Thom Mead on fri 22 dec 00
Hi Clayarters:
Yes there is a lot of stoneware on the keyboard right now.
I've a bunch of small items that are not drying fast enough =20
to fire this week! What to do?
If I'm posing one more of 'dem
"It is in the archives, silly..."
things, please give me a one or 2 word direction
as I cannot find the right thread.
Happy hoildays from frozen Georgia
icy and beautiful
Diane
the tired high school teach in GA
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Bruce Girrell on fri 22 dec 00
Thom Mead wrote:
> I've a bunch of small items that are not drying fast enough
> to fire this week! What to do?
The key to drying clay quickly is uniformity. You can't allow one
part/side/edge to dry significantly faster than the rest.
You might try placing pieces on your wheel set to a slow speed with a fan
blowing over them. Don't forget that the bottoms have to dry at the same
rate, too. Invert the pieces if possible or place them on a grid that will
allow air circulation.
I would think that even in Georgia it is kind of cool this time of year.
That being the case, the air inside your home should be pretty low in
humidity. Take the pieces to a cozy area in your house and let them dry
there. Once again, air movement helps, but you cannot let a fan blow on one
side of a piece for very long without turning it. You might just try turning
on a fan in the room so that air is moving without blowing directly on the
pieces.
I would suggest some other riskier things, but my lawyer said I can't. I
will mention, though, that I have loaded many a leather hard piece into my
kiln and used the kiln to dry them out. Usually I candle for about eight
hours before turning on the big burners.
Bruce "just kidding about the lawyer" Girrell
"The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers."
William Shakespeare
Scsclay@AOL.COM on fri 22 dec 00
Diane,
You can dry them quickly by heating them to under the boiling point for
a while. You can do it in your kiln if you are able to accurately tell what
the temperature is (controller, pyrometer). When I am in a hurry and
have small items, I do it in my ovens on cookie sheets. I use an oven
thermometer and keep it at 150 degrees or below.
Best,
Susan
Paul Gerhold on fri 22 dec 00
Diane,
Put them in the electric kiln overnight with the bottom element on low, all
others off, and the lid open 6-8 inches and all peepholes open. Then pray
like crazy. Works for me and we raku them afterward.
Perpetually behind paul in Florida
Donald G. Goldsobel on fri 22 dec 00
Take them inside and put them on top of the refrigerator---or---put them in
the oven at the lowest setting and leave the door ajar. On pre holiday I
had the same problem with the pots for holiday gifts and I put all the pots
in the laundry room and turned on a portable heater--shut the doors and the
pots were dry in the a.m. or put them in the kiln and leave the pilot
light on with the door open a crack.
DonaldAt 10:19 AM 12/22/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>Hi Clayarters:
>
>Yes there is a lot of stoneware on the keyboard right now.
>I've a bunch of small items that are not drying fast enough
>to fire this week! What to do?
>If I'm posing one more of 'dem
>"It is in the archives, silly..."
>things, please give me a one or 2 word direction
>as I cannot find the right thread.
>Happy hoildays from frozen Georgia
>icy and beautiful
>
>Diane
>the tired high school teach in GA
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of MSN Explorer at href="http://explorer.msn.com">http://explorer.msn.com
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Michael Haldiman on fri 22 dec 00
Diane,
Even when we're not in a hurry, we always load up our kiln the evening before, set the ramp to hold 140F-150F and let it soak (dry) all night! The next morning, we
select my cone 06 firing program and let it rip! We haven't lost a piece yet due to wetness!
Hope this helps - from other new kids!
Mike & Rose - Throwing in St. Louis~
Ron Collins on fri 22 dec 00
why not put them in the kiln on low for a few hours...works for me...
Steve Mills on sat 23 dec 00
Another way is to *sweat dry* them in the kiln: close ALL vents, energy
input on 10 percent, controller set on soak with a top temperature of
110 C (230 F), leave for 24 hrs. Result: bone dry pots and NO bangs!
We run a firing service for our customers (the ones without Kilns), and
use this technique a lot, especially with heavy sculptural work.
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Thom Mead on sun 24 dec 00
Hi, Steve:
Yes, I really like this technique. Some of my midwestern
American friends say this is their favorite as well.
It works perfectly in central Georgia USA too!
Happy holidays.
diane mead
----- Original Message -----
From: Steve Mills
Sent: Saturday, December 23, 2000 10:00 PM
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: speed drying for the novice
Another way is to *sweat dry* them in the kiln: close ALL vents, energy
input on 10 percent, controller set on soak with a top temperature of
110 C (230 F), leave for 24 hrs. Result: bone dry pots and NO bangs!
We run a firing service for our customers (the ones without Kilns), and
use this technique a lot, especially with heavy sculptural work.
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
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Mayssan1@AOL.COM on mon 25 dec 00
Merry Christmas everyone
A question about speed drying (candling?) in the kiln and soaking too. Are
these two thing doable in oxidation? and wouldn't that shorten the life of
the elements? Especially if they aren't sprayed with ITC?
Thank you
Mayssan
it's 6F cold out there but worm and cozy in here
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