Repairing a ceramic dish

M

marilynfl

Moderator
On Sunday, I decided to use a flat bowl of hand-made glazed ceramic as a pie base. As I was putting it into the oven, this thought bubble appeared over my head: “Should I really put this in the oven? Won’t it crack?” and I answered myself with another bubble: “Well, think about it...they fire ceramics at a much higher temperature that this oven, don’t they?” to which I replied somewhat tenatively to myself: ”I guess so.”

Seconds later, as the thought bubble was dissipating, Larry walked into the kitchen and said “Should you put that in the oven? Won’t it crack?”

To which I replied (see answer above).

Well, of course, you know the pitiful ending of this sad little story. I pulled out the cinnamony apple pie and the plate/flat bowl had cracked in two.

The piece is made from an almost black, light-weight Canadian clay with a glazed surface. Can anyone suggest the best glue to put it back together? It’s broken into two clean pieces and doesn’t need to be waterproof. I’d just like for it not to mock me for the rest of my life.

Thanks.

PS: A minor success note to this: I tried using 1/4 C of baking Splenda with 4 large apples and gin'd dried cranberries and the pie was great.

PPS: For any male readers out there, take note: my husband got MAJOR points for complimenting me on the pie while NOT commmenting on my stupidity or saying I told you so.

 
I made a frozen ice cream pie in Pyrex that had a final meringue to be baked at 500

for 3-4 minutes. What I did was place it in TWO nested aluminum roll pans & it was fine.

 
Generally, ceramics can take the heat...

They were fired to temperatures that you can't achieve in your oven. However, they can't take sudden changes in temperature. You need to heat them more slowly. If you want to bake in a handmade dish, you should start it in a cold oven.
As for repairing it, super glue or crazy glue should do it. It just won't be useable in the oven or able to go into the dishwasher again.

When I give away or sell my pottery, I tell folks that it is oven safe, but that you need to heat it slowly.

 
Thanks, judy. I had put it into a preheated 400 degree oven, but

I assumed (making an Ass of U and Me) that that temp was still FAR below the temperature used to fire handmade pottery.

I'll give the superglue a try.

 
i agree. use only krazy glue advanced formula gel. i was amazed...

to find out that i could successfully use it to repair a glass ball used on the foot of a piano stool.

 
Marilyn, it is....

but the kiln starts at ambient temperature and rises evenly, and more slowly than if you put the ware into a 400 degree atmosphere.
It's not the temperature, but "shocked" the pieces are by it.

 
using caution with handmade pottery for food

there are a lot of pottery/ceramics dishes out there that are not safe for food use. Many of the glazes contain lead and they do leach into the food, especially when heated. The Center for Disease Control has issued many warnings about this. Sometimes you will see labels on the pottery that says it should not be used for food, but not always. That said, I would never use a handmade pottery piece for food, unless the maker can assure you lead-free glazes were used that are appropriate for food use.

 
The glazes I use are all food-safe...

but many of the low fire ones are not. Bright colors are the most likely to be non-food safe, as it takes some of the heavy metals to produce those colors.
There are kits you can get to test the glazes, but when in doubt, best to not use for anything other than whole fruit or wrapped candy.

 
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