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salt and soda firing and bloating

updated sun 11 nov 01

 

Megan Ratchford on sat 10 nov 01


Hi Allan!
How early are you putting in the salt? I fire most of my work in a =
cone 10 salt kiln and have experimented with once fired ware. My =
experience in that if the kiln goes up slowly enough (I rocket candle =
with my bisque-ware) then the pieces come out fine. That may have =
changed due to our salting schedule, I haven't fired green-ware in a =
couple years. When I fired green-ware I would add all of the salt =
during and after glaze reduction right at cone 10. Now, because of =
problems with the neighbors, I ad salt in bits over the last few hours =
of the firing.
Does this happen with only one clay body or with several types? Is =
it a new batch of the clay body you have been using all along? There =
was some boating problems with the wood kiln I fire and it was =
determined that the clay was off a bit in composition.
Do you need to once fire? Must make for a long day! (grin)
Hope this helps!
Megan