Liz Willoughby on wed 2 nov 05
Dear Claybuds,
Tried to post the results of the wood kiln firing twice with no luck.
I have a sneaking suspicion that it is because the subject line said
"Hog Barn Baby Wood Kiln, etc." Who knows?
I do have a few questions for the people who fire with wood, or have
a wood kiln.
1.) This kiln has an arch, and is a variation of Peggy Udall's kiln.
There is a picture of it in Troy's book.
There is a double flue, high chimney, works well. However a few of
the bricks on the outside have cracked all the way through. What do
you suggest in the way of fixing them? (or should the chimney be
stabilized in some way?) Not sure if it is possible to remove them
and replace them. I think not.
2.) Most of the kiln fired to cone 11, some places to cone 10. It
fired faster than anticipated the last 3 hours, people were watching
the pyrometer, (which seemed stuck at 1900F), instead of watching the
cones, which were actually falling 8 and 9, and one hour later cone
11 flat. And of course, they were rustling up them there ashes.
Some of the shinos looked dead or grey. Now is that because they
were oxidized? Some were quite deep orange, nice melted ash, on some
pots the ash did not melt.
3.) There were perhaps 4 or 5 different claybodies in the kiln as
there were 7 women who all work with different clays, bought at two
different pottery supplies. Some of the pots that had no slip or
glaze on the outside looked way better than the pots with the slips.
I believe the winner for the clay, was Tucker's Smooth Stone. Nice
warm orangy tones without slips. It is a buff clay.
4.) Is it all a crap shoot????
To end, I will say that there were some outstanding pots in the kiln.
There was a tiny pot glazed on the outside with Reitz's green that
had crystals to die for. We fired on a Monday night/Tuesday, and
unstacked the following Monday, so it really cooled down very slowly.
Next time, we should pay more attention to the cones!, slow down the
kiln for a gradual slow soak climb, and I think that ash will melt
the way it should. And not stoke after cone 9???? How long?? BTW, we
used pine with bark.
Any other advice is welcomed. We will be firing next spring again.
And do I feel blessed to be part of this group of women that have
this beautiful kiln that MARK PETERS built with us.
--
Meticky Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada
"Why should we be in such desperate haste to succeed, and in such
desperate enterprises? If a man does not keep his pace with his
companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let
him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."
Henry David Thoreau
Hank Murrow on wed 2 nov 05
On Nov 2, 2005, at 1:59 PM, Liz Willoughby wrote:
>
> 2.) Most of the kiln fired to cone 11, some places to cone 10. It
> fired faster than anticipated the last 3 hours, people were watching
> the pyrometer, (which seemed stuck at 1900F), instead of watching the
> cones, which were actually falling 8 and 9, and one hour later cone
> 11 flat. And of course, they were rustling up them there ashes.
> Some of the shinos looked dead or grey. Now is that because they
> were oxidized? Some were quite deep orange, nice melted ash, on some
> pots the ash did not melt.
OK Liz, try re-firing those nasty shinos, and if possible give them a
soak in oxidation on the way down, say around 1900F. I just re-fired
some woodfire shino that turned out puky initially, and they looked
great! after the re-fire.
>
> 4.) Is it all a crap shoot????
No, but it depends upon careful observation from fire to fire to find
the best spots for each glaze. I usually glaze for those spots which I
know others will not want. Aftern a couple of fires, they all want 'my'
spot!
>
> To end, I will say that there were some outstanding pots in the kiln.
> There was a tiny pot glazed on the outside with Reitz's green that
> had crystals to die for.
I have seen those from my fires.
>
> Next time, we should pay more attention to the cones!,
Those type K thermocouples are no use after cone 5, so your observation
is not surprising. A platinum/Rhodium thermocouple will solve the
problem, at some cost.
> slow down the
> kiln for a gradual slow soak climb, and I think that ash will melt
> the way it should. And not stoke after cone 9???? How long?? BTW, we
> used pine with bark.
The soak will help, for sure.
Sounds like you all are having fun,
Hank in Eugene
www.murrow.biz/hank
Paul Herman on wed 2 nov 05
Hi Liz,
I'll try to answer below.
Paul Herman
Great Basin Pottery
Doyle, California US
http://greatbasinpottery.com
On Nov 2, 2005, at 1:59 PM, Liz Willoughby wrote:
> Dear Claybuds,
> Tried to post the results of the wood kiln firing twice with no luck.
