Fredrick Paget on fri 29 apr 05
I am back home nearly 3 weeks in Nanaimo, B.C..Canada at the TOZAN
noborigama. The firing was hot - cone 11 with 12 starting to go and
there was a lot of trouble with pots sticking together or to the
shelves which usually result in a hunk broken out of the foot.
I had a real nice bottle that stuck to the shelf and in grinding the
bottom I had the whole bottom break off. The clay was Sandstone Buff
and it almost bloated, It does not like the TOZAN, Too much iron in
it, I guess. I was able to grind it perfectly flat with my lapidary
disk and it looks fine except if you pick it up there is no bottom in
it! I am trying to make a flat disk and fire it to cone 10 and then
glaze it and put on the bottle. I wonder if I would be better off
using epoxy to attach it or can I fire it on at cone 04 with low fire
clear glaze? Some will say I should not waste time on it but a trip
to TOZAN is not something I do every year.
The TOZAN is in its last days, since the college on whose land it is
located wants it out of there. We are now surrounded by new
development that was not there when the kiln was built. There are new
student housing units being built just a hundred feet away. You
can't have a wood fired kiln in such a surrounding.
The Tozan Cultural Society is searching for a new location where we
can move the kiln. It is a daunting task. At first we will probably
build a smaller kiln to keep firing and rebuild the noborigama with
one or two less chambers, In the last two firings I have been at, the
upper chambers were empty anyway.
TOZAN is a huge kiln with five chambers. It came about when Les
Beardsley went to a firing of the Tozan design at the University in
Flagstaff Arizona. It was designed as a replica of an ancient
Japanese noborigama restored by Yukio Yamamoto. Les got things
organized in NanaimoB.C. to build the 3rd Tozan in Nanaimo. Crane
Company had just closed a sanitary ware factory in Vancouver B.C. and
there was a wealth of bricks and carbide kiln furniture available. I
don't know how it came to pass but Les got Yuki to come to B.C. and
the Tozan Cultural society was formed to build on land loaned by the
Malaspina University College at the far edge of the campus. Sadly Les
is aging and no longer can lead the effort but new blood is now in
charge.New Members are welcome . See the web site:
http://www.tozan.bc.ca/ for pictures of the firings etc.,also:
http://www.mala.bc.ca/~tozankiln/ for the history.
--
From Fred Paget,
Marin County, CA, USA
fredrick@well.com
Charter Member Potters Council
dannon rhudy on sat 30 apr 05
I am saddened to learn that these are the last days of
the Tozan. A beautiful kiln, and I saw some beautiful
work come out of it. There were constant problems
the last few years, though, with all the "smoke suppressing"
devices that the government wanted to add to the stack.
Caused a melt-down, and then those problems had to
be addressed, too.
The Beardsleys did yoman work to keep it running,
and are to be congratulated for their years of effort.
I hope space can be found for a re-build. Long live
the Tozan.
regards
Dannon Rhudy
Mike Gordon on sat 30 apr 05
On Apr 29, 2005, at 7:40 PM, Fredrick Paget wrote:
> I am back home nearly 3 weeks in Nanaimo, B.C..Canada at the TOZAN
> noborigama. The firing was hot - cone 11 with 12 starting to go and
> there was a lot of trouble with pots sticking together or to the
> shelves which usually result in a hunk broken out of the foot.
> From Fred Paget,
> Marin County, CA, USA
> fredrick@well.com
> Charter Member Potters Council
Fred, I think if you check with Quyle Kilns, you will find that
"Sandstone Buff" is only rated to about Cone 9. Mike Gordon
>
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Maurice Weitman on sun 1 may 05
At 6:59 PM -0700 on 4/30/05, Mike Gordon wrote:
> Fred, I think if you check with Quyle Kilns, you will find that
>"Sandstone Buff" is only rated to about Cone 9. Mike Gordon
Actually, Mike, Quyle's Sandstone Buff box says it's good from 04 to 10.
What a joke. Beats Laguna's "ranges" by a mile; what are they thinking?
I (and I believe Fred - at College of Marin) have fired Sandstone
Buff to cone 10 with no probs in reduction. Soda was another matter
-- especially if not bisqued high enough.
Regards,
Maurice
Carl Finch on sun 1 may 05
At 02:54 PM 5/1/2005, Maurice Weitman wrote:
>At 6:59 PM -0700 on 4/30/05, Mike Gordon wrote:
>> Fred, I think if you check with Quyle Kilns, you will find that
>>"Sandstone Buff" is only rated to about Cone 9. Mike Gordon
>
>Actually, Mike, Quyle's Sandstone Buff box says it's good from 04 to 10.
>
>What a joke. Beats Laguna's "ranges" by a mile; what are they thinking?
"What are they thinking?" I'm thinking they're thinking that they are
actually tightening up the specs on Sandstone Buff. 'Cuz my boxes of the
clay say "Cone 4 to 12"! (Sorry, Maurice, as they say, "the first liar
hasn't a chance!" ;-)
Of course those five boxes of this Quyle buff stuff are 30 years old--yes,
really!--and it's more than a little on the stiff side! :-)
--Carl "give a holler and slake me, slake me, go ahead and slake me, I love
ya" Finch
in Mudford, Oregon, w/ apologies to Frank Loesser
Mike Gordon on mon 2 may 05
On May 1, 2005, at 2:54 PM, Maurice Weitman wrote:
>
> Actually, Mike, Quyle's Sandstone Buff box says it's good from 04 to
> 10.
>
>
> Regards,
> Maurice
Thanks Maurice for the info, I learned to throw with Sandstone Buff
back in the 60's but we fired it to only cone 5. We used Quyles R-3 I
think it was, for cone 9 firings, at The College of Arts And Crafts in
Oakland, Ca., in St Elmer, their old brick down draft, long since torn
down when the new ceramic building was built., Mike Gordon
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
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> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.
>
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