Andie Plamondon on mon 18 jul 05
I recently had my first kiln explosion since college - at the cost of every
one of the 70 pieces in there (what a mess & a loss!) So I'm a little
paranoid.
I now have a kiln loaded with a large number of tall pieces. The top shelf
is packed tight with very tall ewers and teapots, and some sculptural
pieces. The tallest two are barely shorter than the kiln lid (maybe 1/4", if
that).
Will this be a problem with the bisque? Is there a particular distance I
need to keep things from the lid, or for that matter, the shelves above?
Thanks -
:) Andie Plamondon
Handful of Earth Pottery
Laurel, DE
www.handfulofearth.com
Charan Sachar on wed 20 jul 05
This is something I wanted to ask too because I noticed something
interesting in my recent bisque firings in my new L&L.
I loaded the first bisque with sufficient clearance from the lid and was
firing test tiles along with other thrown stuff. I had test tiles of Idaho
buff and fired to Cone 04.
In my second firing, when I was done loading I still had 3-4 inches of
space on the top where I put a shelf and lay some test tiles laying down
with clearnce of maybe 1/2" from the lid. In this firing the Idaho buff
test tiles on the top shelf fired to a lighter tan compared to others in
the kiln and the previous firing. I had expected the top to fire a little
cooler and I guess that is what happened. But guess what? I had placed
witness cones (04) on all the shelves and they all bent perfectly and the
same way. So the cone shows it fired to full temperature but the clay body
shows a difference in color. What I didn't do was put witness cones Cone
05 and Cone 03 as well. May be that might indicate that it does fire a
little cooler on the top.
I don't think this answers your quesiton but I thought I would throw in
this finding anyway.
Thanks
Charan
Federal Way, WA
www.creativewithclay.com
Earl Brunner on wed 20 jul 05
In my experience, I don't like to put short shelves on either the top or the bottom of the kiln. they usually do't get as hot as shelves that leave more space. Easy to confirm or disprove on your part, just put some cones onthe shelf the next time you try it. If you have an under-kiln vent system that pulls air through holes in the lid, then that short tight shelf at the top will for sure be cold. I usually put at least 8inches of space at the bottom or top.
Charan Sachar wrote:This is something I wanted to ask too because I noticed something
interesting in my recent bisque firings in my new L&L.
I loaded the first bisque with sufficient clearance from the lid and was
firing test tiles along with other thrown stuff. I had test tiles of Idaho
buff and fired to Cone 04.
In my second firing, when I was done loading I still had 3-4 inches of
space on the top where I put a shelf and lay some test tiles laying down
with clearnce of maybe 1/2" from the lid. In this firing the Idaho buff
test tiles on the top shelf fired to a lighter tan compared to others in
the kiln and the previous firing. I had expected the top to fire a little
cooler and I guess that is what happened. But guess what? I had placed
witness cones (04) on all the shelves and they all bent perfectly and the
same way. So the cone shows it fired to full temperature but the clay body
shows a difference in color. What I didn't do was put witness cones Cone
05 and Cone 03 as well. May be that might indicate that it does fire a
little cooler on the top.
I don't think this answers your quesiton but I thought I would throw in
this finding anyway.
Thanks
Charan
Federal Way, WA
www.creativewithclay.com
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