Bonnie Staffel on sun 4 jun 00
June 4, 2000
Dear Clayarters - don't recommend this method!!!!!
It had rained for about a week before I got to Ed Gray's studio Tuesday
for a pit fire and open house over Memorial Day weekend. The rain had
let up on my
arrival. Wednesday morning we prepared the eight foot wide by three
feet deep pit, laid in the straw, sawdust, twigs and small wood, then
the pots wrapped in paper, copper and salt, piled sawdust on top,
added dog food, more twigs, kindling, and then covered the whole pit
with firewood to about three feet high like a teepee. We lit it and it
burned so beautifully. All seemed to go well. When it burned down
level with the
sides of the pit, he covered it with a large iron lid with two pie
shaped cutouts which could be manipulated for air Wednesday night. It
takes two or
three days to all burn after that. Well on Friday I told Ed I
couldn't stand it any more, had to see if any pots did the copper red
thing. So he stuck his thermocouple down into the pit to see what the
temp was and it only read 250 deg. F. We thought the thermocouple was
broken. So we waited till Saturday, took the lid off the pit. Ed was
busy doing something else and I looked at the pit and told him it was
full of
water!!! Seems like the ground water level got extremely high from all
the rain, higher
than the pit. It had never happened before. Ed had to fish the pots
out of the "pool" and found that the water had extinguished the bottom
fire as the straw and sawdust was still intact. Usually it becomes
ashes. Didn't
get any copper reds but my greens were very nice with black clouds. The
salt on the pots also made interesting markings. What a surprise. So
he cleaned out all the unburned matter in the pit, used the big shop/vac
to remove the standing water - took about ten loads but when he got to
the bottom, it would start filling again. We do not recommend this
method of firing. He has been pit firing for over six years and this
had never happened before. Got a few good pots out of it and the sales
over the weekend more than made up for this disaster. He had about five
craftspersons doing wheel, handbuilding, glass beadmaking, and glass
slumping, all demonstrating in his newly enlarged studio which made for
an interesting experience for the visitors.
A little smarter and wiser today. Bonnie Staffel from Charlevoix where
it is still cool and springlike.
L. P. Skeen on mon 5 jun 00
This is a regular occurance for us. My pit is at the bottom of the hill
from our house, and we never try to do a pit fire if there's been any rain
w/in 3 days - the pit's too full on the rainy days, and busy drying out the
other days.
L. P. Skeen
Living Tree Pottery & Handmade Soaps
Summerfield, NC
----- Original Message -----
From: Bonnie Staffel
To:
Sent: Sunday, June 04, 2000 3:52 PM
Subject: Pool Pit Firing
> June 4, 2000
>
> Dear Clayarters - don't recommend this method!!!!!
>
> It had rained for about a week before I got to Ed Gray's studio Tuesday
> for a pit fire and open house over Memorial Day weekend. The rain had
> let up on my
> arrival. Wednesday morning we prepared the eight foot wide by three
> feet deep pit, laid in the straw, sawdust, twigs and small wood, then
> the pots wrapped in paper, copper and salt, piled sawdust on top,
> added dog food, more twigs, kindling, and then covered the whole pit
> with firewood to about three feet high like a teepee. We lit it and it
> burned so beautifully. All seemed to go well. When it burned down
> level with the
> sides of the pit, he covered it with a large iron lid with two pie
> shaped cutouts which could be manipulated for air Wednesday night. It
> takes two or
> three days to all burn after that. Well on Friday I told Ed I
> couldn't stand it any more, had to see if any pots did the copper red
> thing. So he stuck his thermocouple down into the pit to see what the
> temp was and it only read 250 deg. F. We thought the thermocouple was
> broken. So we waited till Saturday, took the lid off the pit. Ed was
> busy doing something else and I looked at the pit and told him it was
> full of
> water!!! Seems like the ground water level got extremely high from all
> the rain, higher
> than the pit. It had never happened before. Ed had to fish the pots
> out of the "pool" and found that the water had extinguished the bottom
> fire as the straw and sawdust was still intact. Usually it becomes
> ashes. Didn't
> get any copper reds but my greens were very nice with black clouds. The
>
> salt on the pots also made interesting markings. What a surprise. So
> he cleaned out all the unburned matter in the pit, used the big shop/vac
> to remove the standing water - took about ten loads but when he got to
> the bottom, it would start filling again. We do not recommend this
> method of firing. He has been pit firing for over six years and this
> had never happened before. Got a few good pots out of it and the sales
> over the weekend more than made up for this disaster. He had about five
> craftspersons doing wheel, handbuilding, glass beadmaking, and glass
> slumping, all demonstrating in his newly enlarged studio which made for
> an interesting experience for the visitors.
>
> A little smarter and wiser today. Bonnie Staffel from Charlevoix where
> it is still cool and springlike.
>
>
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