Richard Aerni on fri 14 may 04
Hello everyone,
Well, just to kind of give some closure to the story of my new kiln (for
all of you out there who've been wondering and worrying! ), let me fill
in all of the details.
As you may recall, I was unable to get this kiln up to cone 10 (made it to
8) in it's initial firing, and I didn't want to fire it again until I'd
made some changes that gave me more confidence that I'd get there the next
time I fired. I'd received some advice just to drill out my orifices on
the Alfred burners bigger, and did that, and prepped for the next firing,
but after spending two nights tossing and turning, not feeling good about
it, decided to change a number of things instead. I'm not a big fan of
making multiple changes to a kiln, figuring that if I change but one, I
have control of the experiment and can tell what is causing the change.
But on this kiln, I felt it was a bunch of things making a difference, not
just one, and decided to go for "the big fix". This was not only because I
wanted to get to cone 10, but wanted to get to cone 10 (I'm single firing)
in a reasonable amount of time, given that the kiln isn't in my back yard
anymore, and I really don't like sleeping on the studio couch 25-30 times a
year.
So, what I did... First, I ordered burners, the MR-100s made by Gaco and
sold by Marc Ward. They're reasonable in price, and very small, which made
them well suited to the tight space around my kiln. I also tore out the
interior hard brick on the kiln and replaced it with soft brick. In
addition, I tore down my old chimney, and rebuilt it with a smaller cross
section, using soft brick exclusively, and then added an additional six
feet of heighth to get it over the parapet wall that fronted it. Finally,
I ordered up an extra 7 inches water column gas pressure from the local
utility company. This is a real story of beauracracy run amok, as it
ultimately entailed also ordering and installing a huge pressure regulator
for my two inch gas line (another $1000). (Full details of all of this
meandering will be time filler in my next half dozen workshops...)
So, what happened? First firing, I was sailing out of sight of land,
without a compass. I was firing with a new fuel, with new stack, new
interior, new burners and new pressure. I just took the plunge and
followed my instincts. I reached temperature eventually, but without much
feeling of control or subtlety. The pots reflected those qualities when
they came out of the kiln, but they gave me clues to work on for the next
firing, as to burner settings, time/temp curve that seemed achievable,
etc. Second firing went much better. The thing went off like a rocket,
and I fired too hot, but the work looked much better. Third firing is just
turned off a couple of hours ago. It went fast, really fast for single
fire, but felt really good. I've figured out a firing cycle which gets it
on in mid/late afternoon, gives me an hour's break so I can go home for
dinner when it's at the steam emitting phase (where you want to take it a
bit slower) and then gives me a five hour break to go home and sleep when
it's approaching red heat and then getting to cone 08 (when all the nasties
are burning out of the clay and you also want to take it slow). It
finished off just after lunch, then I quick cooled it for 45 minutes before
popping on a couple of burners for a fire down/slow cool, for an hour and a
half. I've got to do that to give my glazes the qualities they've lost by
not having the hard brick interior anymore. We'll see how it comes out
tomorrow.
What I've found is that I don't need the full 14" water column pressure, as
I've not gone above 8" water column while firing yet. At that, cones 8
through 10 almost go down too fast to let the ash glazes develop as I would
wish them to. But, it's nice to have the extra power, if it's needed.
When I feel as though I've got the kiln humming, I reserve the right to
tear out the soft brick interior and reinstall the hard brick, as I do
truly enjoy the look of the glazes fired in this kind of kiln.
Now, the many thank yous...
First, to Val Cushing and Freddy Frederickson down at Alfred, a big thank
you for all of the advice, support, encouragement and hand holding.
And for all of the many on clayart who wrote/posted me:
Craig Martell, Hank Murrow, Vince Pitelka, John Baymore, Dave
Finkelnburg,John Britt, Bob Santerre, Jim Tabor, Barry Salaberry and Dannon
Rhudy.
To my old partner, Mike Frasca; to my old potting buddies who provided
shoulders to cry on...Maishe Dickman, Craig Easter, Stephen Hill and Cheri
Glaser.
And finally, to the members of the Academy, for nominating me for the
Oscar, and for believing in me all the while...YOU REALLY DO LIKE ME!! (OK,
enough of the comedy...sorry Sally Field).
But really, it does take an enormouse load off of my shoulders to feel as
though the "last" tool is working...at last!
Thanks again everyone,
Best,
Richard Aerni
Rochester, NY
sdr on sat 15 may 04
The below post from Richard Aerni ( I included the
whole thing in case anyone missed it) is an object
lesson for all, but particularly for less experienced
potters. Save it, hang it on the wall, re-read it on
occasion. Richard has been a potter for a long time,
and his work is thoughtful, intelligent, and truly beautiful.
The very useful point(s) of his post are not about HOW
he fixed what needed fixing. The post is really about
perseverance in the face of outrageous frustration; about
seeking advice/information from people who might have
useful ideas; about determination to solve a problem in
a different way, since what worked previously was no
longer the solution. An object lesson in accomplishment,
and grace under pressure. For him to send all this to the
list is of multiple benefit to any who read/keep it. Read it
from time to time. When you have a problem that's
making you crazy and seems insurmountable, re-read it.
