Jenna Logan on tue 9 jun 98
Has anyone tried using small saggars (containing a single pot) to smoke fire
inside an electric kiln ? Im also wondering if this type of firing is safe to
do in this type of kiln, will it damage the elements? Also is it necessary to
have the saggar air tight ? Is there something that could be used to seal the
saggar lid .
Jenna Logan
Russel Fouts on wed 10 jun 98
Jenna
>> Has anyone tried using small saggars (containing a single pot) to smoke
fire inside an electric kiln ? Im also wondering if this type of firing is
safe to do in this type of kiln, will it damage the elements? Also is it
necessary to have the saggar air tight ? Is there something that could be
used to seal the saggar lid . <<
I'm doing just that in my electric by wrapping my pots in aluminum foil.
Don't fire higher than 700c unless you have a REALLY GOOD vent, the foil
breaks up at that temperature. I tightly seal my envelopes but a little
smoke still escapes. I have an environvent that handles this well.
It's worked really well for me. Since the "saggar" is very well sealed, you
don't need much combustable. I just use a single sheet of newspaper about
the size of the pot, or less wrapped in a double layer of extra wide, double
strength foil (catering stores).
I've never tried sulfates and such but they should work as long as they
volitise below 700c and don't corrode the foil.
I've not seen any deterioration in my kiln but I usually manage to do a
bisque in between smoke firings. Also, I don't usually fire higher than
1000c (bisque).
Now I want to smoke higher than I've been so I'm going to make some real
saggars which I think I can seal pretty well with paper clay. In any case,
I'll seal them the best I can and the envirovent will handle the rest.
I think there is a LOT you can do in an electric kiln, especially if you
DON'T listen to "conventional wisdom", try for your self and learn from your
mistakes as well as your wins.
Go for it!
Russel Fouts
Mes Potes & Mes Pots
Brussels, Belgium
32 2 223 02 75
Http://users.skynet.be/russel.fouts
Http://www.japan-net.or.jp/~iwcat
Barbara Lewis on wed 10 jun 98
Jenna: I use paper clay to seal the lid to the saggar. Make the saggar air
tight. I know people who have done saggar firing in an electric kiln with
glazes and have gotten copper red, but I don't have a lot of experience with
that. It doesn't seem as though it would hurt the elements if the saggar
were air tight. Barbara
At 08:37 AM 6/9/98 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>Has anyone tried using small saggars (containing a single pot) to smoke fire
>inside an electric kiln ? Im also wondering if this type of firing is safe to
>do in this type of kiln, will it damage the elements? Also is it necessary to
>have the saggar air tight ? Is there something that could be used to seal the
>saggar lid .
>
>Jenna Logan
>
Wellspring Clayworks
5412 Well Spring Road
La Plata, MD 20646
blewis@crosslink.net
Marcia Menuskin on fri 12 jun 98
I have saggar fired a small item using a clay flower pot and covering it with
a kiln shelf. When I took a class in terra sigillata from Suzy Duncan at the
John C. Campbell Folk School, she made saggars from fire bricks covered with a
kiln shelf. I have also done that with no visible damage to the electric
kiln. In addition, I have fired other items in the same kiln at 06 with good
results. The clay flower pot is relatively air tight, the fire bricks are
not. Hope this helps. Good Luck!
Marcia in Tennessee
Richard Mahaffey on tue 29 may 07
Vince, and fellow Clayarters,
I did not post to the list because it was late and I just wrote off the
top of my head. My email to Bill was not well organized enough for
posting on Clayart. I chose not to post a disorganized response.
If anyone has specific questions I am happy to reply directly to them.
I have already sent an email to Matt. The questions were about the
work on my TCC website and so without looking at the images
(www.tacomacc.edu) at least I think that will allow you to navigate to
my pages the response is of less value.
The main things I wrote about were low iron (not No Iron) clay, finding
a balance of combustables, pot, air and salt, firing temp cone 01 or
lower depending on your saggar type, sealing the saggars just before you
light the kiln.
SO, if anyone has questions about Saggar firing I am happy to answer (I
did my first saggar firing in 1977 or '78 and sold lots of saggar ware
for about 20 years, I also introduced American Saggar firing techniques
to Japan and Turkey). Just send an email and I will try to give the
best answers that I can.
Rick Mahaffey
Tacoma Community College
Tacoma, WA 98406
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