Is Custer feldspar the same as Minspar?
Kingman and Custer are very similar. Our Minspar substitute is very similar to Minspar itself.
What is Custer feldspar?
Custer Feldspar (NaKO. Al2O3. 6SiO2 ) is a one of the primary feldspars used in ceramics. It is used in both clay (up to 25%) and glaze (up to 100%) formulas and is made up of silica and alumina combined with sodium and potassium oxides. Feldspar custer is mined in Custer, South Dakota.
Is Minspar the same as soda feldspar?
The substitute for this feldspar is minspar. Minspar 200 is a 200 mesh soda feldspar from Spruce Pine, NC. It is composed of crystalline minerals made up of mainly of alkaline silicates.
What is the difference between plagioclase feldspar and potassium feldspar?
The feldspars are divided into two main groups: Potassium feldspar (“K-spar”) and plagioclase (“plag”). Both display two cleavages and an overlapping range of colors, but only plagioclase displays tiny grooves on one cleavage known as striations.
What is the difference between potash and soda feldspar?
Potash feldspars are often not as pure and white as soda spars. A feldspar is typically referred to as ‘potash’ if there is significantly more potassium than sodium (typically there will be 2-5% Na2O). If the amounts are closer to equal they are termed potash-soda feldspars (or vice versa).
Why is feldspar used in ceramics?
Feldspars are used as fluxing agents to form a glassy phase at low temperatures and as a source of alkalies and alumina in glazes. They improve the strength, toughness, and durability of the ceramic body, and cement the crystalline phase of other ingredients, softening, melting and wetting other batch constituents.
What does feldspar do in a glaze?
What does Minspar do in glaze?
Minspar (formerly called NC-4) is a sodium rich feldspar mined in Spruce Pines, NC. It is used in clay bodies to promote vitrification and in cone 6-10 glazes as an inexpensive glass-former.
What is the difference between feldspar and quartz?
Quartz is a mineral compound containing silicon and oxygen atoms, and feldspar is a mineral compound containing mainly aluminum, silicon, and oxygen atoms. Therefore, the key difference between quartz and feldspar is that the major chemical element present in quartz is silicon whereas in feldspar it is aluminum.
What are the similarities between feldspar and quartz?
What is common to all the feldspars is the same arrangement of atoms, a framework arrangement, and one basic chemical recipe, a silicate (silicon plus oxygen) recipe. Quartz is another framework silicate, consisting only of oxygen and silicon, but feldspar has various other metals partly replacing the silicon.
Why is feldspar important in a glaze?
Feldspars are important ingredients in clay bodies and glazes. In both applications, their primary function is to supply fluxes to the formulations, but they also provide additional alumina (Al2O3) and silica (SiO2).
Is Custer feldspar the scapegoat for all the problems?
Whether justified or not, Custer Feldspar has become somewhat of a scapegoat, people actually blaming it when online recipes they try do not work! As with any feldspar, production users should be vigilant to do sieve analysis testing to spot any iron bearing particles in the plus 100 mesh range.
Is Custer feldspar chemical composition data accurate?
Additionally, they have a page on their website named “Clarification of Custer Feldspar Chemical Composition Data” in which they claim their analysis is, and has been, accurate. Whether justified or not, Custer Feldspar has become somewhat of a scapegoat, people actually blaming it when online recipes they try do not work!
How much feldspar in Ferro frit 3134?
It was mixed 80:20 Feldspar:Ferro Frit 3134. This test demonstrates that the material has been very consistent between these two shipments. Feldspars, the primary high temperature flux, melt less than you think. A cone 8 comparative flow tests of Custer, G-200 and i-minerals high soda and high potassium feldspars.
Does sodium feldspar move better than potassium feldspars?
A cone 8 comparative flow tests of Custer, G-200 and i-minerals high soda and high potassium feldspars. Notice how little the pure materials are moving (bottom), even though they are fired to cone 11. In addition, the sodium feldspars move better than the potassium ones.