> I have a sneaking suspicion that it is because the subject line said
> "Hog Barn Baby Wood Kiln, etc." Who knows?
>
> I do have a few questions for the people who fire with wood, or have
> a wood kiln.
>
> 1.) This kiln has an arch, and is a variation of Peggy Udall's kiln.
> There is a picture of it in Troy's book.
> There is a double flue, high chimney, works well. However a few of
> the bricks on the outside have cracked all the way through. What do
> you suggest in the way of fixing them? (or should the chimney be
> stabilized in some way?) Not sure if it is possible to remove them
> and replace them. I think not.
I wouldn't fret about a few cracked bricks in the chimney. That said
however, we did put an angle iron framework on our chimney, to keep
it squeezed together.
>
> 2.) Most of the kiln fired to cone 11, some places to cone 10. It
> fired faster than anticipated the last 3 hours, people were watching
> the pyrometer, (which seemed stuck at 1900F), instead of watching the
> cones, which were actually falling 8 and 9, and one hour later cone
> 11 flat. And of course, they were rustling up them there ashes.
> Some of the shinos looked dead or grey. Now is that because they
> were oxidized? Some were quite deep orange, nice melted ash, on some
> pots the ash did not melt.
They sound possibly oxidized, but the unmelted ash sounds underfired.
Maybe a fast finish didn't allow the heat to get into all the
corners? Maybe quit stirring the ash up at the end, so as to give it
a little time to melt. Pyrometers can be distracting. I have to make
sure not to watch it too much, and have even thought of banning it
for a while.
>
> 3.) There were perhaps 4 or 5 different claybodies in the kiln as
> there were 7 women who all work with different clays, bought at two
> different pottery supplies. Some of the pots that had no slip or
> glaze on the outside looked way better than the pots with the slips.
> I believe the winner for the clay, was Tucker's Smooth Stone. Nice
> warm orangy tones without slips. It is a buff clay.
>
> 4.) Is it all a crap shoot????
No, even though it seems so right now. I'm using at least half a
dozen different claybodies in different locations. Sounds daunting,
but I like it! At various times I've made declarations about what
clay is "best", only to change my tune later. Right now very groggy
rough bodies don't appeal to me much in the woodfire. Now, I don't
think there's a best.
>
> To end, I will say that there were some outstanding pots in the kiln.
> There was a tiny pot glazed on the outside with Reitz's green that
> had crystals to die for. We fired on a Monday night/Tuesday, and
> unstacked the following Monday, so it really cooled down very slowly.
>
> Next time, we should pay more attention to the cones!, slow down the
> kiln for a gradual slow soak climb, and I think that ash will melt
> the way it should. And not stoke after cone 9???? How long?? BTW, we
> used pine with bark.
Keep going until cone 11 bends. Slow down at the end, and maybe hold
it there for a bit.
Good luck next time,
Paul
> Any other advice is welcomed. We will be firing next spring again.
> And do I feel blessed to be part of this group of women that have
> this beautiful kiln that MARK PETERS built with us.
> --
> Meticky Liz from Grafton, Ontario, Canada
>
Bacia Edelman on thu 3 nov 05
Liz: I liked reading about your venture with the women's group of woodfirers.
I am hardly the person to give advice re woodfiring.
Yet I do want to say that I just received four pieces back from a woodfiring
kiln, friend's, who does not expect me to help any more. I give him books e.g.
The one piece WITHOUT any glaze, with a few sieved ashes sprinkled on lightly,
was a winner. For my taste anyway. Someone thought I had put the glaze on too
thin. It was rich and I had used a rutile wash (marta's inspiration) onto
a leaf impression and sponged it off. I intend to make more work for next
April's firing ---without any glaze!
Re leaves, I sometimes think they can be "corny" and would use a hammer if it
turned out that way. One of my favorite pieces ever from a woodfiring kiln
had a shino with a huge leaf (copped from the Arboretum and pressed flat)
on top
of the glaze. Somehow the ash and the leaf made music together, color and
texture
were amazing, never to be repeated.
I would love to see pictures of the work with which you are pleased, Liz.
Best wishes,
Bacia
Bacia Edelman
Madison, Wisconsin
http://users.skynet.be/russel.fouts/bacia.htm
http://www.silverhawk.com/artisan/clay/edelman/index.html
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