From the Earth to the Fire

Dear Mississippi Mud Studios,

We just bought a new dining room table. During our first dinner we noticed scratches all over the beautiful finish. They we coming from the bottoms of the plates. What can we do short of buying new dishes.

The bottom edges called 'the foot' on the plates is typically unglazed. This means there is no coating over the fired clay. Mostly this surface is fairly smooth, especially on porcelain plates. Many times we find uneven surfaces on the foot of pots that are wheel thrown stoneware if this surface is not burnished prior to firing. Experienced potters at Mississippi Mud always soften the bottom contact surface with a shammy or sponge prior to firing which burnishes the foot or contact surface. However, during the firing process glazes occassionally run or this foot surface becomes rough. So we use a polishing wheel sort of like a floor scrubbing pad to re-burnish the surface after we fire pots and lightly go over the foot. Care must be taken however as clay dust is very fine and should not be inhaled. A good respirator or mask should be worn. Very fine emery cloth can also be used. The advantage of emery cloth is that it can be used wet, eliminating the dust hazard.