timbo_heff

You can supplement best practice of minimal dust with wet wiping with an air filter. This is a good HEPA rated one: it is small but affordable. If you are being good about not creating tons of dust this would be helpful in cleaning the micro particles out of the air. There are large filters for big spaces but for a small home studio these are great: Austin Air HealthMate | Hepa Filter Air Purifier | Sheffield Pottery (sheffield-pottery.com)

I like the Olympic Electrositter. Pop off the Kiln sitter: put this where the kiln sitter was, connect a couple wires: pretty easy! By default it comes with the capable Bartlett 3 key controller but for small money you can select the 12 key version: much friendlier or even the newest Bartlett Touch wifi enabled controller: Electro Sitter | Kiln Controller | Sheffield Pottery (sheffield-pottery.com)

Wow. that is rough! I agree with Neil et al: not worth the trouble and expense: if you want a small kiln for hobby pottery at home you can get a nice, brand new little Evenheat that will be fun and satisfying for about the same money as fixing that one: Thinking of something like the Evenheat RMII 1413 : nice kiln: small money, no fuss! Evenheat RM II 1413 Cone 8 Kiln | Sheffield Pottery Kilns (sheffield-pottery.com)

I always worry about people outgrowing the 18" height being that 16" is about the tallest pot they can fit. I am not a great thrower but as I get better I can see being able to throw taller than that. So with potters who are not just making tiles, plates, and platters I find that 22.5" is the perfect compromise! I think Olympic had this height first, then Skutt . It's smart that Cone Art, and L&L Kilns have followed suit. So many great options now for people! A really brilliant one is the square Cone Art 2322DSQ: has the 22.5" height but since it is 23" square it is still a full 7 cub

The new L&L M size is great for us shorter folks: They are 22.5" as Neil mentioned. I am about 5'5" with shoes on and I struggle to reach the bottom of a regular 3 ring 27" kiln such as e23T or 28T. The 2 ring size worries me as you don't want something you will out grow if you start making taller work. The 2 and 1/2 ring "M" size is MUCH easier to load without really sacrificing much space and still fits pretty tall pots! L&L E23M-3 Easy-Fire Kiln Package | Sheffield Pottery Kilns (sheffield-pottery.com)

That's great advice ! Also stacking tall and loose down low and small and tighter up high is good for evenness in these like it is for single zone electric kilns. They are really cool and versatile kilns once you get to know them... would love to have one myself one day! Olympic Gas Raku and TorchBearer Kilns (sheffield-pottery.com)

Stacking loose and tall down low and tight and small up high can help single zone kilns fire more evenly too!

Couple ways to digitize a kiln sitter kiln: Skutt Wall Mount controller is great but not cheap ($1000+), but the Olympic Electrositter is great too and close to half money: You can get it with 3 key, 12 key or even the Genesis touch Kiln controller. pretty easy too: take off kiln sitter and replace with the Electrositter: just a couple wires; . Electric Kiln Controller | Digital Kiln Controller (sheffield-pottery.com)

I had a great teacher show that by reducing the amount of friction between your fingers and the clay by throwing with just the very tip of one finger on the inside and one on the outside you can move a lot more clay with a lot less water. My pots got a lot lighter, bigger, better, easier and a heck of a lot less messy after absorbing that technique

They often make a noise that is easy to fix: take off the head: if you see a round metal cover that the shaft goes through: slip take that off, put a little grease on it, or if you don't have any: use your finger to pick up a little grease from the bearings there and rub it on the underside of that disc. It doesn't take much. When that disc gets a little dry, it spins with the head rotation and rubs there: common shimpo squeak even on new ones,

Shelf paper is for glass firing: Best practice for kiln wash is 3 fired on coats per below; The prob with the stuff is that you can't flip your shelves which will extend their life. I think better to dry foot, use stilts, and or when you throw the foot area of your pots : leave a little glaze catching edge (but not always practical or aesthetically correct) Here is best practice though: DIRECTIONS FOR USE Kiln wash is applied to kiln shelves to protect them from glaze drips. On a washed shelf, drips can be easily removed without gouging or marring the kiln shelf. Mix the kiln wash wit

An easy trick is a plastic grocery bag: : works nice for signing leather clay with a dull pencil too!

...or work for them. Nope, I don't work for them. I see lots of brands in the work I do, and to me these stand out in the top loader format.

The cone arts are excellent: the board is a better insulator than soft brick so it's quite a bit more efficient than 3 " brick: it's more like 4". They do not make solid jacket kilns. they are all sectional except for the test kiln. Use a full shelf on the bottom so stuff doesn't fall into the element. They have 3 zones standard which is great. They have a great lid new hinge design that is not only safer but it disperses the weight of the lid when lifting it so it does not stress the bricks where the hinge attaches. The lid goes behind the kiln a bit when opening it so it is much easier