Babs

Until waiting to crack a kiln!!! Yip, brain chatter quelled, multi tasking stopped in its track, time goes away, the total rhythm required feeds the soul. The imprinting of these qualities is healing.

Photos would really help.A kiln sitterr is just a device which, depending on the cone you place between the prongs, will shut off the kiln after a certain amount of heatwork. Make a log book and note everything you do.Time turned on .position of switch, starting temp temp after 1hr. Temp range, for every hour. Put a set of cones , one below target temp , one on target temp and one sbove target temp. Place them where you can see them through a spy hole. Towards the end of firing , take out bung to see how the cones are faring. The cones wil reflect what is happening more accurately that temp. If you ramp up fast it'll take a higher temp to mature the cone, and your glazes, and turn off your kiln. Some glazes won't like that. If you ramp slowly your cones will drop at a lower temp. By recording what you do every hour you will see what you need to do. Photos of kiln and pots overfired will let folk help you more. Good luck, keep at it!

Glazes coloured with stains, not sure about that. Maybe these days, with lots of folk buying commercial glazes My shelves still full of the mineral chemicals needed for the colours. Been firing midfire forever it seems. Amazing the effects using an electric kiln, though I pine for my gas one still. Electric kiln a good starting point if you're doing it by yourself. Enjoy it all!

What state is the roof or the lid of your kiln. Is this occurring only on the top shelf or on different shelves? A photo would help. As @neilestrick says could be a disintegrating thermoc. Are uou stacking shelves flat when not in kiln . Maybe stuff adhering to underside.

Vacuuming the kiln thoroughly after each firing and checking edges of shelves and underneath each shelf as removing from kiln helps. How are you storing your shelves? O you have kiln wash on undesides or edges of any shelves? Top or front loading?.top, vacuum top edges of bricks carefully before starting your load. Is your kiln brick or fibre? Electric or gas?

Is the thermocouple sheathed or unsheathed?

@Gazal Given you're using Walkers , in Oz?, wax resist , I use unbranded, decanted by my supplier I guess. Clear but if that is a prob, add a drop of food colour. Coat your brush with green liquid detergent, dip in resist and paint. Wash brush out immed when finished with the resist. Or if you want to go in again and colour your flowers, latex allows you to peel it off after you apply the underglaze to add colour to the flowers. Both products need to dry before brushing over them. Clean brushes immediately. Spritz the whole pot with water for even application Rims dry faster so will grab more underglaze. Good luck

Are you reusing the wire? That may be the prob. Ask what they used where you used to get them fired, and their method. Anything else changed? How are you making the holes in your pieces? What are the underneath of your shelves looking like? What is the roof/ lid of kiln lookIng like? I have to throughly vacuum roof and spy holes before each firing as there is a fallout of black specks from the spyholes if I don't. Ask at the other place first. Contamination of glaze or brushes or work space?

Matt?, shiny ?, satin oatmeal? What is that glaze

Orders for unknown forms need to be avoided imo. Wondering why the need to be glazed underneath. I'd be checking low fired glazes as if you dont have time to redesign, you're risking complete failure to continue with C6. Supported with wrong height due to unk own shrinkage may well mean the ends move out, in . Hard to know, eh? Not worth the angst and time you're wasting on this. Good luck.

Re wax, I still use melted wax for most pieces. A bit of damp carpet, in shallow plastic container, placed next to the warm wax pan , tip from @oldlady, is used to wipe any glaze goobs from bottom of pot

Guess there's technique and optimal glaze properties for good glaze application to learn about in all techniques. Test all, keep notes There's also the pouring of glazes. Form ,size, quantity of glaze available and end result wanted dictates the technique used also. Have fun

A spray of titanium dioxide on upper third ontop of a glaze can cause some interesting movement

Another fact from J eagle is he packs his fibre kiln with each shelf edged with bricks leaving only a small gap under next shelf, tantamount to each shelf being a sagger, just saying.

Not sure, relying on memory re reduction, but some folk used to start reduction not far above 900dC and stop reducing quite low. Got lovely peachy and soft wines. Here, try to get stuff from John Eagle, he wrote about his practice, could be completely bad memory though. I had to fight not to get reduction.

Cone 03 firing. Thought you were aiming at that firing range? Neil E asked why Cone 03 . My comment really was an aside to say folk do fire to that cone. TheTony Hansen site indicates he does with the clay body he is playing with.

I guess you'll have to test a piece. You want an overall cover, not just in the depths of the texture? Reds and pink tend to burn out but if rated to c10, test a piece. Not familiar with the products you are using, may be sensitive to the glaze you are putting over it..

Community Gallery and other outlets the best. Flawed pieces Op shop or, I do a Mark C, or give away to the fence posts in my area. Gallery perfect, well my "sets" are not sets but families. Never my ambition to do the perfect set. Did once upon a time but took the joy out of it for me. Refire those that I deem would benefit for another roasting.

C03 is used quite a bit in Oz. Basically to vitrify some of the clay bodies so functional pots can be made from the reds and white bodies usually fired a bit lower. D' Boos had a section of glazes in her book made for that firing temp. range. The terra cotta clay went a bit browner but still ok, and vitrified. Just saying.

A wash can be made with just water and oxide, e.g. iron oxide, cobalt oxide or black copper oxide. Some people apply to green ware and scrape or sand back prebisque. This means there is a dust hazard so appropriate protection required. Some texture may be lost in process depending on depth of texture. I have collected the dust from this process and used as slip on greenware. The other is to apply to bisque ware and wipe off with damp sponge. Some of wash penetrates the porous clay body and thus change the colour of wiped areas. I have used commercial underglazes, thinned a little and used as above.

Bouncing off Mark C Business forum post where a lady had collected a large number of his pots He had never met her. " When you buy a number of a potter's pieces do you feel the need to meet the maker?"

Photos please, what an experience, great yo see the subtle changes eh?

Right didnt pick thst up from his post. Thought he was writing about spraying the pots with glaze only.

I don't care about the person's knowledge. I just love to share an appreciation of handmade stuff. The folk I really appreciate are the ones who need to pick up my pots .Happy to talk, happier to listen, small free gifts for the wee folk who get drawn in I cannot help myself.