Defect · Drying
Attachment crack
Also called: handle crack, join crack
Crack at the junction between a handle, spout, knob, or other attachment and the main body.
- Appears at
- Drying
- Severity
- Structural
- How common
- Common
Causes
Most likely
- ·Attached part was wetter or drier than the body
- ·Poor scoring and slipping of join surfaces
Prevention
- ·Match moisture levels before joining (both parts at soft leather-hard)
- ·Score both surfaces deeply and apply slip of the same clay body
- ·Dry slowly under plastic for 24 hours after attaching
Can it be fixed?
Not reliably — this one is prevented, not repaired. A cracked or bloated pot is a test tile now.
Questions
- Why does attachment crack happen?
- Most often: Attached part was wetter or drier than the body. Other causes: Poor scoring and slipping of join surfaces..
- Can attachment crack be fixed?
- Not reliably once it has happened; the fix is upstream, in prevention.
- How do I prevent attachment crack?
- Match moisture levels before joining (both parts at soft leather-hard). Score both surfaces deeply and apply slip of the same clay body. Dry slowly under plastic for 24 hours after attaching.
Further reading. The industrial treatment of this defect in the Ceramicware Defects Handbook on Wikibooks (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Sources. Compiled from Claybench's defect reference — the descriptions, causes and remedies that appear consistently across standard ceramics references and studio practice; no single source. It is the same reference the photo diagnosis tool reasons over. Where the Wikibooks Ceramicware Defects Handbook covers a defect it is linked above.
Not sure which defect you're looking at?
Claybench can read a photo of the pot against this same reference and rank the likely causes for your clay, glaze and firing.