LinR

Old Lady I feel your pain. I am in the process of getting rid of my kiln. I'm approaching my 84th birthday and am 5 inches shorter than you. It is too hard to get those old shelves into the kiln. I will go back to getting my pieces fires at the Club studio that I belong to. Love the idea of the old warped shelves as pasta bowls. Big party eh? Lin

That is exactly what I remember! I had wondered how correct my memory was. It was a long time ago. Lin

This subject reminded me of seeing Carlton Ball in the late 70s or early 80s. He had made several kinds of horns which worked and looked fantastic. I wonder if anyone here remembers his work? Lin

Many years ago I made a birdbath. The pedestal is a shaped open cylinder with the bowl sitting on top. I soon discovered that the local raccoons liked to get up to the water and tipped the bowl over and cracked or broke it a couple of times. The last bowl I made had a deep - 5 - 6 inch foot on it to fit inside the cylinder so the raccoons couldn't tip it off the top anymore. Lin

I think I will be firing my kiln for the last time tomorrow. At 84 it is getting too hard to lift those full shelves into my 7cu ft Olympic 5 burner updraft kiln. I think I'll go back to doing my firing at the studio that my group runs. Lin

A group of potters I belong to used to do a raku firing as a fund raiser. The members would make items in advance. We would haul all our equipment out to the site of a local fair and the public would buy a piece or 2, glaze under instruction of a member. The pieces would be dried on the lid of one of the 2 kilns we had going and put into the fire when ready. I don't think we ever had an explosion. Lin

I have used kiln posts on their sides frequently. Sometimes the side measurement gives you just the right height that you need. No Problem. Lin

Thank you everyone for the info you have given me. Who knew that someone in the UK would know Richler Pass? But as we are in BC that is a good probability. All this information is very useful and will help us sort out what we should keep and what goes. Yes we make our own glazes but as a group and individual members do not have access to these chemicals. I suspect we will want to get rid of anything that is Toxic. Unwanted chemicals will be offered to members who do make their own glazes in their own studios and then to other organizations which have pottery classes. Thank you so much, Lin

I belong to a organization of potters that has been in existence for about 55 years. Over that time retiring members have donated their chemicals to the Club and some of these have been used and some have been shoved to the back of the cupboards. We work in a studio in a public building. As we are going through a big reorganization of the studio we want to identify the uses of some of these materials we have been given and work out if they are of use to us or if we need to find a new home for them. I will list the materials and if anyone can help me as to their use I would greatly appreciate that. Or faling that is there a site I could consult? We use glazes that fire to Cone 6. Aluminum oxide Barnard clay Black iron oxide Burnt sienna Burnt umber Calcium carbonate precipitated Chromite CMC gum Iron ferrite Kaolin calcined Kaolin Tile 6 Kaolin Pioneer Kona Feldspar Lincoln fire clay Magnesium oxide Monarch china clay Mullite Red Art Clay Richler Pass Ash Saggar clay Tennessee Ball Clay Thompson China Clay White silica - coarse White silica - coarse Many thanks, Lin

Spray the glazed pots with hair spray and wrap with dry cleaner plastic. Works really well. Lin

Callie, I'm cheering for Sue. Another lovely person who is a very active member of the Fraser Valley Potter's Guild a group I belong to. However I'm really looking forward to seeing the whole group and what they might do. Lin

Finally a date! Thurs Feb. 8 on CBC and CBC GEM. Lin

Going into the CBC scheduling sites the information is that the show will air winter 2024. Lin

On leather hard clay, wax all over. Draw through the wax with a needle tool or your favorite tool. Apply the under glaze and wipe off the excess. Lin

And don't sand over the sink! That will plug up your drains in no time. Sand outside if possible. wear a mask and just be aware of the negatives of dust. Lin

Oh yay! indeed. If you get a date please let us know. Thanks for this info. Lin

Place a piece of cotton on the plaster slab, then your clay for recycling on that. You still get the water absorbed by the plaster without the clay coming in contact with the plaster. Lin

Assuming that your wire will fire to cone 6 without melting, the span of your rod needs to be addressed. If the rod sags at all the wires will slide together. If the length of the rod is worrying put a support in the middle. A shelf support of the right height will work. lin

I did a lot of clay work with my grandkids when they were little. Sometimes I had to make sure that joints were well enough joined and sometimes I would help them hollow out thick pieces. All came through the firing Lin

Pinch pots can be turned upside down and become bells. Lin

I have always used my regular cone 6 clay for Raku. No grog, just careful joining of parts. Lin

Thanks for posting this. Interesting research into a sad subject.. What a potter he was. Lin

I used to make large flat trays. I didn't put a foot on them and fired them on a 1/8" plus bed of silica sand. But I only fired to cone 6. I didn't grog the clay. Lin

I like the change that has been made today. The previous couple of weeks was not as good with several posts on the same subject. I prefer the variety. Lin

Thanks for all your suggestions. I shall relay them to the glaze chair. And yes we have been using Gerstley Borate instead of Colemanite. Lin