search  current discussion  categories  kilns & firing - misc 

weber firing thread leads me to....

updated sun 16 aug 98

 

Robin McGregor on thu 13 aug 98

Pit firing!!

I have friends that moved out of the city where they do bon fires - at least
once a month. I would love to add some pots to the fire - you know, for a
FUNCTIONAL fire!! - and have not been able to find any info on just how to
do this. I cannot visit the "pit fire" web sites, as my computer is a bit ill,
so.....

If anyone has any pit firing instructions they would like to share, I'm all
ears!!

Thanks,

Robin McGregor
Manchester, NH

PS - I tried putting in a green pot over the winter and the darned thing
disappeared when it was all over (I think it must've melted!!)

lpskeen on fri 14 aug 98

Robin McGregor wrote:
I would love to add some pots to the fire - you know, for a FUNCTIONAL
fire!! - and have not been able to find any info on just how to do
this.

Robin:
Since we moved out here on our "farm", Ginny has been busily chopping
down anything that gets in her way. We've had numerous bonfires as a
result, and I have started putting things IN the fire. Here's what I
do:

Make a pot and burnish, fire to ^010.
Make a large sheet of tin foil out of two small sheets by folding them
together. Set the pot in the center of the foil sheet and surround with
combustibles: seaweed, nut shells, cow poo, etc. Have tied on strings
soaked in copper carb water. Wrap all this together inside the foil and
tuck in the center of the pile of stuff to be burned.

When the pile has burned almost totally out, reach in with a shovel and
rake, drag the pot out and allow to cool NEAR THE FIRE so the thermal
shock doesn't create a tragedy. Listen as non-potter types ooh and aah
over the fabulous pot. Wax with paste wax when cool.
--
Lisa Skeen ICQ# 15554910
Living Tree Pottery & Soaps
http://www.uncg.edu/~lpskeen
"We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful
words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of
the good people." -- Dr. M. L. King, Jr. 4/16/63

john a gibson on sat 15 aug 98

I am doing a lot of clearing on a piece of ground around my house where I
am setting up my studio. I do burns once or 2 times aweek . These fires
are great for smoking/ pit firing pots. All iI do is burn till I get a
good bed of coals then with a long stick open awell in the coals and lay
the pot in. Sometimes i fill the pot with pine needles or leaves, then
rake coals lightly over the pot and pour on the wood. Be sure to keep
pots cobered while burning and don't throw heavy logs on top of the pots.
Oh, also use bisqued pots. I haven't tried pit firing from green yet.
Last group I did, got some interesting results using underglazes.

_____________________________________________________________________
You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail.
Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com
Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]