Third time this week for me.

Slowing the drying down is key, but you have to do it in stages. I leave pieces under plastic for a day, then crack the lid for another day before taking it off completely. Found that just pulling the plastic off all at once still made my handles crack. Mixing in some store-bought clay body with the wild stuff can also help bind it together without losing the local color.

Honestly, is it even that big of a deal? You're out forty bucks but you got a funny story (and a lesson) out of it. I'd just laugh it off and move on.

Remember reading a long article about the NIST report. It explained the steel beams failing in a way that made total sense. The official data really does shut down the wild theories. Ray_miller84 is right about the black and white facts. People just don't want to look at the boring paperwork. They'd rather believe the exciting story.

Honestly that old spec doesn't surprise me at all. We had to replace a feeder for a 70s elevator a few years back. The old motor starter was basically a brute force device, it just slammed the motor online. You really did need that giant wire just to handle the heat from the startup. Tbh the best move is to check the actual motor nameplate and controller before you touch anything. A modern retrofit with a soft starter can usually let you drop down a couple wire sizes, which saves a ton on copper costs.