David Hendley on thu 23 sep 99
For some reason, a woodfiring potter getting out
a moisture meter and taking readings from a stack
of firewood seems completely incongruous to me.
Maybe there's someone who does it, but it
'just dont seem natural'. I mean, everything a wood-
firer does is by 'feel' or 'experience'.
Anyway, there are about 200 variables having to
do with your firewood, such as:
your kiln design
where you live
time of the year
how the wood is stacked
what kind of wood
size of the pieces
what kind of firing effect you want
and on, and on....
A good place to start is, you want DRY wood.
This means either kiln dried lumber scraps or
wood that has been openly stacked and covered
for a long time, like 6 months to a year.
>From there you can experiment with not being
so strict, and see how things work.
I don't know if it's true for most kilns, but with
my kiln, the wood can be too dry. When I've used
old pallets made of heavy timbers that have been
drying in warehouses for years there is just too
much heat value released too fast and I can't
slow the kiln down enough for a good firing.
This is the exception, though.
Most wood problems are due to wood that is not
dry enough. Especially when first starting, the
dryer the better.
--
David Hendley
Maydelle, Texas
hendley@tyler.net
http://www.farmpots.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: jim behan
To: <>
Sent: Wednesday, September 22, 1999 1:19 PM
Subject: wood moisture content
| ----------------------------Original message----------------------------
| What is meant by dry wood? Do any woodfirers measure
| the moisture content of their wood or do they judge
| 'by eye'? Is there a benchmark? I've just had a
| forgetable firing and feel I need more precision in
| this area. Comments please.
|
| ===
| From : Jim Behan (Dolmen Pottery) 113, Green Rd., Carlow Ireland. e-mail
dolmenp
| website http://members.tripod.co.uk/jimbehan/index.html
| __________________________________________________
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clennell on fri 24 sep 99
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>For some reason, a woodfiring potter getting out
>a moisture meter and taking readings from a stack
>of firewood seems completely incongruous to me.
>Maybe there's someone who does it, but it
>'just dont seem natural'. I mean, everything a wood-
>firer does is by 'feel' or 'experience'.
>
David and list: That potter with the moisture meter was me. I had a bitch
of a kiln that needed every available BTU to get temperature. If a sparrow
farted while flying over the stack, it would cause turbulence and I would
loose 50 degrees or an hours stoking.
I checked my wood to make sure it was below 15% moisture content. Here in
the wild and wooly north it takes a hell of a lot longer than 6 months to
cure wood. My wood is 2 years minimum. Texas is as dry as a popcorn fart.
It's probably thirsty when you cut it.
If I were Mel and One Eyed Jack I'd go real dry and if the son of -----
gets away on you throw on some green stuff. Loved that story in the last
CM where the guy reaches into his cooler and throws in a dead rat and
blows the arch off the kiln. I have a feeling I'd like his pots.
Some of us are casual and some neurotic.
I'd say get the the kiln to temperature by being a neurotic and then when 9
drops get real casual.
Cheers,
Tony
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Tony and Sheila Clennell
Sour Cherry Pottery
4545 King St.
Beamsville, On. L0R 1B1
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