search  current discussion  categories  kilns & firing - misc 

pit/garbage can firings

updated wed 30 apr 97

 

Cheryl L Litman on sun 20 apr 97

Is there anyone in New Jersey who pit fires, who would be willing to have
a novice come over someday and watch? I'm just starting to do sawdust
firings in a garbage can. I can get great blacks but would like to know
how to get some of the rose/maroon blushes I see on other pots? As a
matter of fact black is all I've been able to get.

I live in Somerset, NJ. (kind of central Jersey near Somerville)
Cheryl Litman
cheryllitman@juno.com

Carol Jackaway on mon 21 apr 97

The way I get "blushes" is in the placement of other combustables like; wood,
metal mesh. If the wood is placed close you get a blush, if the metal mesh
is placed against the pot, you get a beautiful design of it. Have you tried
35mm film. Unroll it and place it around the pot. Look for silver from
this.
CoilLady@aol.com Delaware county Pa
hoping to smoke this







summer

Sam Cuttell on thu 24 apr 97

At 10:29 AM 4/20/97 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Is there anyone in New Jersey who pit fires, who would be willing to have
>a novice come over someday and watch? I'm just starting to do sawdust
>firings in a garbage can. I can get great blacks but would like to know
>how to get some of the rose/maroon blushes I see on other pots? As a
>matter of fact black is all I've been able to get.
>
>I live in Somerset, NJ. (kind of central Jersey near Somerville)
>Cheryl Litman
>cheryllitman@juno.com
>
>
I'm nowhere near NJ *but* I can help with reds in pit fire. Rub your pot
with some powdered copper carb. Let us know!

sam - alias the cat lady
Melbourne, Ontario, CANADA
http://www.geocities.com/paris/3110
scuttell@wwdc.com

The more people I meet, the more I like my pets.......

Sherry mcDonald Stewart on fri 25 apr 97

I get a variety of neutrals from a gray, white clay body. If I spray the
pot with a slip of a different color, and then burnish, I get different
colors. you might try experimenting with spraying on color slips.

Wilkinson on sat 26 apr 97

Someone told me that it was dangerous to fire in a galvanized garbage can
because of toxic fumes the can itself. Anyone?

Daphne Zeitz on mon 28 apr 97

At 09:32 AM 4/26/97 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Someone told me that it was dangerous to fire in a galvanized garbage can
>because of toxic fumes the can itself. Anyone?
>
Your question reminds me of the time I went shopping for a galvanized
garbage can to make into a raku kiln and was most severely chastized by the
salesman. The fact that I wanted a lid the next size larger than the can,
for easy removal when hot, led to telling him what I intended to do with the
can and he lit right into me about zinc poisoning from the fumes that would
be released when the heat degalvanized the coating on the can.

Zinc will ordinarily oxidize over time similarly to steel rusting, and this
is apparent in the change in appearance of garbage cans from shiny to mat
and there is no danger from this slow release of zinc. However, unless
extremely well insulated (fiberfax, but then there is the factor of the
release and inhalation of fiber particles), the heat generated in raku
firing will cause rapid zinc release into the atmosphere. There are always
some areas that are not as well insulated as one might wish, as well as the
edges near the ports.

You will find that there is a noticeable change in the appearance of a
galvanized can where it has been heated. This zinc release will continue as
long as heat affects new galvanized areas. Welders who work with zinc for
many years often develop health problems from the fumes. The key to the
amount of danger involved is the amount of zinc being released and the
extent of ones exposure to it. There is a smell to zinc fumes, so it they
are easy to detect and easy to move away from.

Firing in a well ventilated area (ie. a hefty fan, indoors; a breeze,
outdoors), standing back from the kiln when not actually checking its
progress and wearing an appropriate mask are all precautions that should be
taken to reduce the amoumt of exposure to poisonous metal fumes from the
kiln and the glazes.

A good alternative to galvanized cans is steel 45 gallon drums which are not
too hard to come by. The trick is to get them before they drill a bzillion
holes in them to sell them as incinerators. Then, of course, there is the
danger of fumes from the paint burning off. Perhaps we should all go back to
stoking wood fired brick raku kilns - not! Been there, done that. Be sure to
stay out of the smoke!. Guess good old enlightened common sense must prevail
in our quest for creating beauty.

These are my views on using galvanized cans for raku firing. I would be most
interested to know the views of, and tips from, our technical experts.

Happy firing!

Daphne Zeitz >
Daphne Zeitz

Terry At Kaleidoscope on tue 29 apr 97

Wilkinson wrote:
>
> ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
> Someone told me that it was dangerous to fire in a galvanized garbage can
> because of toxic fumes the can itself. Anyone?
They are right, you have to be careful of galvanized. I was told this
by my welding instructor. Galvanized does give off fumes at certain
temps.
Terry In Sussex

Wendy Hampton on tue 29 apr 97

Would the fumes ( from the zinc ) still be toxic when using galvanized cans
in post reduction?
Wendy from Bainbridge Island WA