oldlady

mkg, glad you like the results.  may i suggest something that may not have occurred to you?  i think the lines you drew were done with a sharp instrument like a needle tool.  
the raggedness of the lines indicate a sharpness to the pattern that could cut skin if someone rubbed it.  the shape invites rubbing so someone may be cut on the edges.  to avoid that, use a stylus with a ball end that is just the right size or look at Diamond Tools for their special cutting tools for carving and scraffito.

rae, here is one very impatient person.

nataniajoy,  you are very fortunate to have such a nice manual kiln as a gift.  i thought by now you would have received an answer that addresses your problem as a totally new kiln user.
couple of things might help you understand the manual fred has so helpfully found for you.  you need to realize that the kiln is a very old one as far as its manufacturing date is concerned and there was a slightly different vocabulary used then.  "Automatic"  back then meant your kiln was equipped with a Kiln Sitter that would mechanically turn off the kiln when a particular temperature was reached.  the manual keeps referring to it as the ASD, automatic shutoff device (or sitter. prior to the use of a sitter, the potter had to watch the firing and turn it off at the end by looking into the kiln peep holes and judging the temperature at which to turn off the electricity. ) cones have been use for over a hundred years to help do that.
the temperature you select for each firing is commonly referred to by a cone number.   that means the same kiln can be used by potters who fire earthenware or stoneware which is usually fired to a higher temperature.  so you need to select the cone number for the clay and/or glazes you are using.
the number on the cone indicates a temperature but the firing can take a little longer as the elements wear out over time.  so the cone ,which you place HORIZONTALLY across the two little arms, will determine the time and temperature of your firing.  the arms hold up the cone and the rod end of the "claw" of the sitter sits over the cone resting on it.   SINCE THE INVENTION OF CONE BARS MANY PEOPLE USE THEM IN THE SITTER.  bars are of a uniform size end to end.  cones are tapered and some people have trouble putting them onto the arms and getting the claw rod in the middle of the cone.
when the cone gets hot enough for a long enough time, it will melt.  that means it sinks down and allows the rod end of the claw to sink as well.  the other end of the claw, the part outside the kiln, is really the claw looking end and it is holding a weight that will be released by the rising of the claw.  the weight will snap down and activate a round electrical shut off button that is located on the outside of the sitter.   (if you find you cannot start your kiln at any time, check that the claw is holding the weight and the button is close to the kiln, not sticking out.) 
i hope this is enough to help you read the manual and that will explain your particular kiln.  
the most important thing you need to learn is that it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT that you understand the cone numbers of your clay and glazes.  look at a CONE CHART and read the numbers and the temperatures carefully.   there are some essential facts that are commonly glossed over when experienced potters are talking to each other.   
09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 AND THEN CONE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ETC.  are each a little hotter running from left to right.  check the chart!  and check your clay.  write the cone # on the bag of clay so you  DO NOT make the mistake of thinking that cone 6 is the same as cone 06.  that is a completely different temperature and if you use cone 06 clay and use a #6 cone in your sitter, you will probably melt everything and ruin the kiln.
see the recent post by benzine for what can happen.
hope you bothered to read this long post and understand it.
 
 

Youuuuch! Send in the snow crew!!!
 
 
best,
Pres

i have sold things with very minimum flaws, reducing the price if it is one of several standard shapes and sizes.  there is always a label next to the flaw with an arrow pointing out a less than half inch crack that does not go through or a small blister that did not heal if it is not in a critical area.     if it is a $22 butter dish and has anything i can see, it gets a flaw notice and a price of $19.  they always go.  
anything worse meets mr hammer or goes into my kitchen.

This is going to sound terrible.   My best employee quit a few days ago because I thought i had made instructions clear about colors but guess I didn't.   I think I've just reached my limit in being a tactful manager.  Well, she could only glaze for the last year or two anyways.  I'm down to just Me in the studio ... and it's the happiest I've been in years.   I'm going to do all the making and glazing.   I'll have one person 3 days a week out front ... wed, thurs, friday waiting on customers and making jewelry.  That's all I really need out there.      Down 2 full time employees in the back now and I'm actually looking at more profit.   Almost zero production loss and the profit per sale is literally around 75 - 80% vs 20%.     The jewelry and fragrance sales way more than pay for the front studio labor.   I'm looking forward to the next year.   Just ordered 4000 pounds of clay and 8 gallons of glaze.    Plus I just got another 50 pounds of dry glaze.  Going to order my other dry glaze tomorrow.   So there will be no backing down
I'm sticking to this.    The numbers look really good.  Just the thought of only needed to load 2, maybe 3 kilns a week is delightful and I can make a really good profit on that.  Better than before.   I figured out each back studio employee was costing me the profit on at least 1 kiln.   So I was doing 2 .. even  3 kilns just to pay people.     I am so looking forward to this.   I'm actually enjoying the work back there now.   
 

