workable recipe that serves as a "fix-it" recipe to add to the pugmill batch to bring it back to a better consistency.
I premix it. I don't just throw the ingredients in there.
Those of you with cone 6 temps might search for a "fixit" recipe if your pugged clay is short or not up to snuff.
The pug mill is essential, but it is not always putting out the quality of clay I want.

Here's my "Fixit" Recipe for cone 10 porcelain:

Kaolin - Grolleg 50
Neph Sy - 25
Flint - 25
------------------100
Bentonite - 2.0

When I really need to. I break down and buy a couple bags of store-bought porcelain for pulling handles if all else fails.

Dan



Dan Saultman
Saultman Design, Inc.
Original Art & Ceramic Home Decor
https://www.etsy.com/shop/dansaultman
Clinton Twp., MI