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I use 1/2 shelves in the bottom, sharing posts at the center positions. I have never had a downdraft blower before, and find that my glazes are brighter. That said, I wonder about the circulation using 1/2 shelves, better or doesn't matter? In the years before with the old kiln, shelf stilts almost never matched up vertically, and I probably broke all ot the rules at home concerning kiln loading, but got very tight loads with lots of pots. Had to take off top section ro reach the bottom and then put it back on to finish loading. Loved that old L&L, but baby sitting with a full load was rough on the sleep patterns! Now I load and forget, paying attention to the ap on the phone! best, Pres

I was a horder of materials in my mid carreer so I have all the tin I need back when I used a lot and it was cheap and buying 1 ton of Gerstley was dumb luck long ago and thats what is in my white liner which we use a lot of these days . Now days I never worry about price of materials if I need it I order it.

They are great shelves same as advancers in every way only cheaper

Something a little different just finished up in my studio this week! 'Smitten' medallion (small plaque) , sculpted by Rebecca Turner, produced in earthenware ceramic by Marge Para, and custom glazed by myself as a show donation for Clinky Mania Live 2024 in Titusville, FL this May. All work done in the kiln using underglazes, then satin clear, followed by some overglazes to punch up the colors in the cat. This ceramic medallion measures 3.5 by 5 inches and is going to public auction to benefit the show. Photo displayed is MUCH larger than the actual piece! I don't do many donation pieces anymore as I am just too busy but this is to help support a good friend's last year of hosting this show series for equine ceramics. With all the heavy storms up here we've had in these mountains the past week it's been hard to fire either of my kilns with so many power outages and all the lightning. But I finally got it done!

Thank you both, Min and Pres. That is a brilliant suggestion and answer.

bailey named his shelves thermal lite. i am looking into them right now.

Curious whether the option of casting w/ paper slip is possible (avoiding warping, cracking, etc). Since work may be traveling, weight could become an issue. Would likely buy pre-mixed gallons, perhaps from Laguna Clay. Can fire at bisque (04) to mid (5). Am using a large plaster mold, approx 17"x9". It's part of a sculptural piece, so likely will use paint, instead of glaze, to achieve specific PMS colors after casting. Experience?

I have a 28" kiln where shelves are 26" half diameter. I make plates that are about 12-14" for patens in communion sets. I can only get 3 to a layer in a regular stack, but by using a broken shelf under two, I can get 4 of these to a kiln shelf. Does not seem like much, but in a load it means a lot. best, Pres

You can for sure use wadding in an electric kiln to raise pots off a shelf or level shelves but I wouldn't use it on a glazed surface. If you stack plates with wadding between unglazed areas on the plates chances are the plates will warp and deform at mid or highfire. I don't know the price of setters compared to kiln shelves where you are but another option is to purchase small round kiln shelves and use those with short posts for setters. If you try this be careful to line up posts to prevent cracking a kiln shelf when you stack them, make sure the posts line up. When wadding is used in an atmospheric firing such as wood, salt or soda the vapours from the gasses in the kiln flash the pots but the areas where wadding is will resist the flashing.

Laguna has a chart showing all their claybodies and what they are recommended for, including throwing and handbuilding large. https://www.lagunaclay.com/_files/ugd/e5330f_25040094ad64486892fa46e3a38e608f.pdf

@chloemmetcalf What are the dimensions of the kiln interior. If we know the volume of the kiln we can compare that and the wattage to other kilns of similar size to get an idea of how hot it will get.

Thinking along Rae's line, a setup where you have a motor like that from a microwave turntable, and some jury-rigged pulleys and a belt, may work just fine, and could be done on the cheap. It's something I've thought about in the past and this thread has gotten me to thinking again. I've made banding wheels from thrift store ceiling fans and the motor can be got from a discarded microwave oven. It's something to consider if you are mechanically inclined.

Thank you so much!!

Since I can't find info on this I am guessing it may be a moronic question, if so I apologize. I am familiar with using wadding in gas kilns to stack items but I do not know if wadding can be used in electric kilns - I have seen plate stackers which are very expensive and have read mixed reviews on the outcome after their use. It occured to me that maybe I don't have to buy a plate stacker but can use wadding instead. A plate takes up so much real estate in the kiln so I do not make many - but I would like to. I know how to make the wadding from 50/50 EPK and Alumina. Another question related to this one is why, since the wadding does not stick to items, then why does it leave marks?

I'm using a white stoneware, IMCO "DC 3-5" ...of the several white stoneware clays I've tried, my glazes fit it; the others*, I had crazing. How suitable it is for large forms? ...it's fine for as large as I go. It does dry well, in that it holds its shape and is less prone to cracking than many others. *My glazes fit one other white stoneware I've tried, Clay Planet's "Venus White" - IMCO is closer, and we go by there several times a year...

Think about mounting the motor outside of the booth to avoid these issues.

Did you ever find the manual? If so, I would interested in having a copy as well.

They are still in business so a call to Amaco might be revealing. They also seem to sell Amaco motors as well as brushes on their site. Maybe matchup to what you have. Your motor hopefully has a nameplate. Amaco website https://shop.amaco.com/equipment/parts/brent/wheel-motors/

Thanks so much; I'll consider that. I've heard of gold in cracks but never thought of it in crazing. I'll look into it. I have some very low-fire gold "over-fire" (probably not the correct word, but that's the best I can do at this moment) that might be interesting. Might as well play with it. I'll refire it once at a slightly higher temp; and if that doesn't work at all, I'll give some of the other options, especially the gold, a try. Thanks.

In first post of the topic, Mark. Looks like been used for pottery re surface of bottom shelf... bisque kiln?

If the crackle was pretty dense and it does re-craze it might be worth considering an "iron wire and golden thread" effect.

Hi, I am wondering if you guys have a good white clay body recommendation for throwing large forms that I will then alter. I asked this already in another post and was told to try Soldate 60 which I will be doing I am just curious if there is a white/lighter clay body that’s good for what I’m trying to do. cheers T

One to look at might be this one for the blue, using the pot spar and cobalt carb you have (increase the cobalt carb to approx 1.60) for the blue glaze, not many ingredients in it and it has a good history. I'ld give it a try with the grolleg you already have. I would also try it with an increase the red iron oxide to tone down the blue a bit and maybe 1 - 1 1/2% manganese dioxide if you have some. For the rim and foot I'ld start with a test of a simple 50:50 mix of your wood ash + your local red clay and see what it does. I agree with Mark, the pot you posted looks more like a salt fired pot rather than soda.

Ended up ordering a black Brent CXC, thanks for the help everyone!