David Turner on thu 20 dec 07
does the fuel in a reduction firing make a big difference in the way copper
reds look? i can't recall if i have ever seen copper reds from a wood fired
kiln(the exception being pots from china). are saggars required to protect
the pots from the ash deposits? the copper reds in my electric wood fire
kiln look just like ones from a gas kiln. any input would be appreciated.
just curious....
David Turner
Carole Fox on fri 21 dec 07
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:45:12 -0500, David Turner
wrote:
>... the copper reds in my electric wood fire
>kiln look just like ones from a gas kiln. any input would be
>appreciated...
What is an electric wood-fired kiln?
Carole Fox
Dayton, OH
LeeIn Mashiko on fri 21 dec 07
On Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:45:12 -0500, David Turner wrote:
>does the fuel in a reduction firing make a big difference in the way copper
>reds look? i can't recall if i have ever seen copper reds from a wood fired
>kiln(the exception being pots from china). are saggars required to protect
>the pots from the ash deposits? the copper reds in my electric wood fire
>kiln look just like ones from a gas kiln. any input would be appreciated.
My teacher fired iron red in gas and in the noborigama. Saggers aren't
used for them. Sometimes shields are used in the reduction chamber where
they are fired.
Generally, I don't like copper reds. But my teacher used a layered
method, where a coat of a feldspathic glaze is brushed on the piece, then a
layer of copper slip with resist if "window" enamel decoration is used, and
then another coat of feldspathic glaze. This technique is also used with
cobalt and iron. In all of these, where the oxide is thick and the top
glaze is thin, it will break metallic, giving some interest to an otherwise
uniformed color and surface.
--
Lee in Mashiko, Tochigi Japan
http://mashikopots.blogspot.com/
"Tea is nought but this: first you heat the water, then you make the
tea. Then you drink it properly. That is all you need to know."
--Sen No Rikyu
David Turner on sat 22 dec 07
hi Carole
dayton ohio was the place where i first tried electro- wood
fire. in 1982.... it was me ,on my knees ,chucking sawed off broom and mop
handles into a make shift fire box, destination unknown ,flying like some
Orville or Wilbur, to a place i wasn't quite sure how to get to. the kiln
room, at that time ,was a coal storage room, with the coal shoot acting as
a vent,a window fan on the sill. i had only fired in oxidation until
then. my regular cone six oxidation glazes turned out spectacular. i
tried to get copper reds but only got one half clear half red teapot. the
kiln was old ...cost maybe ...300 dollars, so i felt easy about taking
chances with frying out the elements...anything for the sake of research
and radical envelope pushing.
so to get to your question ...that is a electro-wood fired kiln...wood as
the reducing agent electricity ,as the source of heat. it was a little
unnerving at first to see orange flames, about three inches long, shooting
out of every spy hole. but that's what happens when ones tosses
combustible material into a orange hot electrical appliance.
the method i use now is a lot more sophisticated.i have been
tinkering with air to fuel relationships,stoking frequencies, back
pressure etc. etc. and have gotten some real nice copper reds ...they
were the hardest to get consistent every time.
wood burns different than gas, it adds something mystical to the
dance. you get a burst of incineration, it inhales, then a mellowing out,
then exhales, then another burst of incineration so on and so on until
the kiln shuts off.but unlike wood fired kilns,this only takes a couple
hours to complete in a electric kiln.
say hi to dayton for
me ..it still feels like home
david t.
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