Lucille Oka

After my first disaster opening my kiln too soon many many years ago I learned to have a lot of patience. I fire with the top peep open but when the top temperature is reached and the firing is complete I insert the top peep so no bursts of cool air enters the kiln from doors opening and closing.

The most informative 'Operating Manuals' I have ever encountered comes from Skutt Kilns. Measure your kiln if you don't already know the dimensions. Find the Skutt Kiln that comes close in dimensions and maximum firing temperature and you will find a lot of information on how to fire your kiln. http://www.skutt.com/pdf/op_manual/KS_manual/KS_OperatingManual_2002.pdf

Reading your post I am wondering about the loading of the kiln. You said that you did an empty firing and it was fine. Make sure that you are not loading ware too close to the KilnSitter. Keep all ware away from the Sitter at least 2". Do not allow anything to touch any part of the mechanism; and don't allow your pyrometric cones to be too close to the Sitter as well. Finally check the pyrometric cone numbers to be sure they are correct. If you need to, get a magnifying glass to help you read the numbers.

I guess I did not express myself clearly because that is absolutely correct, and I never said that there was only ONE way, because ergonomics DEALS with the makeup of the specific situation which will take into account the specific person's physiology, and the tasks being done. That is part of looking at the situation. best, ..............john No offense John, I didn't read your post. I just read the one from the original poster. I took a look at your post; the print was so small and there was a lot of it. It just hurt my eyes. I couldn't do it just now, maybe later.

It is difficult to say that there must be one ergonomic way to throw; we are all different physically, a comfortable stance for me may not be comfortable for you. You must find your own best way to throw. Try different ways and discover which way feels good to you. Then get to work.

Everybody finds their own position for throwing mostly it is for comfort, to help you be able to throw as long as you want. There are some potter's who throw standing. This method requires bracing arms against your body especially while centering. You have to find the most comfortable position for yourself. Steven Hill has a video where he talks about trying to find the most suitable position at which to throw. You can try out different heights but the potter's wheel must be stable as well as level. What is your brand of your wheel?

Okay here is a nice little video I found on YouTube 'JanicethePotter' shows her firing results for some commercial glazes not Ancient Jasper but others. I hope it works. I hope it encourages.

Are you sure it is the sweat? It maybe the latex.

I hate to put a damper on this advice but if you plan to use these oils on your hands when you apply glaze or underglaze wear some surgical gloves before handling your ware. The oils that you use may affect your applications causing a resisting surface. Is your clay or working water a bit funky? I had to 'de-funk-ify' my working situation; all of the water that I use now has a small amount of bleach added to it to clean it up. All reclaiming water, throwing water, misting water, slipmaking water, thinning water, and cleaning up water, every bit of it. Soon I won't have to continue doing

I did a little research and found out there are a lot of 'bucking broncos' out there, however they are under copyright ownership and have been placed on belts, plaques, statuary, jewelry and whatever else you can imagine. If I couldn't afford to have a mold made and my skills to make them were limited, I would buy the mold that will allow me to reproduce the image. I would reproduce it in clay or metal clay which has a high shrinkage level to get it to the dimensions that I need. Or use shrink pellets that can be used in the kitchen oven or toaster oven. But this requires some testing a

You can try Tandy in Texas, they may have something you can use. Dick Blick has a Bronco metal tooling mold item # C62926-0019 it is 4"x 4" cost is 94 cents.

Skutt recommends 18 inches away from all walls. Here is a publication that may be helpful to you. It is a Skutt publication and therefore it is Skutt kiln specific but much can be applied to any kiln installation. http://www.skutt.com/pdf/brochures/Skutt_Architect_web.pdf

Tear, Your vessel and choice of glazes is wonderful, just wonderful, bravo.