bob johnson on sat 19 sep 98
I am a lurker with an electric kiln and have been firing
it for three years. When I started, I began with some
simple clear glazes to get to understand my kiln. It
is very difficult to learn your clay and kiln by using
sophisticated glazes.
There are many, good, base glazes posted on Clayart, and I would
suggest you start with them.
I work alone in my basement and Clayart keeps me in touch
with what is going on in the world of clay.
Thank you,
Roberta Johnson from the Chicago area.
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ronnie beezer on sat 25 jan 03
Hello everyone:
I just got my new kiln and II can't wait to start firing. I have never done it so I need a lot of help. I am reading some books and I also bought some clay from Laguna and I will be using cone 6 glazes. That's what we use at the studio were I take classes. For the time being I'm planning to buy ready made glazes till I feel comfortable and knowledgeable to make my own. Can anyone recommend what manufacture of glazes gives the most consistence results? I have access to a ceramic supply store not too far from me and they carry Duncan, Amaco and Mayco. I also need to know if I'm using cone 6 glazes, what cone do I use to fire to bisque?
Thank you, Ronnie
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John Rodgers on sun 26 jan 03
ronnie beezer wrote:
>I just got my new kiln and II can't wait to start firing. I have never done it so I need a lot of help. I am reading some books and I also bought some clay from Laguna
>
First step - double check that your clay has the same heat range as your
glaze, otherwise you will likely have a clay meltdown at cone 6 glaze
maturity temperatures, or you clay may not mature when the glaze does.
ie, cone 6 clay goes with cone 6 glaze.
>and I will be using cone 6 glazes.
>
Read above.
>That's what we use at the studio were I take classes. For the time being I'm planning to buy ready made glazes till I feel comfortable and knowledgeable to make my own. Can anyone recommend what manufacture of glazes gives the most consistence results?
>
For commercial glazes, I happen to like Opulance glazes, although there
are others.
>I have access to a ceramic supply store not too far from me and they carry Duncan, Amaco and Mayco.
>
Be careful that the glazes you choose from those sources will in fact go
to cone 6.
>I also need to know if I'm using cone 6 glazes, what cone do I use to fire to bisque?
>
I fire bisque to cone 06. Some take it to 04. But 06 is soft and porous
and picks upand holds the glaze well when dipped.
Good Luck,
John Rodgers
Birmingham, AL
>
>Thank you, Ronnie
>
>
>
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ronnie beezer on sun 26 jan 03
Hello everyone:
Thank you for all your advise. Tomorrow I will try my first firing. I will keep you updated.
Ronnie
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ronnie beezer on wed 5 feb 03
Hi,
My first firing is complete... With great expectations I opened the kiln to find that the color of the glazes are not the same as the glazes fired in the studio kiln. The glazes ran a lot more than usual and the blue glaze came out brown. I used ^ 6, glazes and the kiln reached temperature at the right rate according to the pyrometer cone. I would like any input on what could have gone wrong. Any suggestions on how I can test glazes in my kiln to compare the results to the studio kiln. Since I'm not making my own glazes yet, I'm using the studio's. I would appreciate all the help I can get.
Ronnie
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Ann Brink on wed 5 feb 03
Ronnie- how disappointing. We've all had to deal with that sort of thing.
So....if you got runny glazes, you have somehow given those pots more heat
work. Either a higher temp or a longer time. Sometimes 10 or 20 deg. can
make a difference. OR 10 or 20 minutes. I bet that blue glaze likes to be
cooled faster. I have one glaze that has a nice blue-green color sometimes,
but when the kiln is really packed (hence cools slower) it turns a nasty
muck green. On the other hand, some glazes only develop the right color
with slow cooling.
So as not to risk a whole kiln-load next time, glaze most of your pots with
something that did turn out right (hope some did!), put in various tests of
the others, and try firing slightly lower and cooling faster. I'm sure you
will also talk to whoever fires the kiln at your art center for clues as to
how they fire. Just some thoughts...good luck.
Ann Brink in Lompoc CA
----- Original Message -----
From: "ronnie beezer"
> Hi,
>
> My first firing is complete... With great expectations I opened the kiln
to find that the color of the glazes are not the same as the glazes fired in
the studio kiln. The glazes ran a lot more than usual and the blue glaze
came out brown. I used ^ 6, glazes and the kiln reached temperature at the
right rate according to the pyrometer cone. I would like any input on what
could have gone wrong. Any suggestions on how I can test glazes in my kiln
to compare the results to the studio kiln. Since I'm not making my own
glazes yet, I'm using the studio's. I would appreciate all the help I can
get.
