Thursday, October 23, 2008

Glaze Micrometer

It's also important in glazing crystalline pots that the glaze thickness be checked as the glazes are very sensitive to how thickly they are applied. My answer to this problem was to take a Starrett JZ 643 Dial Depth Gauge and modify it so that it works as a measuring tool for checking the thickness of a glaze. The base of the shoe is 7/8ths of an inch by 3/16ths of an inch. This gauge will measure the thickness of a glaze to the nearest half thousandth of an inch. 




To use the meter you press the button on the top and a needle like point comes out and you stick that point through the glaze until it hits the bisque and then, while still maintaining pressure on the point, you allow the bottom of the shoe to rest on top of the surface of the glaze. 

This is one of my most valuable tools. I would not glaze without it.

7 comments:

klineola said...

Wow, is this an expensive tool? Kim Ellington said that Burlon Craig always kept a an unfired shard laying around that he would glaze but not fire. Then when he got around to glazing again he would find his shard and compare the thickness, I'm assuming, by eye-balling thickness. Less precise than a half thousandth of an inch. Then again he wasn't doing crystalline glazes. Great tool. Where do you get them?

Once you've gotten the shoe pressed down does the needle have a marker, or do you read it before you release?

Cynthia said...

I'm visiting from Michael's blog - welcome to blogging!

I've never seen one of these before. Forgive my ignorance, but is it related to a hydrometer?

Alex Solla said...

Alright John- Pony up with the info on where this awesome tool can be had! This would have been an awesome asset to the studio when we were first testing copper reds and micro-crystaline glazes. Thickness makes SUCH a huge difference!

bill boyd said...

When I found out that such a tool would cost me over $300 plus shipping I was reluctant at first. However, when I realized that the tool would save me more than that very quickly (and it does) I made the purchase. Now I don't see how anyone doing crystalline glazes can work without it. I estimate that it increased my percentage of successful pots by 50%. Thickness is SO important with crystalline glazes.
I modified mine by grinding down the base to 1/2" x 1/4" so that it would work better on concave surfaces (inside bowls).
Another Tilton classic. I call it the Tilton Micrometer.

dancilhoney said...

Thank you for so many good suggestions and related resources. But how about how to read a micrometer ?

John Tilton said...

It's not exactly that kind of micrometer -- it's a dial depth gauge. It takes some getting used to, and different people get different results, but the basic idea is to extend the point all the way and stick it through the glaze so that it rests on the bisque, and then allow the shoe to rest on top of the glaze, and then read the result.

Unknown said...

Chúng tôi là nhà cung cấp hàng đầu về máy đo khoảng cách, panme đo ngoài, caliper điện tử, chà nhám rung máy, máy cắt sắt và nhiều hơn nữa giá cả phải chăng hơn nhiều.