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I don't think you can just put a block of clay into a container and suck the air out of it. The clay is likely much too dense for that. When clay goes through a pugmill vacuum chamber it's being moved around and cut up via the auger, or in the case of larger industrial 2 stage puggers, it's cut into small bits as it enters the vacuum chamber, then moved out via an auger.

Going to try Soldate 60, will let you know how it goes. I threw with Laguna buff sculpture the other day and it was super gritty and pretty uncomfortable to throw with but perhaps that's just an adjustment I need to make from B-Mix.

I have been recycling my clay and general have about 20 lbs each time I do it. I heave wedged it until the cows come home but it seams like there is almost always a air bubble that ruins my project. Has anyone tried using a vacuum bowl after wedging to remove the air bubbles. I know some pug mulls use a vacuum system. Thanks

Will do.

I am hoping to model some of Shimaoka's work, particularly his jomon pots in cobalt blue. The brilliance of the cobalt is wonderful and the rope inlays are human. I cannot soda fire because my kiln is a converted soft brick kiln, but I regularly fire cone 10 reduction with ease. Is there any way to mimic these surfaces? I have experimented with little success. I primarily use a local iron rich stoneware as my body and keep my glazes simple, all under 5 ingredients. It is an idyllic way of approaching glaze, I admit, but the materials' integrity gets lost in complex recipes (to me). I have also seen some interesting results with thickly applied shino's that are regularly white with some blushing that utilize the addition of cobalt. Hopefully I can avoid this predicament in the future by building a salt kiln! thanks all.

I prefer half shelves. More flexibility, easier loading, and half shelves tend to last longer. Posting gets awkward when using both full and half, because you end up having to use 4 posts on a full shelf and they don't always sit evenly, which puts a lot of stress on them.

i am/was in contact with him as of 5/3/2024. He just blocked my email after requesting a refund. i talked with him on messenger and now he is ignoring me there too. i made a post putting him on blast on facebook. i want a refund. And if I don't get it by May 30th I am filing a police report. I have been nice and understanding about his physical health for the last two years. We are being taken advantage of. I also heard he gets really nasty with people.

I know my customer, and he's a picky gallery owner. And, I have an exclusive contract with him, so selling it retail is not an option. My decision is to give the higher-fire a try; and if it doesn't work, give it to one of my relatives, who won't care if it isn't perfect. Thanks to all of you who responded; you helped me make my decision.

I have fired many large pots and sculptures that filled the kiln. Taking the kiln apart and candling over night is the way to go, I also use a shelf to build and fire it on, I pick one that is not in the greatest shape. I am getting ready to work on new sculpture, I have already figured out a way to make it in two pieces so I don't have to take my new kiln apart. It only has 16 firings on it and it is bigger around than my old skutt but shorter. The rings are harder to manage, I am not ready to bump, scuff and chip the edges yet. Denice

They will be fragile flower pots that can't hold up to freezing weather. Denice

I have one purchased set of half shelves, eventually your full shelves break in half. I use them as half shelves, I always end with steadier stack when I use full shelves. Two half shelves cost more than one full shelf. Denice

M390 changes colour quite a bit between bisque and cone 6. It’s a much darker, warmer red at that temp if aesthetics are of concern. If you like the look of your flower pots as-is, leaving them porous is probably better from a functional standpoint.

I spoke with my supplier last week, and they said that Plainsman has a 4 year supply IF no one hoards it. Mike at Ceramics Canada has said he won’t sell more than a 50 lb bag at a time unless you’ve been making your own clay body with it. So please don’t panic buy. Give everyone ample time to reformulate behind the scenes while still using their current stock.

While I’m one of the first people who will usually say it’s a bad idea to sell crazed functional ware, why are concerned about crazing on sculptural work? Sculptures don’t have the same durability demands placed on them as dishes. They might have their own durability demands if they’re outside, but I digress.

So how about a few full shelves and a few half shelves? That should give you the flexibility you may need or want...

Yes, I should have. I had been away from clay for over a year and just dived back in without testing anything. Bad choice. From what you say about underfired can craze, I guess it won't hurt to give it a try. Thanks so much.

I have similar, but have also used tupperware boxes, cardboard boxes lined with large plastic bin bags, and fruit boxes, also li Ed. Anything that is larger "enough".

@tman123 don't forget to report back, we always want to know how things turn out. It helps us to learn.

Usually, best "performance" of finished pots is when they are fired to maturity.

At the top RHS of the green stripe near the top of the page. BUT the inbuilt search only looks at "active" threads. The only way I know to search closed threads is via a normal search engine. PS Personally I use google with something like this site:community.ceramicartsdaily.org aubergine ... which only gives 3 hits. BTW the site: directive works for google, but not for DuckDuckGo. No idea about other search engines. The search site: community.ceramicartsdaily.org gas kiln gave "About 2,740 results" for me. Although the exact number probably depends on the vagaries of the internet. Needless to say I usually only look at the first few hits (and other posts in the same thread). Frequently using their contents to refine the search terms - as I did when looking into manganese "violets".

Thanks for that. In the laser there are 4 burners at front right, through the floor. Flue outlet is most of back wall ca 3” high so bottom shelf can be set above it. is there a manual for this kiln? also, I’m new to this community. Is there a “notification “ or “search topics” function?

I was thinking about getting some advancer shelves and was wondering if you all prefer full shelves or half shelves for your electric kilns? Say for a typical size like 23"x27" or something like that. I was thinking about doing a full shelf for the bottom and then all half shelves, but then lining up posts would be a little trickier (I could put 6 posts under the bottom full shelf I guess) and I couldn't do very many platters since I don't want to span the two half shelves. But all full shelves really doesn't seem too flexible...

Underfired glazes can craze for sure. I always stress test glazes for fit before putting them into production.

I have a very long-time, very picky gallery owner, so that's why I'm anxious about sending it as is. His gallery is my "bread-and-butter," so I don't want to upset things. Yes, the crazing doesn't bother me, but . . . . Plus, it's only about 8 hours to get another one built, fired, etc. Thanks again. I agree with what you said about the crazing's coming back slowly even with a fix, (bad fit is bad fit) and I really don't think the higher fire will solve the problem. (I think I'm going to have another happy relative pretty soon.) I know from experience, too, that spending too much time on a piece that has a problem is usually a waste of time and that I could have made another one in the time I've fussed over the bad piece -- which probably wouldn't have turned out right anyway. Oh, well, it's only work -- and experience. Thanks.