>
> Ronnie
Snail Scott on wed 5 feb 03
At 04:22 AM 2/5/03 -0800, you wrote:
>...not the same as the glazes fired in the studio kiln...
>The glazes ran a lot more than usual and the blue glaze came out brown. I
used ^ 6, glazes and the kiln reached temperature at the right rate
according to the pyrometer cone.
Sounds like your kiln may cool a lot slower than the
studion kiln you used to use. Also, was the ^6 a
sitter cone, or a witness cone? Sitters can be quite
variable in their adjustment, and witness cones will
give the most accurate comparison between firings
in two different kilns, though they still won't
measure rate of cooling.
Does the studio use witness cones? If so, ask to
borrow an old cone pack to use for comparison. If
not, ask them if they'll put a witness cone pack in
the next firing for you, so you can take it home
for comparison.
Are the walls of your new kiln thicker than the one
at the studio? Or does the kiln at the studio have
leaky gaps around the lid? If so, you may need to
figure out a way to 'crash-cool' it for a short time
after it hits temperature. Pulling out the top and
bottom peephole plugs for five minutes may help.
-Snail
john horner on wed 5 feb 03
Hi Ronnie, I am also inexperienced and my first firing
came out like yours. Everything was brown instead of
blue. A friend suggested the floating blue glaze I was
using was not heavy enough. I let the glaze settle in
the bucket, and dipped off the clear liquid at the
top. Next firing was better. The blue actually turned
out blue. Good luck.
=====
Have a blessed day!
Peace
John <><
Ron Roy on thu 6 feb 03
Hi Ronnie,
Just a few additions to Snail's excellent response to your questions.
It is not difficult - if you have a pyrometer - and I urge you to get one
if you don't have one - to find the differences in cooling from kiln to
kiln. Simply time how fast your kiln cools for 2 hours - you will be
surprised how fast kilns cool just after shut off - then take the pyrometer
to the other kiln and do the same thing - easy to find how is cooling.
When you know that - it will be relatable easy to get them at least closer.
You should also know how fast the heating is for both - for the last 100C
before the cones go down - and always fire with cones at your spy hole -
large cones - and on each shelf - till you find out how your kiln fires.
And that other advice about how thick your glazes are - do some tiles with
different thicknesses - of all your glazes - maybe some ran because they
were on too think - maybe some were too thin.
We all had to learn all this by trial and error but with all the good
advice you are getting it should be a lot quicker for you.
RR
>My first firing is complete... With great expectations I opened the kiln
>to find that the color of the glazes are not the same as the glazes fired
>in the studio kiln. The glazes ran a lot more than usual and the blue
>glaze came out brown. I used ^ 6, glazes and the kiln reached temperature
>at the right rate according to the pyrometer cone. I would like any input
>on what could have gone wrong. Any suggestions on how I can test glazes in
>my kiln to compare the results to the studio kiln. Since I'm not making
>my own glazes yet, I'm using the studio's. I would appreciate all the help
>I can get.
>
>Ronnie
Ron Roy
RR#4
15084 Little Lake Road
Brighton, Ontario
Canada
K0K 1H0
Phone: 613-475-9544
Fax: 613-475-3513
william schran on thu 6 feb 03
<that the color of the glazes are not the same as the glazes fired in
the studio kiln.>>
There are so many variables that can cause a single glaze to come out
"changed" in different firings, more information is needed regarding
the two kilns, firing & cooling times, exact cones used, how kilns
are vented (or not). With more information folks could probably
suggest solutions.
Bill
Snail Scott on fri 7 feb 03
At 04:01 PM 2/7/03 -0800, you wrote:
>I assumed that if you are using ^ 6 glaze you will fire to ^ 6 not ^ 5.
We all have a tendency to categorize glazes as
being for certain standard temperatures, but
that's not really true. Anyone who works with a
particular glaze for long will discover that
maybe a '^6' glaze does better at about ^5 1/2,
or whatever. We learn to fire to what it likes,
or we modify it to accomodate the the temperature
that we prefer. But, glazes don't just respond
to a given temperature (actually, heat-work),
but also to firing styles, like rate of cooling.
