mel jacobson on thu 1 dec 05
when to unload is a very controversial question:
it all depends.
your clay body will tell you when it is ready, same
for glazes and fit.
if you are getting loud pings...don't unload.
if you have a show starting in 15 minutes...just go for it.
we unload very hot kilns at the farm.
burn the grass/ burn holes on the wooden shelves.
open/ stoneware bodies can take it just fine.
and, no one is concerned.
often i am more concerned about the kiln, shelves etc. than the pots.
kevin caufield's pots started on fire a few years ago.
he was hauling them to a show...had them wrapped in paper.
the paper lit. `whoa, stop the car...the boxes of pots are on fire.`
now, that is `hot pots`.
if you are doing very tight porcelain...wait til it is cool.
i like to preach that slow cooling, down firing is very important.
slow everything down. it is to your advantage.
but at what moment you open the kiln depends on many factors.
you will learn them the hard way more than likely.
if there is no hurry, let it cool all the way to room temp.
but, some of us get impatient...want to see the pots.
flashlights
burning matches
light bulbs pushed against the spy hole.
hell, i never wait.
i open at 450F.
but then, i have a sandy, grog filled clay body...and glazes
that don't craze all over the place.
so, no big deal.
unload with two pair of gloves..`choppers`...(those are nordic leather gloves
with liners of wool. whole hand mittens.) we call them `doublechoppers`.
it still all depends on the personality of the potter.
to each his/her own.
mel
i am tempted to buy some of those new plastic/resin heat shield
gloves that chefs are using now. fancy. and good grippers too.
mark ward sells firemen's gloves. thousand degree heat protector gloves.
hmmm, think those would be trouble.
from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
Lee Love on thu 1 dec 05
At Northern Clay Center, I was unloading a non-car gas kiln glaze
firing. You had to climb in the kiln. When I noticed my tennis
shoe soles melting, I thought maybe we should have let it cool a little
more. ;-)
Lee in Mashiko
Elizabeth Priddy on thu 1 dec 05
I know how my work is changing by how eager I am to
open it.
If I smell smoke, I am really on to something. And
conversely, if I can handle it with bare hands, I
should work a little harder or get back to the sketchbook.
I learned that my shelves fit too tight by being at a
show and needing new pots that just finished that morning.
My husband got the hot knuckle trying to unload it for me
where my long fingers could get in there with welders gloves
on.
I use open clay bodies as well, and the Farenheit 451 test
is good. If you put a stump of twisted paper in the eye
hole and it smokes, you need to wait a while.
No smoke, open!
EP
Elizabeth Priddy
Beaufort, NC - USA
http://www.elizabethpriddy.com
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Gene & Dolita Dohrman on thu 1 dec 05
I do ^6 electric and never even pop the top till the kiln is below 200
degrees. Then I open and walk away, get a cup of coffee or tea, come back,
unload the top shelf, take out the shelves, walk away, come back, take out
the next level. It is almost a ritual. Never have pinging. Unless I have
Gartside tests in there...crazy stuff...they always seem to ping. My friend
and I do a lot of testing and sometimes she just can't wait to open the
kiln. She called me once and was pulling tests out of the kiln with tongs,
I think the kiln was at 375...I could hear pinging on the phone!
Dolita
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Debbie on thu 1 dec 05
> Subject: unloading hot kiln
> i am tempted to buy some of those new plastic/resin heat shield
> gloves that chefs are using now. fancy. and good grippers too.
> mark ward sells firemen's gloves. thousand degree heat protector gloves.
> hmmm, think those would be trouble.
>
>
> from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
> website: http://www.pclink.com/melpots
A word of caution about those chef's gloves:
I use them and they do work as advertised. However as they are an open knit
weave soft fabric it is possible to have skin come into contact with a hot
surface if holding something heavy or that has an edge that would apply
pressure to the glove while being held. I think for the kind of money that a
pair cost something better could be found.
Best Wishes, Debbie
Alistair Gillies on thu 1 dec 05
I used to work in pottery in Laugharne, South Wales and unpack the same kiln
of biscuit mugs EVERY morning and if I recall it would be back on again by
10.00 am firing the mugs made the day before [jolleyed mug with slip cast
handles, raw glazed inside] - it was one warm kiln,
Alistair
Above the Ironbridge Gorge
From: "Lee Love"
> At Northern Clay Center, I was unloading a non-car gas kiln glaze
> firing. You had to climb in the kiln. When I noticed my tennis
> shoe soles melting, I thought maybe we should have let it cool a little
> more. ;-)
>
>
> Lee in Mashiko
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