neilestrick

We don't make any tweaks to glazes when using synthetic, so I don't see why it wouldn't work unless there's a difference in the solubility that affects the plasticity or something like that.

Thank you @Min!

Any kiln posts work with any shelves. Get 1.5" wide posts, not the skinny ones. Get square, not triangle.

Check the back of your controller. Is there a ribbon connector at the bottom? That connector is what connects the touchpad to the circuit board, so if it comes loose the buttons won't work. If there is one, pull it out of the circuit board, wipe it with a dry cloth, and reinsert it. Check all other connections to the board, too.

I have some students who feel better when they work the clay, others who feel worse and have to watch how much they do. I think it's different for each person.

Sometimes fuse holders go bad or get loose and start to lose contact, so that could also be the cause of the problem. Start with the simple fix- replace the fuse- and go from there.

This is a great idea. With the market the way it is right now, there's a good chance someone will want to buy it since factory lead times are still so long. However, if you're going to be there for a year, and your studio is ready to go, I would go ahead and hook it up and fire it. A year is a long time.

If you receive the kiln and do not unbox it, then it will be safer for moving to the new house. However: 1. If you don't unbox it right away then you won't be able to make a freight claim if there's damage from the original shipment. When you finally do unbox it you'll have to deal with any damage yourself. 2. It'll need to be moved with a pallet jack or forklift if it's not unboxed. Using a pallet jack to get something onto a lift gate is difficult. It may be easier to move it to the new home yourself in an SUV or pickup, which would allow you to uncrate it when you receive it, and pack it safely in your vehicle. L&L will not hold your order for more than a week. They simply don't have room to store people's orders. If you know where you'll be moving, you could: 1. Have it shipped to a freight terminal at the new town, pick up the kiln there, and move it into a storage unit until you're ready for it. You'd need a truck that they could forklift the pallet into when you pick it up. 2. Have it shipped to a friend in the new town, who can store it in their garage for you until you move. Email me if you have other questions. Sorry you're having to go through all this.

If they're firing to cone 10 in a gas kiln, then they're probably firing in a reduction atmosphere. You can't do that in the electric kiln, so the glazes won't look the same. Find a cone 6 clay body that vitrifies at cone 6, not a body listed as cone 6-10, and start testing cone 6 glazes.

A 15" Corelite shelf will fit just fine. Corelite shelves are the best compromise between price and durability. You'll need a shelf at the bottom, so don't forget to count that. I would not invest in more than 1 or 2 half shelves for a kiln that size. They're not a good use of space in a kiln that small. I rarely use a half shelf in my 18" kiln, and it's almost always just one at the top when I have a couple of tall pieces that I can fit a half shelf next to. Put your money into full shelves, and get as many as you can afford, at least 5. Get a full kit of posts, lots of sizes.

You'll also want to be insured for product liability, in case someone is ever hurt by one of your pots. And if you're selling them at art fairs, etc, then you'll want to be covered for damage there, in case your canopy ever goes flying during a wind storm.

Oops! I missed that you're in England.

State Farm typically doesn't care about kilns in the house, however since you're doing it as a home business and not just a hobby, that puts thing into a different category. However State Farm does offer business insurance, too, so I would check them out. Another option is to find a local insurance broker who can shop around for you.

With a commercial glaze it's complicated because you don't know the formula of the gaze. So you can either fire it hotter, or add a little frit to it. 1-2% frit 3134 may be enough to get it to bleed, but you'd have to estimate the amount of glaze material if you're working with a premixed wet glaze and do a lot of testing. By adding frit you'd be voiding any food safety labeling, so you'd need to test it for durability and safety. That little bit of frit shouldn't make much of a difference, though. To make it less fluid you could add equal parts EPK and silica. Zinc free is always a good choice when working with colors.

