mel jacobson on thu 5 jan 06
one of the most dangerous things
in a kiln room is a throwing stool.
yes, a stool.
it is the same height as the weight that drops
to turn off a kiln.
if a chair or stool gets pushed near a kiln during
firing....the weight can fall on to the stools top.
fire all night. kiln gone.
it happened several times during my teaching career.
first time a janitor kicked the stool while cleaning.
it scooted right next to the kilns auto shut off.
kiln was ruined.
second time a kid must have gotten up fast...pushed
the stool back...same thing.
it is the simple, almost strange happening that gets you.
like falling off my porch roof. that is why they call them
accidents...you sure as hell did not plan it.
i banned all sitting stools and chairs from the
kiln room. but, this can happen in your own studio.
some use a chair to load the kiln...or to place pots on while
loading.
i did some dramatic things to make sure kilns
did not over fire. i wired a 220 V lite bulb
above my desk. a direct wire from the kiln. when the kiln was
on....the lite was on. if i left, turned off my office lites,
the lite was on over my desk.
oppps, kiln is on.
i have a second pilot lite on my back room kiln here
in minnetonka. the pilot is mounted on the wall. i can see it while
working in the studio. kiln is in another room.
computer controlled kilns are wonderful...but, don't trust one.
i still want a human pilot in every plane i fly on. even
if they have a computer aided flying machine.
mel
from mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://my.pclink.com/~melpots3
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