Add that to the wide variety of calibrations,
for kiln-sitters and especially for controllers,
and one person's ^6 may equal another person's
^5. Don't put too much stock in the number that
it's labelled with. Fire it to what it needs,
with your equipment and all its idiosyncracies.
-Snail
ronnie beezer on fri 7 feb 03
Hello everyone,
I would like to thank all of you who responded and sent me e-mails with encouragement and suggestions to help me get better results on my next firing. This is so great. Some of you even gave me your phone numbers if I needed help.
I went to the studio last night and spoke to the teacher and I showed her what happened with the blue glaze. The samples of tiles with that glaze were about the same as mine but the fired pots come out with rich blues. The explanation we came up with was that perhaps since my kiln is brand new it is probably perfectly calibrated compared to the one at the studio. The kiln was being fired with ^ 6 glazes, but it was programmed to fire at ^ 5. Could that have been also part of the problem? I assumed that if you are using ^ 6 glaze you will fire to ^ 6 not ^ 5.
Today was a perfect day to play on my wheel since it was snowing and it looked so beautiful that I felt inspired.
Ronnie
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Sabine Wolf on sat 8 feb 03
>the one at the studio. The kiln was being fired with ^ 6 glazes, but it was
programmed to >fire at ^ 5. Could that have been also part of the problem? I
assumed that if you are >using ^ 6 glaze you will fire to ^ 6 not ^ 5.
Some colors especially bright ones are rather sensitive to temperature. We
(our local ceramic center) had problems with the red colors and our dealer
told us to reduce the temperature from 1050 to 1020 °C.
Sabine
bluefirepottery on tue 5 dec 06
Hi everyone--I'm bouncing off the walls today with excitement--the first =
firing of my new kiln that has only been in the works for a year worked =
beautifully!! The kiln is actually an MFT with an Olsen firebox design =
underneath. I put in two ports for gas burners, but they are bricked up =
at the moment since I don't yet have the gas tank. I used duraflame =
type logs in the wee hours of the morning to preheat the fireboxes, then =
started stoking in earnest by 7am. Cone 012 went down at 9:30. Had a =
minor stall around noon, figured out what I had done wrong and got it =
going again. Cone 8 started to go soft at around 2:30 and 10 was down =
at 4:15. Now the difficult part--WAITING TO SEE WHAT EVERYTHING LOOKS =
LIKE. I used pallet wood for fuel and only used about 20 pallets with a =
few pine log splits thrown in. I did spray the inside of the kiln and =
the firebox with ITC. The only thing that happened that I am not happy =
about is that my chimney developed a crack. Not sure what to do about =
that. Any advice? And thank you Mel, for all of your advice while we =
were finishing up the roof and chimney. You were a HUGE help.
Debra
Dan Hill on thu 7 dec 06
Hi Debra
Congrats on the first and fast firing of your new kiln.
I would be very interested in some more specifics on the kiln as it sounds
like just the sort of kiln I am interested in building next.
What is the size, shape of the kiln and what sort of fire box, and chimney
etc? Where did you get the idea/plans for the kiln?
Any pictures?
Thanks, Dan
----- Original Message -----
From: "bluefirepottery"
To:
Sent: Tuesday, December 05, 2006 4:05 AM
Subject: first firing
Hi everyone--I'm bouncing off the walls today with excitement--the first
firing of my new kiln that has only been in the works for a year worked
beautifully!! The kiln is actually an MFT with an Olsen firebox design
underneath. I put in two ports for gas burners, but they are bricked up at
the moment since I don't yet have the gas tank. I used duraflame type logs
in the wee hours of the morning to preheat the fireboxes, then started
stoking in earnest by 7am. Cone 012 went down at 9:30. Had a minor stall
around noon, figured out what I had done wrong and got it going again. Cone
8 started to go soft at around 2:30 and 10 was down at 4:15. Now the
difficult part--WAITING TO SEE WHAT EVERYTHING LOOKS LIKE. I used pallet
wood for fuel and only used about 20 pallets with a few pine log splits
thrown in. I did spray the inside of the kiln and the firebox with ITC.
The only thing that happened that I am not happy about is that my chimney
developed a crack. Not sure what to do about that. Any advice? And
thank you Mel, for all of your advice while we were finishing up the roof
and chimney. You were a HUGE help.
Debra
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You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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