mel jacobson on mon 27 dec 10
wood is not always what it seems.
we had a load a few years back...totally dry cedar.
should burn...but, it did not.
it was cut up old telephone poles.
treated.
we wasted a firing..never did get to temp.
everyone thought we had hit a wooden honey load.
did not work.
even using it for a bon fire sucked, big time.
we get sticks, about 1-2inch squares, 15 feel long...walnut and maple
from a bowling trophy factory...all we want. now that stuff burns.
but, we do love dry bark wood from a mill.
hard or soft, it just burns.
get it a year ahead...let it dry. like 6 cords.
now it is under 5 feet of snow. still , it is aging.
( i cannot even see my house at the farm...totally
blanketed with snow. it is all closed down and my daughter
does not even check any longer....i am glad the house is
16 feet above the flood plane.)
and, rule number one. never trust a pyrometer while
firing a wood or salt kiln...or, for that matter, any kiln.
we too have been caught thinking thewood kiln is stalling...and
the pyrometer is stalling.
smack it with a stick and it jumps 400 degrees.
use a great many cones...4,5,8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
then you know what is going on inside the kiln.
far too many potters think a cone is a luxury.
god, use them up...get more...the cheapest thing
you can buy for a pottery with a kiln.
if it has electricity, wheels or complex instructions, you
will have failure. cones always work.
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
new book: http://www.21stcenturykilns.com
alternate: melpots7575@gmail.com
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