oldlady

tiny question. kristinanoel, you mentioned masonite bats. are you talking about 1/4 inch thick Duron bats or actual masonite about 1/8 inch thick and with the bumpy back? the bats sold in the supplier's stores that i visit use Duron, a double sided smooth surface that is 1/4 inch thick. i never wire anything off my Duron bats, the pieces pop off when they are dry enough, usually overnight. i throw as dry as possible, never leaving dampness inside any pot. they pop off because i have trimmed the outside of the foot ring while the pot is still on the wheel. no raggedy edges sticking down all around the pot.

just saw this for the first time. kristinanoel, i have been using silica sand under my stuff for many years. i use whole shelves and pour some, maybe a cup, not a mug full in the center. this is not inside the kiln yet. i then use a tool with teeth, like a tile setter would to spread the sand evenly across the kiln washed shelf. i do not go as far as the edge of the shelf, maybe 3 inches inside the edge. i have also used medium sized grog the same way. the results are just a little different. silica sand will eventually stick and stay where it is put. but, because it is so lightweight, it tends to float in the air during the first firing and might land on something i have on a different shelf. not good. so i switched to medium grog. maybe larger grog is better, i happened to have the medium at hand. it does not move in the first or any firings afterward. i am careful to stay at least 3 inches from the edge of the full sized shelf so that when i put the shelf into the kiln, grog does not roll off the edge onto whatever is below. it tilts as it goes past the thermocouples but i control the tilt to keep the grog from rolling off. since i make many large, flat pieces, i fire the grog laden shelves often without changing the grog, sometimes it moves as i put things in and take them out of the kiln. i refresh the area with a dry foam sponge sweeping in from the edges and run the toothed tool across the center again. never inside or on the edge of the kiln, that is asking for stuff to be swept into the element grooves. hope this helps.

welcome to the forum. there are a few things to consider in addition to what you are asking. if you are brand new, you will probably not make much that needs firing to save for all time. as you learn, remember that you are learning a skill so the things you make will get better all the time. the weight will progress from a bowling ball to something more like a "real" bowl. the question is, do you want to save forever some of those early projects? the other question is "how long is temporary"" venting is really not essential if you pick your location well.. look at used kilns in other folks' studios. see how the band holding the top on the kiln looks, ask how long the kiln has been used. yes, there is some change in the looks of the metal from firing. if you have a large fan running the fumes will be sent out the window or door as the firing takes place. kilns have been used in garages for many years before the current vemts were invented.. add these thoughtst to your mix. and , do not forget to have fun.

an 18x18 concrete patio block works well, can me moved easily and tilted if you find a support for one side. may only find 16x16, look at used on craigslist. NO CANVAS!

VERY NICE! such a difference with color!

no, you have some dry clay stuck on the walls inside the tube. that creates a ragged lump that forces the damp clay to shape itself around the lump. if you keep pugging, and use a little water as you insert the clay, it will start to look like a normal straight pug. normally, twice is nice for making the clay exactly the way you want it but when you have this situation, you are gathering tiny hard bits of that dry clay in the middle of the pug. keep on and keep calm, it will eventually work its way out. you might cut the chunks through and feel for small hard lumps now instead of finding them in your thrown walls. there are no rules saying the first pug of the clay is enough. it is your very strong machine, make it do what you want.

someone planted a seed. (No reference to current events intended.)

your kiln manufacturer will sell you a container. if it is L&L, make sure it has a label stating what it is or write that yourself because that jar will be sitting around for a long time. if you seriously think critters are doing the damage, tape over each seam to prevent them getting into the slots. if the tape gets damaged, you will know what it is.

min made a great suggestion. i am aware of several glaze suppliers who will sell you their "secret" brushing medium if you call and tell them your problem. do NOT email. if you go back to the first post in 2020, follow johnnyk's suggestion about pulverizing the dry glaze with a coffe bean grinder. sounds reasonable but i am allergic to coffee and would not know a grinder if i saw one.

it looks like someone is scratching it out of the seams. the distance from the top of the kiln down to it's bottom is in inches. the crack looks like it could be measured in significantly less than one inch. probably not a worry unless you see it coming through the bottom. kilns do not have to be kept pristine, just reasonably clean.

