Babs

Until you replace the plug and talk to the electrician re wiring et al requirements in your property, you cannit do more than get a visual of the kiln. Carefully check the elements. Are they standing up or sagging , do they spill out of their "troughs"? Do you get kiln furniture and what state is it in. Did you get photos? What does the term lightly used mean...plug looks "used" Where has it been stored?

Even signingbup for a class can be expensive. Go to a clay supplier, ask for a liw fired clay. Make stuff with it, lots of "how to" stuff on line, a lot not useful, a lot generated by very good potters. Then you will get some idea re your natural feel for the clay. Simple safe kiln can be made fot backyard..check what's allowed re outside fires. You dont have to fire your first pieces. Just wet down your pieces, wedge and use again! Afterwhich, if smitten by the pottery bug, and within your means and time constraints, join a class.

With eye protection can you see any pots through peep hole? Any sheen on the surface? That's a lot of heatwork.

Put a resist on the emblem so glaze doesn't cover it. Or carefully wipe glaze off after glazing. Or get an on glaze decal made up. Good luck.

I think there are lots of different reasons people go to pottery classes. Today they use heat guns, I remember, time constraints and pots thrown onevweek could not be turned the next week so tgey were put infront of the kiln blasting away in the corner of an unvented studio, soun on the wheel infront of a 2 bar strip heater, put on top of the hot kiln SO that everyone finished the course with sthing to take home. From there a couple a year would pursue ceramics seriously, go down the road of apprentice or whatever and adopt a system which best suits their needs. Judging others easy to do, that's all. I'll just away down the street and buy a coffee in my ceramic keep cup and feel religious.

I guess I was thinking along the lines, the only person you can change is yourself.

Whew, covers a lot of ground!!! Maybe a trip to where the clay is mined is where this line should start...then the clay miles:-))

See the above info from @PeterH. This is what I was remembering.

I think the kiln shelf will grab your clay slip and it will crack...

There was in the past a post asking exactly this. No expert in searching in these forums but s.one else may.

Why not run some rest tiles? Decant a known amount of your glaze. Add known increasing amounts amounts of water to a few cups, add known same amount of glaze to each cup. Dip test tiles., same tile in three different dips in same cup to test thickness desireable. Fire. It could be as "simple" as that. Loks like yIur glaze wants to stck to itself no matter what. If you get a result you like, maybe you can save the batch by adding the required amount of water, Or you could add a known amount of this espom salt rich stuff to a new batch and dont add any more epsom, if sone could do the Maths. Maybe @Rockhopper he saved me in the past.

Have you tried it without the CMC? Why is it included? Glaze application?

Not been aware of prices going the other way in my neck of the woods, mines tend to close when the share holder returns are nit " good" enough

@Dave Earley, glaze nerd has replied. Might help you with your research

And still we are throwing awY lithium batteries.

Yes, Contact but didnt know if tgat name was universally known.

In the Clay and Glaze section of these firums there is a post right at the op or near it titled Wild Clay. @glazenerd is a great resource also. Throws pretty well!

Are you wedging on plaster?, big grog in your clay?

What about the stuff folk use to cover books? Clear or coloured, or the psuedo bench solash back stuff, both come in rolls at different widths so quite a variety of screen outs possjble. Are you burning it off? Look out for fumes, taking off before firing , it could lift the underlying glaze if any.

Not sure but blue for me, I have to mix a little frit into the blue underglaze so it stays smooth under the glaze. A little of the glaze if it is a non run clear would also sort this. As it is not all over your blue dec. Could it be the rough patches are applied thicker when brush fully loaded? Or underglaze not stirred between brush strokes?

I am seeing the non glazed ring as a carved out ring to which the maker attaches a pedestal after the firing. Is that correct? If this is occurring in other platters, I would flick them on coming out of thr bisque firing to hear if they ring or thunk, ping or pung. The unevenness of thickness of clay. Proximity to kiln elements. Unevenness is in drying? Beuatiful onglaze decoration!

Also,if mending anything, the pot and mending paste have to be totally dry before refiring. Folk have had success, though not saying with yhis type of crack, dont know , Spooze with paper added.

Noticing there are tinges of green, glaze thinner? Near base edge of glaze and glaze flaw in handle. SG and glaze application of glaze same as in the testing in the alternative kiln? Re refiring the clay body, have you done this with the clay you are using previously? If you post what claybody you are using, someone may have experience with this.

I rhink you inadvertently did a reduction firing. Easy to do in a small gas kiln. Do you have time to refire one as a test making sure you have a fully oxidised atmosphere? With that amount of copper I could get black pots without trying in my gas kiln if not careful re atmosphere.

Do you have a pyrometer to log your kiln progress through firing? 1 cone is not usual practice. A bank of 3 cones one below target cone , target cone and one above the target. A bank of cones on each shelf to see how the inside of your kiln is behaving. Good luck.