Best Cone 10 Porcelain Throwing Body & Slip Casting Recipe?

Abel, I don't have nearly the experience others do here, but I have thrown quite a bit of porcelain, and in all the bodies I've tried, I have to admit being rather amazed at Tom Turner's formula. It was much easier to bring larger pieces up from the wheel than any others I've tried. It's also very white - and - rather expensive, because apparently Tom's formula calls for some spendy ingredients from England or somewhere across the Pond. Since Tom Retired, the company that has been making it, Standard Ceramics, only produces it once a year, but they make quite a bit at a time. They call it #600, Turner's Best (http://standardceramic.com/old/PorcelainsWhiteStoneware.html#600). Tom suggests ^9, but I've fired it to 10 with no problems.

They will ship it in a USPS Flat Rate container, so the shipping is somewhat reasonable.

Tom commented some time ago that after Standard had the formula for a while, he would release it to public domain so other potters could make their own. I contacted Tom several times about that release, and he only replies that Standard is still making it.

Tom wrote about his formula:

"The newest porcelain is so far superior to the old body that you owe it to yourself to try it. It is extremely user friendly, beginners immediately throw larger pieces and your loss rate is diminished drastically. I bisque it at cone 012 because that's all it needs. If you bisque higher, it will have less absorbancy for glazing. It has about a 12.5% total shrinkage and it totally vitreous and translucent at cone 9 down with cone 10 at 3. People are firing it to cone 6 with great results and it is beginning to go translucent. It is not a cone 6 body, so therefore you are underfiring it at cone 6."

You can also find an extensive post by William Melstrom in the archives under "Crystalline Glaze Forum / Everything Else / Archives / 08-14-2010 / traveling on airplanes with Tom Turner\'s clay"

Hope this helps,

Gabriel

P.S. After I posted this, I read where William wrote, in the post I referenced above, "It is unsuitable for cone 10 crystalline because it completely vitrifies at that temperature, and the added fluid and fluxing nature of crystalline glazes makes it slump. However, it sounds perfect for me since I fire to cone 8."

I might add, that although I've fired it to cone-10, I've never used it with crystalline glazes.