There's always more than one way to solve a problem.
Thanks, Richard. This was just what I needed myself, today.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
From: "Richard Aerni"
> Hello everyone,
>
> Well, just to kind of give some closure to the story of my new kiln (for
> all of you out there who've been wondering and worrying! ), let me fill
> in all of the details.
>
> As you may recall, I was unable to get this kiln up to cone 10 (made it to
> 8) in it's initial firing, and I didn't want to fire it again until I'd
> made some changes that gave me more confidence that I'd get there the next
> time I fired. I'd received some advice just to drill out my orifices on
> the Alfred burners bigger, and did that, and prepped for the next firing,
> but after spending two nights tossing and turning, not feeling good about
> it, decided to change a number of things instead. I'm not a big fan of
> making multiple changes to a kiln, figuring that if I change but one, I
> have control of the experiment and can tell what is causing the change.
> But on this kiln, I felt it was a bunch of things making a difference, not
> just one, and decided to go for "the big fix". This was not only because
I
> wanted to get to cone 10, but wanted to get to cone 10 (I'm single firing)
> in a reasonable amount of time, given that the kiln isn't in my back yard
> anymore, and I really don't like sleeping on the studio couch 25-30 times
a
> year.
>
> So, what I did... First, I ordered burners, the MR-100s made by Gaco and
> sold by Marc Ward. They're reasonable in price, and very small, which
made
> them well suited to the tight space around my kiln. I also tore out the
> interior hard brick on the kiln and replaced it with soft brick. In
> addition, I tore down my old chimney, and rebuilt it with a smaller cross
> section, using soft brick exclusively, and then added an additional six
> feet of heighth to get it over the parapet wall that fronted it. Finally,
> I ordered up an extra 7 inches water column gas pressure from the local
> utility company. This is a real story of beauracracy run amok, as it
> ultimately entailed also ordering and installing a huge pressure regulator
> for my two inch gas line (another $1000). (Full details of all of this
> meandering will be time filler in my next half dozen workshops...)
>
> So, what happened? First firing, I was sailing out of sight of land,
> without a compass. I was firing with a new fuel, with new stack, new
> interior, new burners and new pressure. I just took the plunge and
> followed my instincts. I reached temperature eventually, but without much
> feeling of control or subtlety. The pots reflected those qualities when
> they came out of the kiln, but they gave me clues to work on for the next
> firing, as to burner settings, time/temp curve that seemed achievable,
> etc. Second firing went much better. The thing went off like a rocket,
> and I fired too hot, but the work looked much better. Third firing is
just
> turned off a couple of hours ago. It went fast, really fast for single
> fire, but felt really good. I've figured out a firing cycle which gets it
> on in mid/late afternoon, gives me an hour's break so I can go home for
> dinner when it's at the steam emitting phase (where you want to take it a
> bit slower) and then gives me a five hour break to go home and sleep when
> it's approaching red heat and then getting to cone 08 (when all the
nasties
> are burning out of the clay and you also want to take it slow). It
> finished off just after lunch, then I quick cooled it for 45 minutes
before
> popping on a couple of burners for a fire down/slow cool, for an hour and
a
> half. I've got to do that to give my glazes the qualities they've lost by
> not having the hard brick interior anymore. We'll see how it comes out
> tomorrow.
>
> What I've found is that I don't need the full 14" water column pressure,
as
> I've not gone above 8" water column while firing yet. At that, cones 8
> through 10 almost go down too fast to let the ash glazes develop as I
would
> wish them to. But, it's nice to have the extra power, if it's needed.
> When I feel as though I've got the kiln humming, I reserve the right to
> tear out the soft brick interior and reinstall the hard brick, as I do
> truly enjoy the look of the glazes fired in this kind of kiln.
>
> Now, the many thank yous...
> First, to Val Cushing and Freddy Frederickson down at Alfred, a big thank
> you for all of the advice, support, encouragement and hand holding.
> And for all of the many on clayart who wrote/posted me:
> Craig Martell, Hank Murrow, Vince Pitelka, John Baymore, Dave
> Finkelnburg,John Britt, Bob Santerre, Jim Tabor, Barry Salaberry and
Dannon
> Rhudy.
> To my old partner, Mike Frasca; to my old potting buddies who provided
> shoulders to cry on...Maishe Dickman, Craig Easter, Stephen Hill and Cheri
> Glaser.
>
> And finally, to the members of the Academy, for nominating me for the
> Oscar, and for believing in me all the while...YOU REALLY DO LIKE ME!!
(OK,
> enough of the comedy...sorry Sally Field).
>
> But really, it does take an enormouse load off of my shoulders to feel as
> though the "last" tool is working...at last!
>
> Thanks again everyone,
> Best,
> Richard Aerni
> Rochester, NY
>
>
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