if you have made the glazes yourself, pour water into the container to cover the glaze about half an inch or so. cover the container. wait until at least 24 hours later and open the container to see how it reacted. a cracked broken rough surface without water above the glaze will indicate you should be able to stir it, sieve it and use it. if not, add water or delete water. i have hard water and use distilled in all my glazes. poke a spoon, dowel, anything into the glaze and try to stir it. if too dry, add water. if the water level is the same as it was when you closed the container, and you cannot poke it into life, you might try a blender. if it is really too hard after all that, toss it. safely. if you have bought commercial glazes, wait for someone who uses them to reply.

mark is right, if you are carving spaces out of the walls for the light to shine through, you are creating a new product which happens to have a similar shape to a drinking glass. now way anyone other than a child would try to drink from a holey "glass".

not a bot, it sounds like you just cannot accept the enormous amount of research and knowledge in the kiln builders approach to providing economical, safe and practical kilns to the public. i really do not know any potters who would bother with all this fuss. the preset programs work for a large percentage of potters. figuring out how to set up a program for simple bisque and glaze firing when you really have no experience firing seems to me to be a lot of work for not much gain. buy a kiln, let your wife make pots not sit around waiting for you to find the perfect kiln that does what it does the way you want it to. happiness is making pots and firing them, let her. potters have been using kilns for many years without worrying about these tiny details.

absolutely get advancer shelves instead of the elements. they have never been within my budget but i sure wish they were.

if it is still in a box with a label, look for the cone number. sometimes they are printed differently than the usual sales pitch box. look for a rubber stamp ink with half inch high numbers. you might ask bill kielb since he lives there.

HAPPY POTS i had a venco without a vacuum and got a bailey with vacuum later. i believe that the bailey has a cap for your vaccum area that will fit. the one you show seems too big for that venco. contact jim bailey with your measurements to see it his will fit. you should be able to just buy that cap with it's own gasket attached. ask him about the meter attached to the top of yours. just call on a telephone and talk to him, do not send emails. they really do not work for this kind of info.

sorry i am not one of our mechanical geniuses. i have no idea what an APM element is without the name, not an acronym. and maybe not then, but i do know how glaze can get into an element slot. some inexperienced potters do not dry the items they want o glaze fire and they blow up, sending bits of glaze and partly fired clay all over the kiln. that is only one way and would likely only affect a few of us who single fire from greenware to glaze finish. yes, careful handling will help a lot. i have only done this once in 50 years.

thanks, min. it will be my next read.

lee, what i find interesting is the number of people who ask me something and i suggest they come and visit my studio to learn what all is involved. the funny thing is that i must have invited over a hundred people over the years and so far nobody has come except a customer who wanted "another one just like the first one". she and a friend came out and we had a great time. they each made something uniquely theirs and nothing like mine. both found some item in the studio that intrigued them. i wish i had made something as terrific as the friend made. we went out on the boat and they discovered why i usually go out close to sunset, the sun was really bad. good thing i have lots of very broad brimmed hats for visitors. who never come.

ABSOLUTELY agree with you neil. some folks just like to imagine problems that really do not matter. only experience shows them that they worry for nothing.

i got my pacifica 400 in 1972. it has always had a metal foot pedal. when it was damaged in an electrical storm that hit my power pole, the original owner sent me another one. it is metal, too. if it would help, i can take some photos of whatever part you need but i am NOT taking anything apart to do it.

try dropping the bag onto concrete to break it up to a much smaller size.

can you describe exactly what you do to reclaim your clay? you say you get dry clumps from your throwing water. my method of reclaiming any clay is to let it dry out in small, thin pieces at least overnight if it is dry where you work. i toss those dry pieces into a bucket to hold them until i am ready to pug. the day before, i add water to about an inch above the level of dry bits. there is no reason to hold wet clay for months, it is just not healthy as well as messy. and hard, wet clay is a pain. i pugged 8 buckets of reclaim last winter. did not use all of it so i am going to pug it again soon. i only use pugged clay to throw with, never a slab. the clay is fine but sometimes small bubbles of air are incorporated during the pugging process. rather not see them in a slab. yes, i have a de-airing pugmill, it is a Bailey and works wonderfully.