My insurance (Hartford) covers my shop/studio, product liability, art fair liability, and my kiln repair work, for $235 a month. A lot of that cost is the kiln repair work, because it's considered high liability since I'm working with things that use a lot of power and get really hot, and could in theory do a lot of damage if I do something wrong. My insurance broker said a lot of insurance companies won't even cover me because of the kiln repair work. They just don't want to take on the liability, even though there's never been a claim on my policy in the 18 years I've been in business (knock on wood).

Yes, Skutt used to be Thomas Stuart. The Prodigy is their budget model, lacking in several features like the large splash pan and reversing. However, if you always throw in reverse, you can just switch the leads on the motor. But I don't think it's worth buying a Skutt without getting the big splash pan. Skutt 1/3hp models can handle what most 1hp wheels can handle. They have a ton of torque, and their motors are much larger in physical size than most wheels. I've got 10 of the 1/3hp models, and I've never bogged them down, even centering 25 pounds and working on 50 pound planters. They have better speed control than Brent wheels IMO, and 6 different controller adjustments to dial in how you want the wheel to feel.

Soldner wheels have small motors but lots of power. Something to do with the pedal design. They are very smooth, very nice to throw on. By far the smoothest wheels I've ever used. Pricey, though. I'm a big fan of Skutt wheels. Lots of power in even the 1/3hp wheels, and the big splash pan keeps the studio much, much cleaner than wheels with small pans.

Simply to increase the volume of the kiln. However since it doesn't have elements, it lowers the max temp of the kiln.

1. Turn on the bottom switch, with the lid cracked about an inch or two, for 1 hour. 2. Close the lid. Wait 1 hour. 3. Turn on the second switch up from the bottom, wait 1 hour. 4. Turn on the next switch, wait 1 hour. 5. Turn on the top switch, wait for the cone to bend and the Sitter to shut off. Your Kiln Sitter does not have a backup timer, so I strongly recommend getting a digital pyrometer so you can track the temperature and make sure it doesn't over-fire. Sitters are known to stick occasionally, so always be there to check the pyrometer and make sure it shut off when it was supposed to. Any digital pyrometer with a heavy duty type K thermocouple LIKE THIS will work. Looks like you have a blank ring also? If you add that onto the kiln, the max temp of the kiln will only be about cone 1. Without the blank ring it'll get to cone 8, so suitable for cone 6 work.

The Whisper wheels use a pancake motor, which is very low on torque, but if you don't make things over 10 pounds it'll work just fine. Personally, I can't stand how quiet they are. I find that I set the speed of my wheel as much by sound as by sight.

I think you were on the Europe site. The US site still has all the names you're used to. There's a little flag icon in the top right corner to toggle between the sites. Watts don't matter, HP doesn't matter. Torque is what matters, however nobody lists actual torque numbers. The closest we get to torque numbers is centering capacity. Can a tabletop wheel center 22 pounds? Probably not very well. Can a regular wheel center 200 pounds? Probably not very well. But they can all center 25% of that just fine. Brent switched to listing what the clay can handle 'continuously' rather than centering capacity, so that further complicates things. I think they only want you to compare their wheels to their other wheels, not to other brands. But who cares if a wheel can spin 225 pounds? Nobody does that. It's all about torque. I wish there was a standardized, real number system for rating wheels. Even centering capacity is subjective.

At what temp are you getting the Error, and what firing program are you using?

That type of thermocouple is already in a metal sheath, so the ceramic tube is not necessary. I don't think it would be the cause the fluttery reading, but remove it just to be sure. Pack fiber around the thermocouple to fill the hole.

Those numbers are every 5 seconds? Probably a thermocouple problem. Since you already changes the thermocouple, it could be the wire itself, could be the connection of the thermocouple wire to the board, could be the terminal that's mounted to the board is loose. I'd try grounding the thermocouple first. If that doesn't work, try replacing the thermocouple wire itself. Make sure you use type K wire.

I trim a foot ring into the bottom of every pot that I'm able to. Some form make it too difficult to impossible, but I avoid a flat bottom whenever I can. It just looks more finished.