mel jacobson on wed 25 apr 12
i sure am with john britt with this discussion.
we rarely know anything about others kilns.
what one person, institution calls reduction, we call
a smoke house.
what one person calls cone 10, i call barely cone 9.
it all depends.
and there are almost no standards to compare with.
at our farm, and with tim frederich's lead. (tim worked at orton
for a number of years before he went to pmi as editor.) we call a cone
10 down when the tip touches the shelf. cone 11 is at 2-3 o'clock.
one also has to know the difference of temp from one cone to the next.
cone 10 and 11 are almost the same. some cones have huge differences.
i can often melt cone 11.
we measure the reduction by the back pressure. and we actually
measure the length of the back pressure flame from a standard
spy hole. usually in the middle front of the kiln. 2-3 inches of flame.
and, it all depends on when you start reduction, how much, how long, and
then do you clear your kiln? it all depends.
and, each of these systems makes a great difference in what your pots look =
like.
and, we now know that down firing makes even greater changes.
i use very iron rich clay..always have. i never see black core. just don'=
t get it.
but, i bisque very slow, over a long period of time. just makes sense to m=
e
to not get reject pots. i hate duds.
when you group fire it is smart to draw a set of cones on the kiln with cha=
lk.
and, then draw what the finished cones should look like. don't turn off th=
e
kiln until the cones look just like the drawing. no arguments.
there are many dissapointed potters that hate the tech at their school
or inst. because he or she had a dinner date and shut down the kiln
an hour early. that is why i always start my kilns at 4 a.m.
they are done in the early afternoon. no drama. and, it is a family
rule, no functions planned on firing day. period.
so, i often have to schedule a firing for a day late because of
a function. it is only fair to plan ahead.
that is why so many glazes do not travel well. no standard of firing pract=
ice.
what one person says is light reduction is a black fronted kiln with carbon=
.
what one person calls cone 6 the other thinks it is cone 4.
where do you place your cone on the sitter...front or back of the cone.
????? it may mean a full cone difference. so, the off hand
`oh, i fire cone 6`....may be a phoney response... like leaving out the
lemon in a lemon cake recipe.
i fire hot, and i layer and love melt. i cannot stand thin or just under g=
lazes.
like listening to a singer that is a half tone deaf. makes me shiver.
that is why i still love peggy lee...she had perfect pitch. same for karen=
carpenter.
it was always perfect.
i was drinking out of a hank murrow tea bowl at my farm last weekend.
i was moving it in my hand and i said to self...`shit, this is peggy lee`.
perfect pitch.
mel
from: minnetonka, mn
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
Steve Mills on thu 26 apr 12
Nail hit firmly on the head Mel.=3D20
That individual difference/take on Glazes and Firing, apart from the actual=
=3D
work, is what makes the process of pot making so special.=3D20
I'm with you on the singers as well.=3D20
Take care
Steve M
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
www.mudslinger.me.uk
Sent from my iPod
On 26 Apr 2012, at 00:33, mel jacobson wrote:
> i sure am with john britt with this discussion.
>=3D20
> we rarely know anything about others kilns.
> what one person, institution calls reduction, we call
> a smoke house.
>=3D20
> what one person calls cone 10, i call barely cone 9.
>=3D20
> it all depends.
> and there are almost no standards to compare with.
>=3D20
> at our farm, and with tim frederich's lead. (tim worked at orton
> for a number of years before he went to pmi as editor.) we call a cone
> 10 down when the tip touches the shelf. cone 11 is at 2-3 o'clock.
> one also has to know the difference of temp from one cone to the next.
> cone 10 and 11 are almost the same. some cones have huge differences.
>=3D20
> i can often melt cone 11.
>=3D20
> we measure the reduction by the back pressure. and we actually
> measure the length of the back pressure flame from a standard
> spy hole. usually in the middle front of the kiln. 2-3 inches of flame.
>=3D20
> and, it all depends on when you start reduction, how much, how long, and
> then do you clear your kiln? it all depends.
> and, each of these systems makes a great difference in what your pots loo=
k=3D
like.
> and, we now know that down firing makes even greater changes.
>=3D20
> i use very iron rich clay..always have. i never see black core. just do=
n=3D
't get it.
> but, i bisque very slow, over a long period of time. just makes sense to=
m=3D
e
> to not get reject pots. i hate duds.
>=3D20
> when you group fire it is smart to draw a set of cones on the kiln with c=
h=3D
alk.
> and, then draw what the finished cones should look like. don't turn off =
t=3D
he
> kiln until the cones look just like the drawing. no arguments.
>=3D20
> there are many dissapointed potters that hate the tech at their school
> or inst. because he or she had a dinner date and shut down the kiln
> an hour early. that is why i always start my kilns at 4 a.m.
> they are done in the early afternoon. no drama. and, it is a family
> rule, no functions planned on firing day. period.
> so, i often have to schedule a firing for a day late because of
> a function. it is only fair to plan ahead.
>=3D20
> that is why so many glazes do not travel well. no standard of firing pra=
c=3D
tice.
> what one person says is light reduction is a black fronted kiln with carb=
o=3D
n.
> what one person calls cone 6 the other thinks it is cone 4.
> where do you place your cone on the sitter...front or back of the cone.
> ????? it may mean a full cone difference. so, the off hand
> `oh, i fire cone 6`....may be a phoney response... like leaving out the
> lemon in a lemon cake recipe.
>=3D20
> i fire hot, and i layer and love melt. i cannot stand thin or just under=
g=3D
lazes.
> like listening to a singer that is a half tone deaf. makes me shiver.
> that is why i still love peggy lee...she had perfect pitch. same for kar=
e=3D
n carpenter.
> it was always perfect.
>=3D20
> i was drinking out of a hank murrow tea bowl at my farm last weekend.
> i was moving it in my hand and i said to self...`shit, this is peggy lee`=
.=3D
> perfect pitch.
> mel
> from: minnetonka, mn
> website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
> clayart link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
John Britt on thu 26 apr 12
This is another problem with reproducing glazes: the final cone.
mel says: "at our farm, and with tim frederich's lead. (tim worked at ort=
=3D
on
for a number of years before he went to pmi as editor.) we call a cone
10 down when the tip touches the shelf. cone 11 is at 2-3 o'clock.
one also has to know the difference of temp from one cone to the next.
cone 10 and 11 are almost the same. some cones have huge differences."
When a cone is at 3:00 that means that 80% of the heat work is done. So m=
=3D
el=3D20
actually fires to 10.8 but reports cone 10. I am not saying that is bad b=
=3D
ut it is=3D20
why it is so difficult to reproduce glazes from reports of firing cycles.=
=3D
And I know that cone 10 is only about 16 - 20 F difference depending on t=
=3D
he rise,=3D20
and that a kiln is not ever completely even...but reporting "moderate red=
=3D
uction to=3D20
cone 10" is a pretty variable phrase!
John Britt Pottery
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