Drake Ash on thu 19 jul 12
hi all-- i am about to participate in my first raku firing. since a special
area of interest for me is miniatures, i made some tiny vases and bowls for
most of the wares (average 1-2 inches in size) obviously i was not
thinking clearly enough about what is involved in the process! anyone have
suggestions about how to get these little things into the reduction
chamber? the friend that is helping me do this suggested that i use cookie
tins for flaming the pots. i am worried, though, about putting the lids on
them with those heavy gloves on, etc. would it be ok to just throw a bunch
of them into a moderate sized galvanized bucket with a lid? thanks in
advance for the expert advice :)
drake
cincinnati, ohio
William & Susan Schran User on thu 19 jul 12
On 7/19/12 7:22 AM, "Drake Ash" wrote:
>hi all-- i am about to participate in my first raku firing. since a
>special
>area of interest for me is miniatures, i made some tiny vases and bowls
>for
>most of the wares (average 1-2 inches in size) obviously i was not
>thinking clearly enough about what is involved in the process! anyone have
>suggestions about how to get these little things into the reduction
>chamber? the friend that is helping me do this suggested that i use
>cookie
>tins for flaming the pots. i am worried, though, about putting the lids on
>them with those heavy gloves on, etc. would it be ok to just throw a bunch
>of them into a moderate sized galvanized bucket with a lid? thanks in
>advance for the expert advice :)
Having taught ceramics/raku for more than 30 years, I think I can say I've
seen nearly every
Issue involved with the raku process. Though I emphasize to the students
the importance of
designing the work with consideration for the firing process, I still have
them ask me
When the kiln is opened how they should pick up a piece or how they'll fit
a 15" diameter
Bowl into a 14" reduction can. Planning is critical to the process!
We use a sand pit (sand box with no bottom) in which we have set in the
sand wire cages.
In the wire cage we put shredded news paper for reduction material.
I have an old shredder that cuts long lines, not cross cut.
The cage contains the news paper to keep it from spreading out.
After pot is put in, flames come up, the metal can is put upside down over
the cage.
The edge of the can is pushed down into the sand to seal it.
Very little smoke outside the can using this method.
You could do this with the little cans.
Things about the little stuff:
Glaze will be melted sooner on shorter, than on tall pots.
Only load kiln with shorter pots, other wise glaze on short ones will run.
Glaze will cool and stiffen faster on smaller/thinner pots.
Must remove smallest pots first from firing, otherwise glaze cools too
much.
FYI - for small pots use barbeque tongs to pick up pots.
Bill
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
James Freeman on thu 19 jul 12
Drake...
A variation on Bill Schran's method might work for you as well. It was
taught to me as "smokeless raku". Make a bed of sand, and soak a spot in
the center with barbeque lighter fluid. Set your hot pots onto the
fluid-soaked sand (which will ignite), then place a metal bucket over the
pieces and shove the rim into the sand bed to seal it. The pieces come out
beautifully and evenly reduced, and with no appreciable soot to scrub off.
Good luck.
...James
James Freeman
"Talk sense to a fool, and he calls you foolish."
-Euripides
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesfreemanstudio/
http://www.jamesfreemanstudio.com/resources
On Thu, Jul 19, 2012 at 9:21 AM, William & Susan Schran User <
wschran@cox.net> wrote:
>
> We use a sand pit (sand box with no bottom) in which we have set in the
> sand wire cages.
> In the wire cage we put shredded news paper for reduction material.
> I have an old shredder that cuts long lines, not cross cut.
> The cage contains the news paper to keep it from spreading out.
> After pot is put in, flames come up, the metal can is put upside down ove=
r
> the cage.
>
Wendy Peck on fri 20 jul 12
HI Drake,
This is observation of a good friend's practice, not my own experience, so
keep that in mind.
My friend, with 15 years of commercial raku experience made many tiny items=
.
Not miniatures, but jewelry pieces, and small parts that she used in mixed
media pieces.
She used groggy clay to make a series of reusable, custom trays, designed s=
o
she she could grab them with the tongs. Her pieces went into the trays to
fire, and the trays come out into the large reduction chambers just as with
the larger pieces. Worked for her -- her jewelry pieces, beads, pendants,
etc, were especially beautiful, with plenty of reduction effect.
Wendy
>anyone have
suggestions about how to get these little things into the reduction
chamber?
Bonnie Staffel on sat 21 jul 12
When I have made small pieces for pit firing, I made a pinhole in the pot o=
r
piece, strung a steel wire through them all with some crimping to keep them
from sliding into each other, then one can lift the wire carefully with the
tongs to place into the can of combustibles. Just an idea for you since the
tiny pots are not functional.
Regards, Bonnie
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
DVD Throwing with Coils and Slabs
DVD Introduction to Wheel Work
Charter Member Potters Council
Subject: miniatures in raku
hi all-- i am about to participate in my first raku firing. since a special
area of interest for me is miniatures, i made some tiny vases and bowls for
most of the wares (average 1-2 inches in size) obviously i was not
thinking clearly enough about what is involved in the process! anyone have
suggestions about how to get these little things into the reduction
chamber? the friend that is helping me do this suggested that i use cookie
tins for flaming the pots. i am worried, though, about putting the lids on
them with those heavy gloves on, etc. would it be ok to just throw a bunch
of them into a moderate sized galvanized bucket with a lid? thanks in
advance for the expert advice :)
drake
cincinnati, ohio
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