in case anyone wants to try bab's suggestion about carpet, be sure to use something from the thin but strong commercial stuff.   you do not even need wax if you do foot rings on the wet carpet, just slide the whole piece across the carpet,  the excess glaze will wash off instantly.  keep it pretty clean, especially if the glaze is a dark one.

testing is very important so recording what you do is critical.  i had a friend who kept each glaze to one page of a 3 ring notebook.  she noted the base glaze by number on both the test and the page it was recorded on.   she wrote the recipe and if she tested various mason stains to get other colors, each color got it's own page.   i do something similar but often wish i had here more descriptive notes.  some of mine say,  never again!  but not why.  the reason for the never again is so if you find what looks like a nice color on someone else's clay, you will know it looks awful on yours because the recipe is right there to compare.

in case anyone wants to try bab's suggestion about carpet, be sure to use something from the thin but strong commercial stuff.   you do not even need wax if you do foot rings on the wet carpet, just slide the whole piece across the carpet,  the excess glaze will wash off instantly.  keep it pretty clean, especially if the glaze is a dark one.

testing is very important so recording what you do is critical.  i had a friend who kept each glaze to one page of a 3 ring notebook.  she noted the base glaze by number on both the test and the page it was recorded on.   she wrote the recipe and if she tested various mason stains to get other colors, each color got it's own page.   i do something similar but often wish i had here more descriptive notes.  some of mine say,  never again!  but not why.  the reason for the never again is so if you find what looks like a nice color on someone else's clay, you will know it looks awful on yours because the recipe is right there to compare.

in case anyone wants to try bab's suggestion about carpet, be sure to use something from the thin but strong commercial stuff.   you do not even need wax if you do foot rings on the wet carpet, just slide the whole piece across the carpet,  the excess glaze will wash off instantly.  keep it pretty clean, especially if the glaze is a dark one.

in case anyone wants to try bab's suggestion about carpet, be sure to use something from the thin but strong commercial stuff.   you do not even need wax if you do foot rings on the wet carpet, just slide the whole piece across the carpet,  the excess glaze will wash off instantly.  keep it pretty clean, especially if the glaze is a dark one.

lots of questions about this particular kiln.   the word automatic has a totally different meaning today.  back then it meant "this kiln has an automatic shut off device called a kiln sitter, like a baby sitter.   you do not have to watch the heat color any more to know when to turn it off, it turns off by itself automatically."
just follow any kiln manual, they are basically the same.

in case anyone wants to try bab's suggestion about carpet, be sure to use something from the thin but strong commercial stuff.   you do not even need wax if you do foot rings on the wet carpet, just slide the whole piece across the carpet,  the excess glaze will wash off instantly.  keep it pretty clean, especially if the glaze is a dark one.

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

gosh, i just read all these posts and mine again.   realized that what i said did not include this line  "i do find flaws, maybe one in two or three firings"  those are the ones i was talking about.  the original post sounded like they happen every day.  not so.

Thanks for the comments. I bisque at 04 and glaze fire at cone 5 holding for 5 minutes. I will try keeping the rim a little thicker. I pull my handles and let then dry for about an hour before attaching to the pot. Probably my biggest problem was not keep the lid in place while attaching the spout and handle. Here are some examples of my teapots.

contact similar businesses in other cities to ask what you need to know.   other cities so you do not irritate the competition where you live. 
those businesses had the same questions you do so they should be helpful.   first ask if you can make an appointment to speak to them by phone at their convenience.  plan your questions in advance and have a space to write an answer so you can refer to the replies later.

