Kenneth D. Westfall on wed 17 jan 07
Post in the middle of the shelf? You using three posts or what?
Kenneth D. Westfall
Pine Hill Pottery
HC 80 Box 32
Harrisville, WV 26362-9507
kenneth@pinehillpottery.com
http://www.pinehillpottery.com
Nancy Udell on wed 17 jan 07
Yeesh, Kiln shelf disaster No. 27. After multiple trips to my
supplier to replace the thorley shelves we have all been having
problems with (post laguna purchase of thorley), and after reading
about good experiences folks were having with the chinese nitrite
bonded sil carbide shelves, i decided to spring for them. I have a
Skutt top loader and ordered from Axner four of the whole shelves
($103.00 each -- not too bad really given that the 1/2 cordelite
shelves are $30 each.)
The shelves came UPS. I was extra cautious. First let them warm up
in the house. Then left them in the kiln room of my studio during a
firing with old shelves. then i fired the shelves with no load to
05. Then i put a bisque load on the shelves. two cracked from the
post into the middle (bizarrely just like the thorley shelves were
doing) but did not break and one cracked in half -- broke into two
pieces. One appears undamaged. It was the top one that appeared to
have no damage. Second to bottom broke in two. First and third
cracked but did not break. Totally depressing.
I have not heard back from Axner customer service but I'm sure I
will. But a word of strong caution to all that these shelves may not
be the answer to the Thorley shelf problem. Also, the whole shelves
are quite heavy, FYI.
Has anyone else used the whole (12 -sided) shelves for top loading
electric and/or used them after they were shipped UPS? The boxes
when they came said "fragile" which can often be the kiss of death.
Right now, why this happened is still a mystery. If I learn more, I
will update.
Nancy Udell
Santa Fe, NM
Nancy Udell on thu 18 jan 07
Interesting. Mine were the full shelves. Pretty depressing. Have
not heard back from Axner cust service yet. . Will give them one
more day and call again. Thanks for the info.
Nancy
On Jan 18, 2007, at 6:55 AM, Vantuil Varges wrote:
> Nancy,
>
> I just recently got 7 of those 12 sided shelves for one of my kilns
> from axner, took forever to get them, fired to cone 11 without
> problems. They were 1/2 shelves for a skutt 1227. The rectangular
> shelves on the gas kiln have been fired a few times including one
> in a salt kiln so far no problems. I'm pleased with mine.
>
> Vantuil
>
William & Susan Schran User on thu 18 jan 07
On 1/17/07 11:58 AM, "Nancy Udell" wrote:
> I have not heard back from Axner customer service but I'm sure I
> will. But a word of strong caution to all that these shelves may not
> be the answer to the Thorley shelf problem. Also, the whole shelves
> are quite heavy, FYI.
>
> Has anyone else used the whole (12 -sided) shelves for top loading
> electric and/or used them after they were shipped UPS?
Hmmm... How to address this?
I have purchased supplies & equipment from Axner several times over a few
years. Except for a kiln that was strapped to a pallet and wheels that were
boxed, everything else I've gotten from them has been poorly packed. Several
times I've gotten boxes that looked like they were dragged behind the truck!
Most of the time all arrived ok, but the items were not packed tight enough
in the packing material to keep them from shifting around.
When I ordered Advancer shelves, they were shipped UPS. They were packed
with a cardboard sheet between the shelves and all surrounded by expanding
urethane foam material such that nothing moved in the box. There was at
least 4" of foam all around between the shelves and the box. Unpacked them,
loaded them in the kiln and fired up to ^10 the next day.
How were your shelves packed? Did it appear that they shifted around? Did
the box appear damaged?
I had posted a short time back my thoughts on the Chinese manufactured
shelves. Looking at the spec sheets, they appeared to be just as porous as
regular silicon carbide shelves and the composition only contained 20%
nitride bonded silicon carbide with 40% silicon carbide, then other
materials - I deleted the spec sheet, so I'm not certain of these
percentages.
I also got a 12-sided full and two half Advancer shelves. I've fired them in
the first "settling in" firing of a new L&L with no problems. The Advancers
are much more expensive - $244 for a single full shelf!
I know Advancers are susceptible to damage if they are knocked around a bit,
so I would expect that the less expensive shelves may also have physical
damage issues. Could be if your shelves were packed in paper, bubble wrap or
plastic peanuts, they may have been damaged in shipping, but if you don't
have the original packing material, it will be impossible to make a claim.
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
Ingeborg on thu 18 jan 07
> I have purchased supplies & equipment from Axner several times over a few
> years. Except for a kiln that was strapped to a pallet and wheels that
> were
> boxed, everything else I've gotten from them has been poorly packed.
