Pam S Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 I'm trying a new clay body, Helious/Loafers Glory porcelain,cone 6-11 from Highwater Clay. All my glazes are 5-6. What would you suggest for the bisque fire? Do I need to adjust the glaze firing? I have a batch of tiles drying to test. Any suggestions are appreciated! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bciskepottery Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 Helios (a porcelain) and Loafers Glory (a stoneware) are two different clay bodies. According to Highwater, Helios has an absorbency of 1% at both cone 6 and cone 10, while Loafers Glory has an absorbency of 3.9% at cone 6 and 1% at cone 10. Your bisque firing temperature is one of your choice -- 06, 05, 04. You might have some glaze fit issues -- using cone 5/6 glazes with cone 10 clay bodies. At cone 6, it does not appear Loafers Glory is fully mature and vitrified. You may also want to test the absorbency at your firing range to verify what the manufacturer states. Since your glazes are cone 5/6, why not use Highwater's Little Loafers, a cone 6 stoneware that has an absorbency of 1.9%? Better to use clay bodies and glazes that mature at the same firing temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam S Posted November 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 Helious and Loafers Glory were recommended for two projects I want to do. I was assured that both will work well at ^6. Since I'm a bit skepticaI of recommendations I only bought a bag of each to experiment with. That being said, what is the difference in bisque firing at ^06 vs ^04? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bciskepottery Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 The higher the bisque temperature, the stronger/harder the item will be for handling while glazing. Also, the higher bisque temperature items will not be as porous and absorbent of glaze as lower bisque items. But 06 vs. 04, I don't think there would be a whole lot of difference. Some bisque to lower temperatures -- 012, 010, 08 and have adjusted their glaze viscosity to work with bisque done at those temperatures. A higher bisque will also help ensure any carbon-based stuff and other ingredients in your clay body burns out -- but that is more of a concern for red and brown clay bodies than a white porcelain and white stoneware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 Porcelain tends to be a bit more absorbent in bisque form than stoneware, so a little higher bisque will give you more control in glaze application. I like my porcelain bisqued to 04. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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