Glaze Calculator
Recently, I posted a little bit about my process with glaze testing and formulation on Instagram. Since taking “Glaze Techniques” at UNC-G with Po-Wen Lieu, I’ve worked on this calculator as a pet project. It started as a basic Google Sheet that made it easy to have the numbers in place, but over time, it has expanded to be helpful in multiple facets. Unlike other glaze applications, it’s very open and adaptable. It’s very rough in many different ways; however, it makes it accessible to people who have access to specific materials and need to change it to fit their needs.
This calculator takes the brick-and-mortar build of following UMF calculations to the basic needs. It points out where things have gone astray and allows you to double-check your math and make those calls. Additionally, in this sheet, a few personal notes may assist with formulating and testing glazes. There are several benefits this form of calculator offers, but there are also some drawbacks. This setup is not entirely accurate, and, due to other calculators and the different formula numbers utilized, may obfuscate numbers; however, it shouldn’t be to a detrimental degree. In many ways, this calculator comes down to how you play with the numbers and knowing the materials you have accessible to you.
To use this calculator:
Duplicate the Template sheet and name it something unique
Either from a set UMF Empirical Formula or by chemical limits, write in the upper left table the base targets
Based on your content of Na2O and K2O, select your feldspar
Starting with the feldspar, calculate the Molecular Equivalence (ME) in the ME Column
Write in or choose from the dropdowns the needed material to hit your target
Continue until you successfully fulfill your target. The bottom row of the main block will show green or red if not.
Additionally, in the upper right of the sheet, you’ll see the rate of error, or difference, based on the base targets set.
If you have empty material rows, you must delete them from the lower table.
After that, congrats! You’ve made a glaze; you can easily adjust and fix things wherever needed; if you need to fix anything, copy the cell data from the Template sheet.
If you have any questions or ideas or run into the wall on how to use this, don’t be afraid to reach out, and I’ll try to help you as fast as I can. Don’t be scared to edit the information in the sheet to your needs and wants! I put this out so that it’s available. Hopefully, you will make it useful to your needs and can make something great.