> Several
> times I've gotten boxes that looked like they were dragged behind the
> truck!
> Most of the time all arrived ok, but the items were not packed
I received my order of nitrite bonded shelves from Axners via trucking
carrier yesterday and was disappointed that upon opening some of the
cartons, three shelves were broken. The damage was not visible from the
exterior and I've spoken to the carrier as well as customer service at
Axner. Now, I wonder if the shelves that appear to be fine are also
fractured and will fail in the firing.
I paid for the skid as well as $120 for packing. The packing in my opinion
has much to be desired. The shelves were packed in a cardboard box and
sandwiched between each shelf was a corrugated piece of cardboard the size
of the shelf. It would seem they ran out of the corrugated cardboard as
most of the shelves had 1/4 sheet (torn off a whole sheet) I would be
surprised if the packing cost $20.
I am sure they will make things right but really, it is disappointing and a
hassle to be sure.
Ingeborg
3058 Stringfellow Road
P.O. Box 510
Saint James City, FL 33956
http://www.thepottersworkshop.com
Ingeborg on sat 20 jan 07
I would suggest to Axner that you are uncertain about the remainder of the
> shelves and ask what they will do to guarantee the remainder of the
> shelves.
>
> Be certain to save all packing material and have the trucking company come
> out to inspect the shipment - it's really now between you and the trucking
> company, but I'm sure Axner will be helpful in a resolution.
>
> I know it would be a hassle, but since you live in Florida, what if you
> returned all of the shelves but driving them back and getting new ones?
>
> I don't know what the best answer is, but keep asking and demanding a
> satisfactory resolution.
>
>
It is a thought Bill, but they are a 6 hour drive from where I live and how
do I pack 35 shelves into my car. My ageing pick up cannot safely be driven
that kind of distance. I also recall they only had a total of 40 something
shelves and I got 35 of them.
Quite Frankly, I am not terribly interested in driving six hours one way to
return a defective product. I work 5+ days a week and my off days are
filled with a lot of other things.
I have saved the packing material but quite frankly, there is not much to
save or for the shipper to inspect. The broken shelves are in the carton
they were shipped but the rest are unpacked. The damage was not visible and
I already contacted the shipper (an hour after delivery) Warped shelves
would not qualify as trucking damage. I've also contacted Axner and they
said they would fill out the paper work but they had to check with
Corporate; for what I don't know.
Today I inspected the shelves - the ones that aren't broken and lo and
behold, a number of them are warped. One of the reasons for purchasing new
shelves was because my old ones are warped. I really don't need "new
warped" shelves. When I make a major purchase I guess my expectations are
different from this situation. When I phone again on Monday, I do hope I
can speak to a voice with a heartbeat and hope they will make all of this
right and in a timely fashion. What a disappointment and hassle.
Ingeborg
3058 Stringfellow Road
P.O. Box 510
Saint James City, FL 33956
http://www.thepottersworkshop.com
William & Susan Schran User on sat 20 jan 07
On 1/18/07 7:07 PM, "Ingeborg" wrote:
> I received my order of nitrite bonded shelves from Axners via trucking
> carrier yesterday and was disappointed that upon opening some of the
> cartons, three shelves were broken. The damage was not visible from the
> exterior and I've spoken to the carrier as well as customer service at
> Axner. Now, I wonder if the shelves that appear to be fine are also
> fractured and will fail in the firing.
I would suggest to Axner that you are uncertain about the remainder of the
shelves and ask what they will do to guarantee the remainder of the shelves.
Be certain to save all packing material and have the trucking company come
out to inspect the shipment - it's really now between you and the trucking
company, but I'm sure Axner will be helpful in a resolution.
I know it would be a hassle, but since you live in Florida, what if you
returned all of the shelves but driving them back and getting new ones?
I don't know what the best answer is, but keep asking and demanding a
satisfactory resolution.
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
William & Susan Schran User on sun 21 jan 07
On 1/20/07 9:22 PM, "Ingeborg" wrote:
>
> would not qualify as trucking damage. I've also contacted Axner and they
> said they would fill out the paper work but they had to check with
> Corporate; for what I don't know.
>
> Today I inspected the shelves - the ones that aren't broken and lo and
> behold, a number of them are warped.
I guess since Axner & Laguna merged, seems like Laguna is actually in
charge.
All purchases I've made with the school's corporate charge card are invoiced
with Laguna.
If you have shelves that are warped, cracked, or even chipped just a little,
I would demand replacement and that Axner/Laguna pay all shipping costs.
--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com
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