Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Glaze Micrometer in Action

Here is a photo of the glaze micrometer being used to measure the glaze on a test tile and giving a reading of almost .0017, or seventeen thousandths of an inch. 

You can see how the plunger rests in the pad of my finger - It's right up above the 25 on the gauge - I'm using pressure to hold the needle against the clay body as the shoe rests on the top of the glaze. 

The knurled knob that you can see closer to my palm, is used to set where the needle is with respect to the background. As the needle wears down you have to make this adjustment. 

I have had this thing apart to work on it and it is really a very nice machine. Nothing about it is cheaply done.



1 comment:

Dan Finnegan said...

John, your science is amazing, but I wonder this...how do you deal with each piece of biscuit ware having different porosity because of thickness or placement in an uneven kiln? Do you spray everything?
I think that you have a lot to teach all of us.
I was excited about the grinder that you mentioned earlier. Wadding flatware for the woodkiln produces too many warped plates and that might be my answer. But I'll have to save my pennies!