Laurie Kneppel on wed 4 feb 04
Excellent suggestions from Susan! I might add:
Heavy jacket of non-flammable material (murder on a hot summer day, but
better than getting burned)
Definitely a respirator (heavier than a dust) mask, because you can get
a good whiff of smoke sometimes.
Shoes not sandals or bare feet. I've seen too many dropped pots and
things that landed awful close to the foot of the tong person or the
assistant helping with the cans (if you have one). I know raku folk who
wear shorts and sandals, but even after handling hundreds of pots over
the past ten years i still don't always trust my grip with the tongs on
some types of pieces. Maybe because I helped with a lot of college
firings and had a very wide variety of shapes and weights to deal with
and since I didn't load the kiln sometimes they would surprise me.
If you put the lids on between pieces watch out for flame-ups when the
lid comes off. I've seen lots of arm hairs get singed off (not mine,
though!)
Keep both a bucket filled with water and a hose with a trigger spray
nozzle (water turned on) nearby from the minute you light the burner
till the last piece is out of the cans. At the college we always had a
"water person" who held the hose during the entire process, ready to
put any one or thing out if necessary. Luckily we never had to call on
them to do it and all they ever did was spray a mist of water on pieces
deemed too fragile to dunk in the bucket.
When removing pieces from the reduction cans wear the respirator mask
to protect from smoke. Eye protection like goggles are a good idea too,
because "when smoke gets in your eyes" - it hurts. Keep your gloves and
arm protection on in case of flame-ups. I also have a nice kevlar apron
that I bought years ago that is wonderful protection and was a great
investment!
one idea my teacher had was in regard to narrow-necked bottles and
things was to not dunk them in the bucket of water. she was afraid the
steam buildup might crack them or they might explode. i never saw it
happen, but then we never dunked those types of things in the bucket!
On hot days watch out you don't overheat with all the protective gear
on! probably not a huge problem if you're only firing a few things, but
if you have a lot of things in the kiln you are in your gear longer and
if it's 100+ degrees day you can overheat.
In spite of all the bewares and be carefuls, it's an exciting thing and
can be a very rewarding experience, so be careful, but have fun, too!
laurie
Sacramento, CA
http://rockyraku.com
> This is all VERY good advice. Make sure you have gloves, fire-resistant
> sleeves, fire-resistant apron, and welder's type mask. Pull your hair
> back in a
> band if you have long hair -- I have seen hair singed even with a
> mask. In
> addition take a lesson from our masks. One has a plastic visor...
> melted on one
> side. They really do protect.
>
> You might consider wearing a dust mask as well as you can really get a
> lungfull of smoke.
>
> I would urge you to not do it by yourself. Use tongs to pull the piece
> out of
> the kiln and place it in the can, and I think the suggestion to start
> with
> one piece is really good.
>
> ALSO -- surely you hve some pots around you're not wild about? practice
> handling them with the tongs WHILE you're wearing the gloves. All that
> gear can be
> pretty restrictive.
>
> Have a bucket of water out there. You might want to immerse the pot to
> stop
> the color change. You might need it to put out a shoe. :)
| |
|
