Garret D. Bonnema on mon 28 aug 00
thanks to all the clayarts people who so generously shared their experiences
and information with me, both on and off the list, about oxy-probes, copper
reds, and reduction. All the information was useful to me.
I want to report that we just unloaded a kiln last night and the results
were super. What a relief after four firings in the last two months that
ranged from not so good to bad. I didn't use a very scientific approach and
only change one variable. I tried to act on all the advice I was given or
read about.
I sent both the burners and the probe off for repairs and found that the
probe was malfunctioning and the burners needed slight adjustment to fire
evenly. I resurrected my old Fyrite Analyzer that I had used for 20 years,
but not since we built our MFT 2.5 years ago, and got new fluid for it so
that I could use it in conjunction with the oxy-probe. I spent 2 hours
stuffing any cracks I could find in the kiln. I bought Nils Lou's new Art of
Firing book and read it cover to cover. (Great)
The load was a great one. I probably did a lot of things that didn't help it
but I am sure that at least for the near future I will continue to do them
out of superstition, like not changing socks during a winning streak. I
have always found it hard to experiment with new firing protocols. We have
only ever had one kiln at a time, usually pretty large, and it seemed chancy
to mess with the next mortgage payment or SEP contribution, so to speak.
For instance, it took a big leap of faith for us to let the kiln clear out
for 5-10 minutes after shutting down, as Nils suggests in both his books,
but it works great.
I have learned much through these experiences, and I hope that it will help
us in the future to make more informed decisions in the ever-changing
process of being potters. I hope that the information shared by clayarters
on this subject has been a help to others too.
Garret Bonnema
Bethel, ME
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