Well I finally got my Bronz clay...yea!
I thought I would cronicle my experience in hopes that it would inspire others to take the plunge.
I had read everything on the metal clay forum and tried to plot out my plan of action...I cut the 200 grams down to 25 gram portions.
Took one 25 gram package and dripped some mineral oil on it (felt a bit dry, even though it was pliable) and rolled it back up in plastic and into a plastic bag and into the frig overnight.
Took some out and kneaded it for several minutes wrapped in plastic wrap and then laid it out and rolled to 5 cards thick and then textured....felt smooth and moist.
Finished up the joins on the rings and set aside to dry...left them overnight. Came back next morning and one had split open, not at the join and several small cracks....thought about making some slip and decided to take some clay and put it in a water color tray...about 5 drops of water and a half pecan amount of clay...I decided to go with the clay....the water kinda melted it, but not really....just moist and very maleable...used a knife blade/flat spatula sort of thing to make the repairs and when I finished filling, used a brush and some of the clay water for smoothing.
Set aside for several hours and came back and did some preliminary clean up...liked the way it felt, more substancial than silver clay...
I bought a small 18/8 stainless canister at bed bath and beyond for $4.00, filled it up about 2/3 with the charcoal.. put the rings in the center and filled the can up with another 2-2 1/2 inches of the acid washed charcoal put my top on...
Ramped at 500 per hour, held at 610 F for 2 hours, took out after 2 hours when it was finished and opened....
Got no color, but really didn't want any this time, did not pretreat charcoal.
I just did a quickie polish....looks like gold....very hard, which is so different for me...used to dead soft silver...
Shrinkage...very odd shrinkage, they appear to have reduced considerably in thickness, but were made according to Hattie's suggestion for a size 6 and they are more like a 7.
The rings aren't much, but I wanted to get comfortable with the process and what to expect...
1 comment:
I just received my first order of Bronz Clay from Rio Grande and I have a question regarding the use of mineral oil. Do you use mineral oil every time you put extra clay away in the refrigerator? And why are you breaking it into 25 gram sections? Does it dry out too fast?
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