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Viewing Witness Cones


Pam S

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Any advise as to where to place the witness cone pack for the best view? I seem to be having a geat deal of difficulty with this. I bought a good pair of welders goggles to assist me but I still can't see the cones once the kiln gets up to cone 5 or 6. It's all a red blur with few shape definitions. Thanks!

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Kilns get pretty cloudy once you get into ^6-10,, I've always tried to put cone pack in front of a bowl or box , something solid - beat contrast- and ck and double ck as you brick up door and set up peep holes. also make sure perpendicular to peep , , even slight angel can make it diff to distinquish cones.

Have fun.................

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

Any advise as to where to place the witness cone pack for the best view?

 

This information is for electric kilns. If you position the cones just right, you can see them even at cone 10, when the kiln interior turns white-hot.

 

In formulating these guidelines, I tested a welder’s facemask, mirror, and high intensity flashlight. You don’t need those items, even for cone 10 viewing.

 

1) Place the cones 8" - 12" away from a peephole. Positioning them closer makes them difficult to see.

 

2) Have enough space around the cones to keep them from touching a piece of ware when they bend.

 

3) Position cones so that when viewed from the peephole, they are silhouetted by an element on the opposite kiln wall. (Keep cones at least 2" from an element.) The element that silhouettes the cones should be level with the lower part of the cone. If the element is in line with the upper part of the cone, you won’t be able to see the cone when it bends.

 

4) If you use the three-cone system, always have the higher temperature cone on the same side in every firing. Otherwise you can lose track of which cone is which.

 

5) Wear firing safety glasses when viewing the cones through the peephole.

 

Sincerely,

 

Arnold Howard

Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA

ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

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