The Fuzzy Chef on wed 27 aug 08
Sabra,
But the 1" thick shelves. That will discourage warping/cracking.
--FuzzyChef
www.fuzzychef.org
nori on wed 27 aug 08
hi, everyone.
i have an L&L ez fire kiln. it's 28 inches in diameter.
i need new shelves, and am not sure what to buy.
i glaze fire to cone 7.
the shelves i got with the kiln from L&L are
- rated to cone 10
- 5/8" thick
- $59 each, for a half round, 26" diameter shelf
i understand that these are made of cordierite.
some of my shelves have warped. my guess is that it's because i only
used 3 kiln posts... under each corner of the 1/2 round, and mid way
around the circular edge.. i didn't use a post midway on the long,
straight 26" edge.
my local dealer says that i should buy high alumina shelves from him for
a lot less money.
i don't know anything about buying kiln shelves...
i don't know if i should buy 1" thick shelves or stick with the 5/8" thick
i don't know what material would be best
and within a given material, what processes / manufacturers i should
look for / avoid.
any advice will be greatly appreciated.
thanks!
sabra
--
Clifton, Norwich & Sabra
My pottery cat clay
Our studio crocus clay works
My charity A little effort + no money = a big difference!
sample soap
William & Susan Schran User on thu 28 aug 08
On 8/27/08 7:13 PM, "nori" wrote:
> i need new shelves, and am not sure what to buy.
>
> i glaze fire to cone 7.
>
> the shelves i got with the kiln from L&L are
> - rated to cone 10
> - 5/8" thick
> - $59 each, for a half round, 26" diameter shelf
> i understand that these are made of cordierite.
>
> some of my shelves have warped. my guess is that it's because i only
> used 3 kiln posts... under each corner of the 1/2 round, and mid way
> around the circular edge.. i didn't use a post midway on the long,
> straight 26" edge.
Sabra,
These shelves are to thin for your application.
You can use these shelves if you would have flipped them after nearly every
firing.
For the half-round, 26" diameter, the ideal shelf would be Advancer, but if
I told you the price, I'm sure you would think me nuts.
If you're going to stay with cordeirite/mullite shelves, then 3/4" thick
would be my minimum thickness recommendation. But then you're talking 20-25
pounds per shelf!
So, my current suggestion is Corelite shelves. Just enter that as your
keyword in a search and you will find several companies selling this brand
of shelf. Cost is not much different than a solid shelf, and they will be
much lighter in weight.
I have been testing these shelves at ^10 reduction and they're holding up
very well.
Let me know if you have any questions about the shelf.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
William & Susan Schran User on thu 28 aug 08
On 8/28/08 12:53 AM, "The Fuzzy Chef" wrote:
> But the 1" thick shelves. That will discourage warping/cracking.
Fuzzy Chef,
Good thought, but she may not be able to pick them up due to the weight of
the shelf.
I have just responded with another alternative that may interest you also.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Michael Wendt on thu 28 aug 08
Funny,
Before I knew they would not work at cone 10,
I started firing with 5/8" Thorley shelves loaded
mainly with flat items. Now, 25 years later, I still
use those same shelves at cone 10. Many have the
date stamped in them... 1979, 1980, 1981,...
I use only 3 posts per shelf as described.
I check them and invert them at the slightest sign
of curvature. You can't use kiln wash if you plan
to flip them so I make up thin cookies that have
saved much heartache over many years.
For heavy or tall pots I use 1" thick shelves and
still flip them when they show any curve.
Regards,
Michael Wendt
Wendt Pottery
2729 Clearwater Ave.
Lewiston, Id 83501
U.S.A.
208-746-3724
wendtpot@lewiston.com
http://www.wendtpottery.com
http://UniquePorcelainDesigns.com
KATHI LESUEUR on thu 28 aug 08
On Aug 28, 2008, at 12:08 PM, Michael Wendt wrote:
> Funny,
> Before I knew they would not work at cone 10,
> I started firing with 5/8" Thorley shelves loaded
> mainly with flat items. Now, 25 years later, I still
> use those same shelves at cone 10. Many have the
> date stamped in them... 1979, 1980, 1981,...
>
Yes, Michael, those oldThorley shelves are work horses. I, also, have
shelves with dates from the eighties. But, those aren't the shelves
being made today and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I don't
know what has changed in their production, but Thorley failure rates
on new shelves are very high. The last time I bought them 7 of the
thirteen failed the first time they were fired. The cracked in
exactly the same place on a diagonal that was exactly the same length
on every shelf. I won't buy them again.
Kathi
Steve Slatin on thu 28 aug 08
I can't speak to their long-term strength,
but I bought a few recently and they've survived
a two complete cycles (bisque and glaze both) with
none of the near-center cracking that was such
a problem for a while. The bad ones would
crack on a single bisque firing.
I don't know if they clean up as well as the
old ones did, as I haven't had any running
yet. In six months or so I'll have more experience
with them, and will be able to speak more
knowledgably about it, but for now they seem
to be OK.
Steve Slatin --
--- On Thu, 8/28/08, KATHI LESUEUR wrote:
> On Aug 28, 2008, at 12:08 PM, Michael Wendt wrote:
>
> > Funny,
> > Before I knew they would not work at cone 10,
> > I started firing with 5/8" Thorley shelves loaded
> > mainly with flat items. Now, 25 years later, I still
> > use those same shelves at cone 10. Many have the
> > date stamped in them... 1979, 1980, 1981,...
> >
>
> Yes, Michael, those oldThorley shelves are work horses. I,
> also, have
> shelves with dates from the eighties. But, those
> aren't the shelves
> being made today and I wouldn't recommend them to
> anyone. I don't
> know what has changed in their production, but Thorley
> failure rates
> on new shelves are very high. The last time I bought them 7
> of the
> thirteen failed the first time they were fired. The cracked
> in
> exactly the same place on a diagonal that was exactly the
> same length
> on every shelf. I won't buy them again.
>
> Kathi
Josh Berkus on sun 7 sep 08
Bill,
> Good thought, but she may not be able to pick them up due to the weight of
> the shelf.
Oh, good point. Since I lift weights, though, it's not much of a problem for
me ... and I just bought new shelves, so too late for the Corelite. :-(.
Maybe next time.
--
Josh "the Fuzzy" Berkus
San Francisco
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