sdpotter@GTE.NET on mon 28 aug 00
Hi Kenneth,
I, as well, fire with wood. I made the move from cone 6 oxidation to cone
10
wood with no prior knowledge nor training, except for what I read in various
books and magazines. I started to carry alot of the same ethics that I had
from
one to the other, but I now realize it comes with the territory. A little
trial and error,
so to speak. We're dealing with a fuel source, wood, where part of it can
melt
and flux other glazes, ash, but also we're dealing with bits of opened clay
to
place these objects onto the shelf to minimize 'stuck pots.'
Where does one start, do we retain the same ethics? Or do we modify them to
fit within the new catagory we've placed ourselves in?
If we tried to retain the same 'cut in stone' ethics we had on our previous
method
of firing, I believe we're losing out on exloring new methods. But I'm not
saying,
excessive drips or stuck on lids are acceptable. If a pot is placed one way
and there's
excessive fluxing to one part and the wad or lid becomes glazed on, move the
pot
to a new angle to capture the over fluxing...tilt a bowl, put a pot on it's
side, etc.
Use what's coming out of the firebox to your advantage and not waste it.
I keep a file, a soft wood stick on hand as well as a dremmel when I unload
the
kiln, just in case. Incase you're wondering about the stick, I use it to
knock the
lid loose.
Have you tried wadding the lids?
Steve Dalton
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