mel jacobson on fri 3 dec 99
i believe that early nursing, meaning many hours of slow firing is a waste
of time and fuel. and i am talking gas, electric, and maybe even wood.
as to ron, well, i think the cost of fuel, compared to the amount of product
that is in the kiln is tiny.
actually, potters have it rather good. if we can get a great load of pots that
may be worth as much as a thousand bucks, well, 20 dollars of fuel is rather
small.
i know i pay far less than that with natural gas. (we are talking U.S.A. here.
i know people in other countries pay far more.)
the big issue still remains, what you do, always influences the pots, and so
whatever you do, make sure it is for the right reasons.
i understand tony's post, and respect that a great deal.
i also understand fully what nils is talking about, and respect that.
there has to be an intelligent middle ground in kiln schedules that allows
for personal taste, and is good science.
firing hour after hour with very little temp rise is ridiculous. it is a waste
of time and energy.
now, if we are talking bisque, i jump on ron's band wagon every
time...slow,careful, allow gases to escape. take your time, no rush.
glaze firing changes everything.
get on with it.
evening out your firing is something that happens at the end.
it is how you move the flame, pressure, flu...all these get in rhythm and
then the kiln evens.
carbon trapping is a whole new issue.
getting that smoke all over the kiln during the 012 stage gets tricky.
there is very little energy in the kiln, and often it is very uneven in temp.
i think that is what tony refers to in his comments about slow, even heat rise.
yes, that is critical.
one could blow right by 012 with burners blasting away.
and once gone, it is gone for good.
i use sticks of wood, and i think meagan in tennessee is a real believer.
we burned a half cord just messing with smoke.
and, man, she got it just right...now if i can duplicate it. (may have to get
her one a plane and have her fire my kiln.)
on a very serious note, i have been blessed with working with very strong
women potters
that have the courage to fire a kiln hard, reduced, kick ass. follow a good
plan.
dannon does that, dawn and kerry do that at our farm, we got great
information at the wood
conference from really strong female potters that had detailed information
on the
train kiln. it has changed how we are approaching firing the train this spring.
and no, this does not surprise me, it just is nice to have it happen to me.
a good reminder that potters are potters, gender does not count.
mel/mn
still almost 50 f in minnesota.'
as ole said to lena, `yee vis, ve is gonna pay for dis later on.`
,
http://www.pclink.com/melpots
from minnetonka, minnesota, u.s.a.
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