mel jacobson on mon 7 apr 08
it all depends.
can you take fresh caramel rolls out of the oven
and wait a day to eat them?
DO you take a turkey out of the oven, and not taste
it while still hot?
can you buy macdonald's and not eat fries
out of the bag on the way home?...and then
tell the family...`those buggers shorted those bags of fries`.
can you sit in your house and watch tv while your kiln
sits there at 450F?
do you melt the ends out of flashlights looking into your
hot kiln?
do you pace the house, kicking your cat and saying...
`gd it...i think i will get out the big summer window fan
and point it at the kiln.`
are you the kind of person that says `honey, let's just
hug and kiss for a bit?`
DOES ANYONE THINK I DID NOT OPEN A HOT KILN YESTERDAY.
BURN MY HANDS, MELT HAIR?
it all depends... how much discipline do you have?
clay body is important...if your body is tight as a drum,
wait until 350F. if you have pinging glazes, tight as drums,
wait til room temperature.
i have done the same thing for 50 years.
at 500 i take out the first brick in the door, open the damper
two inches.
after one hour, one row of bricks
two hours another row of brick.
takes me 5 hours to open the door.
i don't take out anything until i can use my lightweight
welding gloves. new. never dirty. i use fluffy yellow work
gloves for bisque..new. they are cheap.
i load the kiln with batter's gloves...newish. leather. tight.
a top loading kiln loses heat really fast. if you open it up.
all the heat whoooooshes out. that is dangerous, and not
good for pots. prop a tiny piece of shelf for the first hour.
then a two inch post.
then open.
i place the hot pots on a plywood topped table.
covered with brown paper. if you see burn rings...your
unloading too fast. if it starts to burn...shame on you.
i start my firings at 3 a.m. so that i can at least peeek into
the kiln the following morning about 10 a.m. unload all day.
my clay body is very open, and my glazes do not ping.
have never had trouble with my pots years later. they
all seem fine...so far.
mel
always fire a great big platter, the best pot you made
all month...right on the top of the kiln. then you will be
nervous as hell about opening...`don't want to crack
that nice big platter...better wait.`
from minnetonka:
website http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart site:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Earl Brunner on mon 7 apr 08
lol, that made me laugh. I remember My college professor wouldn't let us
unload the kiln until we could do it bare handed. We just developed a high
tolerance for heat. My fingers have never been the same.
Earl Brunner
Las Vegas, NV
----- Original Message ----
From: mel jacobson
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: Monday, April 7, 2008 3:20:24 AM
Subject: when to open a kiln.
it all depends.
can you take fresh caramel rolls out of the oven
and wait a day to eat them?
DO you take a turkey out of the oven, and not taste
it while still hot?
can you buy macdonald's and not eat fries
out of the bag on the way home?...and then
tell the family...`those buggers shorted those bags of fries`.
can you sit in your house and watch tv while your kiln
sits there at 450F?
do you melt the ends out of flashlights looking into your
hot kiln?
do you pace the house, kicking your cat and saying...
`gd it...i think i will get out the big summer window fan
and point it at the kiln.`
are you the kind of person that says `honey, let's just
hug and kiss for a bit?`
DOES ANYONE THINK I DID NOT OPEN A HOT KILN YESTERDAY.
BURN MY HANDS, MELT HAIR?
it all depends... how much discipline do you have?
clay body is important...if your body is tight as a drum,
wait until 350F. if you have pinging glazes, tight as drums,
wait til room temperature.
i have done the same thing for 50 years.
at 500 i take out the first brick in the door, open the damper
two inches.
after one hour, one row of bricks
two hours another row of brick.
takes me 5 hours to open the door.
i don't take out anything until i can use my lightweight
welding gloves. new. never dirty. i use fluffy yellow work
gloves for bisque..new. they are cheap.
i load the kiln with batter's gloves...newish. leather. tight.
a top loading kiln loses heat really fast. if you open it up.
all the heat whoooooshes out. that is dangerous, and not
good for pots. prop a tiny piece of shelf for the first hour.
then a two inch post.
then open.
i place the hot pots on a plywood topped table.
covered with brown paper. if you see burn rings...your
unloading too fast. if it starts to burn...shame on you.
i start my firings at 3 a.m. so that i can at least peeek into
the kiln the following morning about 10 a.m. unload all day.
my clay body is very open, and my glazes do not ping.
have never had trouble with my pots years later. they
all seem fine...so far.
mel
always fire a great big platter, the best pot you made
all month...right on the top of the kiln. then you will be
nervous as hell about opening...`don't want to crack
that nice big platter...better wait.`
from minnetonka:
website http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart site:
http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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