Kevin P. O'Hara on thu 9 jan 97
Mel Jacobson/ Minnesota wrote:
Potters are fire people...that is what we do,. . .
* * *
Find a place, dig a hole. put in your pots and build a small
fire around them...stoke the fire and watch the color, keep it going
for hours and then let it die... clay, fire, potter...that is what we are
about.
* * *
build a fire and
feel the joy.
* * *
A friend in a letter the other day said she smelled of raku, all
smoke and fire.. We all know that smell, that feeling ,and it brings
a smile. It is our history.
So when the spring comes and the ice and snow are gone, I
will go to the farm, load the wood kiln, and have a firing
for all of you that cannot. And I will tell you about it.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi Mel & anyone else other there that has done a Pit firing,
My house is next to a creek that comes from a near by reservoir. I have
been thinking of doing a Pit-firing in the side of the hill near the creek,
but I'm not really sure how to design the thing. I tried doing one years
ago when I was in high school and had just started playing with clay. I did
it in a local field near my house and the only results I got were a lot of
smoke and a visit from the fire department. Even though the thing collapsed
on me just as it was really starting to get hot, it was pretty fun. If
anybody has any suggestions on how to properly do a wood-fired pit-firing I
would really appreciate it.
Kevin P. O'Hara
ohara@indy.cp.lucent.com
PS: Mel, I used to live in St. Paul and still have a sister and sister
in-law living there. In the summer time I miss Minnesota the most. I know
there are a few clayarters in the twin cities and I'd like to visit your
studios' next time I go up there :) if that's ok.
Dannon Rhudy on fri 10 jan 97
----------------------------Original
message----------------------------
Potters are fire people...that is what we do,. . .
* * *
Find a place, dig a hole.
i it was pretty fun. If
anybody has any suggestions on how to properly do a wood-fired
pit-firing I
would really appreciate it.... Kevin....
Kevin,
Doing a wood-fired pit fire is easy, fun, interesting - and not
in the least difficult.
Make your pit: you can either dig into hillside (I used to) or
just a hole in the ground. I lined the bottom of mine with
brick, and put a couple layers of brick around the top edge,
but I was living on a barrier island at the time, essentially
a sand pile, and did that for stability. It is not necessary if
you have clay soil, and it ought to be where you are.
Once your pit is dug, put some wood, sizeable pieces, in the
bottom. Place your bisqued and prepared pots on top. Fill in the
rest of the space with wood, heap it over the top (I used to just
pile it up, whatever I had/could find). You want enough wood
to keep the fire going quite a while, so heat will build up.
I do not like to add wood to the heap once it is going, because
of the possibility of breaking pots. Once the fire is burning
really well, cover it with something to help hold in the heat.
I just used an old piece of corrugated tin roof I had found,
but any fairly heavy sheet metal will work. The purpose is
to hold the heat in. If the wood is above the rim of the pit,
wait until it has settled enough to give the cover someplace to
sit. This may seem obvious, but be sure the covering is BIGGER
than the hole, for obvious reasons. You can't cover it too
soon, or you will smother the fire. Have a rock or two, or
bricks, on hand to sit the cover on, or to prop up a section
here or there, to provide some oxygen for the fire. I was able
to get mine started, watch it for a few hours, then cover it,
let it burn overnight. It probably was not necessary to burn
so long, but I wanted a lot of heat, not just black smudges
on my pots from carbon. Whether you can leave yours unattended
depends on your physical layout, you'll know best there.
For preference, don't fire when the ground is really wet,
which it is apt to be in Indiana in winter/spring. But you
will have to judge that.
You can also build a sort of brick box ABOVE ground, put in
wood, pots, wood, and do it that way. It doesn't HAVE to be
a hole in the ground.
If you want more information on how to prepare the pots, etc.,
you can email me privately, not to clog the list. That
information has been on a couple of times at least the past year.
Dannon Rhudy
potter@koyote.com
Roeder on fri 10 jan 97
Hi Kevin
I've been doing pit firing for a few years now, and it is such a joy. I
have had many, many failures with it, but when it works, the good stuff is
SO good, that it keeps you going through the bad times.
I live on a lake. If I were to dig an actual pit, I'd have problems with
the water table, so mine is an above ground construction.
I have a rectangle of brick. Mine is used kiln brick I obtained, but I have
read that common brick should be OK. About 8 or nine courses high. I have
also dug into the ground 8 inches. The bottom row of bricks is mostly
buried in the earth. (You can just dig a trench, if you want to.)
I dump in sawdust. Load in the pots, nesltling them into the sawdust. I've
fired stoneware, red and white earthenware and raku clay, and porcelain.
Sigged, burnished, or au naturel. I add chemicals and "stuff", which can
vary. Try copper sulfate, or carbonate, rock and/or table salt, charcoal,
dog food, goldfish crackers, barley hulls, seaweed, metal scraps, steel
wool, banana peels...you get the idea.
Pile on the wood. Be generous. No painted wood, glued wood, particle
board, treated wood or plastic laminated.
'
Light 'er up, and let it roar. Dancing around the thing, chanting as it
burns, helps obtain the best color development ;-)
Have fun. And watch those ashes...not a good thing to let run into the
lake/creek!
Candice Roeder
Michgan....1 foot snow today, yipeeee.
If
>anybody has any suggestions on how to properly do a wood-fired pit-firing I
>would really appreciate it.
>
>Kevin P. O'Hara
>
Fay & Ralph Loewenthal on sat 11 jan 97
There are a few potters here who do their pit firings in old washing machine
drums. These are placed in a hole dug in the ground. The drums prevent the pit
collapsing. The pots are placed inside with sawdust , not the sawdust from
chipboard as it has chemical bonding agents mixed in. The drums are made
from stainless steel so they last for quite a few firings, and they are easily
obtainable from rubbish dumps. At least here they are, I do not know what
happens to expired washing machines in the States. I hope this helps.
Good luck and enjoy
Ralph
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