I will use my Business as an example.
I never listed it with google but if you type in Liscom Hill Pottery in google up pops about 5-6 solid pages of hits about myself or pottery or what I have done in the past with shops and shows and the like. On the right hand side of the 1st page is a sidebar about my location and some reviews . In that sidebar one is called (suggestions or do you own this business) and thats where you can make some edits on what type of busines it is and hours if you like ( I do not want customers coming here so I did that edit to discourage folks) I have some reviews as well and there is a place you can edit that as well
Since I have been here  in this location for 50 years this coming May google found out about me somehow as its common knowledge in these parts -and some customers (which came  to buy pottery via a phone call to come over wrote reviews thinking this would help me ) I do not have many folks here anymore  for sales in the past decade as I really do not want to have the public here anymore.
I still get calls wanting clay materials or pots as folks never read much anymore and just call thinking I'm a store.
I did have  had 19 straight years of  two studio sales  a year at this location but stopped in 1992 before the google world took over. I sent out 1,000 postcards on a mailing list and before that I had a bulk mail permit for a single page mailer when that was cheaper . I stopped taking customers info in the 90s as I do not need to business wise. 

contact similar businesses in other cities to ask what you need to know.   other cities so you do not irritate the competition where you live. 
those businesses had the same questions you do so they should be helpful.   first ask if you can make an appointment to speak to them by phone at their convenience.  plan your questions in advance and have a space to write an answer so you can refer to the replies later.

i have sold things with very minimum flaws, reducing the price if it is one of several standard shapes and sizes.  there is always a label next to the flaw with an arrow pointing out a less than half inch crack that does not go through or a small blister that did not heal if it is not in a critical area.     if it is a $22 butter dish and has anything i can see, it gets a flaw notice and a price of $19.  they always go.  
anything worse meets mr hammer or goes into my kitchen.

Ok I showed up at noon and others where walking thru house buying up stuff. Looks like a small amount of my work had sold . . But the tables where still stuffed.I told the fellow for me its all or nothing deal. I made a quik  rough list and  and down sized my offer to 450 $ cash. I said I have the boxes and paper and will take only my work as there was other ceramics mixed in especailly on the floor under tables (not in the photos)He took the offer which is about 16 mugs for me sales wise these days. I boxed it into 6 Banana boxes  full and dollyed it out feeling great. The womans sister spoke to me and said the lady (her sister) had a stroke and was in full time care now in North Caralina.I said she had the most work of any customer I ever knew  of and gave her my card to thank the sister . I have never met here as 99% of all the work was from a few outlets and they all had the price labels and cards inside of them. Not my own show price labels but those of my Eureka outlets. The largest amout of stuff was from a co-op organic market I pulled out of a year ago as I am slowing it down with a plan. I put a care and feeding tag in every pot  then and all those where still in every pot. Now I have a nearly a 35 cubic feet whole  kiln worth of new old stock. Its insane really. In my 50 years I never in my dreams would expect this to happen. I'm selling the stock twice this time without having to make or glaze or fire it.  Of couse prices have risen since I sold this  originally so I'm really ahead . I'm making 4 dinner plates for the friend who sent me the info last night. She really came thru for me.
There where two tables of pots  like the one photo  as well as a bunch on the floor
Just when you think you have seen or heard it all   -boom something new surfaces .

So last night I got a message on facebook from a fellow Board member (art show board)
Seems a hoarder with money passed away and their is an estate sale this weekend. The photos show a few huge tables of packed to the gills with my work as well as a large floor area . The Estate guy was posting lots of photos of tons of collected stuff  as this women had  passed away and collected huge volumes of work . I called him an hour after the post went up to ask whats the deal. He said he was in a huge time crunch to emepty the house . He was not autioning it but hoping to sell it piece by piece ,nothing is priced. I let him know i made all that pottery . Looks to be about 8-12 boxes full. I said if the price was right I'll take it all. He siad any reasonable offer he would take. Now In all my ceramics life I =have never bought my work back from anyone. The pots look all new and not used as there was too much volume to use -she was collecting not using. He said since you are the maker how about coming a day early and see what you want so today at noon I'm going. My plan is buy it for about 25%of retail tops. . Then just put it into my inventory . I have a pile of cash to sweeten the deal. Tbis may all go south today just as easy so its far from a done deal but its one heck of a strange deal. The forms are glasses ,mugs and bowls of all sizes from stacks of large serving to cereal bowls. I can see few pots that are not mine (not interested in) in the mix as well. I'll post the outcome.
This is the most work of any one single customer by far and it looks like it was mostly bought at my gallery outlets.I can tell by the colors (some now discontinued) and color combos of when the work was made. I had no idea anyone custiomer pould ever own this much stuff from me. I'm hoping I may have known her as well. we shall see today-its a strange world out there.

you might look for a totally different job, starting today.   and report the business to whatever health organization controls such places.   you do not want the next person to be affected by this ridiculously wrong ignorance.    the employers need to be stopped.

you might look for a totally different job, starting today.   and report the business to whatever health organization controls such places.   you do not want the next person to be affected by this ridiculously wrong ignorance.    the employers need to be stopped.