JohnnyK

Welcome to the Forum, ShadePeg...The WC401 is NOT a porcelain clay although it is a smooth clay similar to porcelain. The firing pegs you show here look like they could be slip cast or press molded from something other than a smooth clay. The bubbles would tend to indicate slip cast... I would think that the B-Mix would stand up to repeated firings in your environment but I would take some time to run some tests before you make your final selection. Since you already have the clay on hand, I would run a number of pins you have fabricated through a series of test cycles along with the firings y

Another alternative to the duct tape which can get sticky over time is the flexible black automotive wire loom material in 1/4" or 3/8". You can get it at any auto supply store and even Amazon.

I'm guessing that the translation for "torch" would be "Flashlight" on this side of the pond...

With regard to what Bill has noted, unless you have a leaking gas tank or fuel system on your vehicle or an open gas can or other highly volatile compound in the carport, I don't think that there would be any problems with firing your electric kiln in an open fronted carport...BUT, if you have any concerns about that, set up a fan between your kiln and car to dissipate any fumes. Welcome to the Forum, David!

Any reason you couldn't bring the "leftovers" home in a plastic bag and dry and wedge it there?

In my experience, I have found that re-firing will probably change the characteristics of the glaze outcome unless the glaze is pretty basic. Here are a couple of pix of a bowl that had a defect which I tried to repair. The second firing caused other problems, but you can see where the glaze is different in the 2nd firing.

I think if you use a plastic mold or mold liner, you would have to spray it or wipe it with some sort of mold release to remove your clay object quickly since the plastic will not absorb water...I don't know if the mold release would cause problems with the clay afterwards. On your second thought about using the plastic cup as a liner...why not just use the plastic liner as your original mold? That would save the step of making a mold of the plastic cup...

Now that my hobby farm crops are all planted, I'll be spending more time building inventory for a pottery booth at the local farmer's market. That's right... pottery at the farmer's market and veggies at MY farm stand. Even though I will also be selling pottery at my stand, I know there will be more foot traffic exposure at the farmers' market, and with a booth cost of $35, just selling one or two pieces there will cover the cost of the booth...

Something else you could do here for stability is wrap the legs with plastic, then squirt some of that expandable foam into the voids around the legs. When it firms up, the foam will make the legs rigid and the plastic wrap will allow you to remove the extension, if necessary...

The tan clay at the bottom is just that...the foot of the piece is unglazed. You can also try using a blue underglaze in the recessed letters and the bands, coat the letters and bands with wax resist and then finish glazing with whatever floats your boat...

Welcome to the forum! Could you upload some photos of the platter? Shots of the top, bottom and side would be good so we could get a better idea of the outcome. How big is the platter? does it have a foot and did you glaze the foot? If it is large and has a foot, does it have a center support bump? Answers here would help us better to make suggestions about steps to possibly salvage the piece...

Way to go, @Mudfish! Hopefully we'll get to see what you've been burning!

Welcome to the forum, Nemo. There shouldn't be any difference between the two methods. One uses hand powered crank and the other uses a motor to turn the crank. The outcome should be the same...