Joyce Lee on fri 1 sep 00
I am relishing this week's Clayart ..... wonderful stories. Don't stop!
However, I need to pose a question before I lose it so excuse the
interruption...... then get back to your "old/new timer tales," please.
Is there such a device as a turntable (like a lazy susan, perhaps) for
use when firing some glazes that are tricky for me??? I've never seen
one, but then I haven't seen much ...... in clay. (These ancient eyes
are plumb worn out from seein'&lookin' in other areas of my life.)
Normally I prefer the surprises that occur when I discover a new hot
spot.... or cold spot..... such as the copper red vase that turned out
copper green with a big red blush surrounding a lovely halfmoon crack,
where it sat overhanging the shelf too close to the burner. Or the
cracked shino pot that starts with small crawls and moves to
progressively larger ones as one's eye moves around the pot.
But on such occasions when I might prefer predictability and .... does
anyone know of a turntable designed for kiln use? Thanks for your time
and thought.
Joyce
In the Mojave enjoying the blue sky spotted with white puffy
thunderheads, and the desert creosote aroma (not sweet, just deserty)
following the two rains we've had this week!! Birds were flying as it
rained.. hard... the roadrunner clung to the stucco... no lizards, which
may be due to the young roadrunner clinging above their heads ...and a
tiny rabbit sat, just sat, in the rain ..... as did I.
Wade Blocker on fri 1 sep 00
Joyce,
What you are asking for is not possible, because the metal parts in such
a turntable would melt or disintegrate during the firing. Where would the
energy come from for turning such a device? A kiln is not a microwave
oven. Mia in ABQ
Earl Brunner on fri 1 sep 00
Never say impossible. It's just a question of building the
right kiln or being willing to modify the one you have
enough. And then of course you have to ask your self if it
is really worth it.
Here is one approach. Just like ware moves through a tunnel
kiln, or a car kiln or envelope kiln has parts that move,
you can apply the same concepts to the floor of your kiln.
Create a circular section of floor that is refractory and
seals similar to the moving floor in a tunnel kiln. Motorize
it and have it turning during the firing. Can it be done?
Sure. Is it worth doing? Who knows?
Wade Blocker wrote:
>
> Joyce,
> What you are asking for is not possible, because the metal parts in such
> a turntable would melt or disintegrate during the firing. Where would the
> energy come from for turning such a device? A kiln is not a microwave
> oven. Mia in ABQ
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at melpots@pclink.com.
--
Earl Brunner
http://coyote.accessnv.com/bruec
mailto:bruec@anv.net
vince pitelka on sat 2 sep 00
> What you are asking for is not possible, because the metal parts in such
> a turntable would melt or disintegrate during the firing. Where would the
> energy come from for turning such a device? A kiln is not a microwave
> oven.
The above post is partially corrrect, in that the mechanism for driving such
a turntable would not survive the kiln, but nothing is impossible, of
course. The solution is to put the mechanism outside the kiln. I do not
see where this would really be much of an advantage, but if one really had a
need for such a device, it would simply be a matter of boring a hole through
the bottom of the kiln and adapting a barbecue rotisserie motor or some
other such low speed motor to drive a vertical shaft mounted on sturdy
pillow-block bearings. At the top of this shaft would be attached a
refractory column extending up through a snug seal in the floor of the kiln.
On top of the shaft would be a snug socket fit to a horizontal flange, which
in turn would support a round shelf. Obviously this would only work in a
shallow kiln with a single shelf, but it certainly is possible.
Best wishes -
Vince, aka Rube Goldberg
Vince Pitelka
Home - vpitelka@dekalb.net
615/597-5376
Work - wpitelka@tntech.edu
615/597-6801 ext. 111, fax 615/597-6803
Appalachian Center for Crafts
Tennessee Technological University
1560 Craft Center Drive, Smithville TN 37166
http://www.craftcenter.tntech.edu/
Don Goodrich on sat 2 sep 00
Joyce,
Industrial glass furnaces routinely have rotating mixers in them, operating at kiln temperatures. Made of high-zirconia materials, their driveshafts extend through openings in the brick and are driven by air-cooled electric gearmotors on the outside. As has been suggested, a hole in the bottom of the kiln would allow you to have a rotating floor or a turntable for one pot, depending on how you engineered it. I don't know of any self-propelled rotating devices made for use at these temperatures. Some very simple ceramic mechanism should be possible (the less simple, the less likely it is to work) should allow rotation in places other than the bottom of the kiln, but driving it then becomes a greater problem. It might be possible to make a two-piece turntable consisting of a round slab that rotated on a single, stubby pivot. It could be rotated by simply pushing with a rod through a spyhole. If you find a clay body that allows fabrication of such a device, please let us know!
Don Goodrich doggone it, now you've gone and gotten us gadget-makers thinking again...
| |
|
