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dutch oven saggar

updated wed 30 apr 97

 

claudia smith on mon 21 apr 97

I have been firing in a stacked brick charcoal kiln. Originally I used
flower pots for saggars but these crack after a couple of firings. So I
invested in a cast iron dutch oven and it works well. The lid fits real
tight and something goes on with the iron so that i have gotten a smoked
look without combustibles in the chamber. Of course the drawback is that you
cannot see what is going on with the glaze since there is no peep hole, but
if you don't mind firing blind, this is a sturdy choice.

claudia in california

Liz Willoughby on tue 22 apr 97

>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I have been firing in a stacked brick charcoal kiln. Originally I used
>flower pots for saggars but these crack after a couple of firings. So I
>invested in a cast iron dutch oven and it works well. The lid fits real
>tight and something goes on with the iron so that i have gotten a smoked
>look without combustibles in the chamber. Of course the drawback is that you
>cannot see what is going on with the glaze since there is no peep hole, but
>if you don't mind firing blind, this is a sturdy choice.
>
>claudia in california

Is this a low firing similar to sawdust firings? or higher??

Liz Willoughby
R.R. 1
Grafton, Ontario
K0K 2G0
e-mail lizwill@cyberion.ca

claudia smith on wed 23 apr 97

At 07:04 AM 4/22/97 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>>I have been firing in a stacked brick charcoal kiln. Originally I used
>>flower pots for saggars but these crack after a couple of firings. So I
>>invested in a cast iron dutch oven and it works well. The lid fits real
>>tight and something goes on with the iron so that i have gotten a smoked
>>look without combustibles in the chamber. Of course the drawback is that you
>>cannot see what is going on with the glaze since there is no peep hole, but
>>if you don't mind firing blind, this is a sturdy choice.
>>
>>claudia in california
>
>Is this a low firing similar to sawdust firings? or higher??
>
>Liz Willoughby
>R.R. 1
>Grafton, Ontario
>K0K 2G0
>e-mail lizwill@cyberion.ca
>

its definitely low fire, using low fire glaze, but i don't know about if or
how much higher it is than sawdust (which i haven't done) firing. i am very
much in the experimental mode here, but i used a piece of metal which i
thought was steel as the kiln cover, with a course of bricks for insulation.
turned out to be aluminum and it melted real quick, the bricks fell in on
top of the dutch oven and the bowl emerged intact at the end of the firing.
definitely a better outcome than if i had still been using a clay saggar.

Sherry mcDonald Stewart on thu 24 apr 97

Liz, I'd like to hear more about the charcoal kiln, and the dutch oven
sagger. Sounds very interesting, but I am having trouble envisioning it
without more detail. Do you mind going into more detail?