mel jacobson on tue 8 feb 11
fear is always at the root of many accidents, and the
inability to work in your own studio or shop with total comfort.
when you learn the safety aspects of any tool, your fear
lessens. one always has respect for electricity and gas....and
cars, and jacks and ladders, everything.
they can all `get you`. being cavalier is stupidity in action.
the pencil tester is just a `first line of defense`. it is what you
use to `give it a test`. oppps, why is it beebbbing?
when you repair, you turn off the breaker, un plug the kiln,
tape the breaker shut...mark the tape. take digital pix as you work.
that is easy to remember. you don't take the chain
off the chain saw while it is running. stupid.
i unplug my table saw while changing blades. just common
knowledge and good sense.
anyone that abuses those simple rules can get zapped.
stupidity rules many people. we cannot change that.
but, fear is a dis-abler. reading books on simple home
repair of electricity is the starting point. i have at least
three books on electric repair. what you find is:
the loop.
hot comes in, cold goes out. hot, neutral. colored wire,
black wire, white wire. all white wires can be bound together,
they all go back to the box in the same place. each black/colored wire
comes from its own circuit breaker. (or fuse) it is hot. usually 110V.
green wires are ground wires. the loop must be grounded.
learn that from a simple book. memorize it.
here is a site: http://www.thecircuitdetective.com/index.htm
if you own your own kiln, read the manual, front to back.
memorize it. same for your car. read and memorize the manual.
i would be willing to bet that 80 percent of those reading this
post have never read their kiln or car manual from front to back...and
semi-memorized it. `hmmm, i did not know that?`
talk to any gas man. the stupid things people do with gas. unreal.
they are out of their mind fearful of electricity, and they will
tape or c-clamp a thermocouple shut. `god, i need that hot water for a bat=
h`.
boooom, goes the house.
same for clean firing. many do not get it. `don't throw away that
beer can, but my kiln is in deep reduction for hours, and i waste millions
of btu's of gas each year. ` con/tro/dick/shun in philosophy. pollute the
air with their kiln, but think they are eco-friendly patriots. they don't
have a clue. it is going on in all walks of life. they don't have a clue
because they do not understand their tools or their own environment.
they read the paper and think they will save the planet. it takes far
more work than that. and a great deal more research and gathered knowledge=
.
it sure is more than `paper or plastic?`
start with your own firing habits. learn the why? read nils lou,
fred olson and i hope
me. spread your reading out. but, don't think that books from 1934 will
educate you. don't read leech and think you can build a modern kiln.
be your own steward, save money, run a with good business practice.
and my oldest saw/ `don't fire bad pots, bad glazes and then throw
them away. do your research first. know what is going into your
kiln.` pots that are a total failure is a great waste of human time,
natural resources and ecology. many never figure that into the
equation.
mel
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
Arnold Howard on tue 8 feb 11
On 2/8/2011 10:26 AM, mel jacobson wrote:
> if you own your own kiln, read the manual, front to back.
> memorize it. same for your car. read and memorize the manual.
You will actually save time by reading the instruction manual, because
the typical manual contains distilled information gathered over many
years. Manufacturers keep track of the questions people ask and the
mistakes they make, and the answers are eventually added to the revised
manual. So, questions that will occur to the beginner are answered in
the manual. Pitfalls are avoided.
One time during a kiln seminar the teacher said, "And now Arnold will
show you how to replace an element." The students didn't know that I had
never replaced one before. They gathered around and watched closely as I
followed the instructions I had read many times. So, the instructions do
help.
Sincerely,
Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com
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