neilestrick

This also assumes that the dry clay is the same cost per pound as the moist clay. When I worked for A.R.T., we charged more for dry mix because mixing and bagging dry clay was a much slower process for us than making moist clay.

This also assumes that the dry clay is the same cost per pound as the moist clay. When I worked for A.R.T., we charged more for dry mix because mixing and bagging dry clay was a much slower process for us than making moist clay.

You may be able to retrofit the old box with the new controller system if it's big enough to hold all the parts. Look at the current Jupiter models- the control box mounts on top of the element boxes, and connects with jumper cords. L&L recently switched to a much larger control box, but the old box was a lot smaller and everything fit fine. You'll need to fit 3 relays, a transformer, and a fuse. Otherwise you can buy a bigger box and either mount it to the element boxes or wall mount it and use longer jumper cords. If you're going with 3 zones, you'll need 3 thermocouples, and you can drill holes for those in the kiln body.
Any holes in the control box that wires go through will need some sort of strain relief, and everything must be grounded. If you need advice as you move forward, post lots of pictures here and we can review it.
 

@NancyE Do you have any potter friends in your area that could go in on buying a full ton? The shipping cost would be much lower per pound, and you'd get the ton rate on the clay itself.

@NancyE Do you have any potter friends in your area that could go in on buying a full ton? The shipping cost would be much lower per pound, and you'd get the ton rate on the clay itself.

If you're not set up with a good mixer, pugger, and appropriate ventilation, then don't mess with mixing clay. And even if you are set up, it's not worth the time and hassle. If you don't have a good de-airing pugger, then don't even think about it, because the quality will not be good if you plan to throw with it. Leave mixing to the people who do it for a living, and spend your time making pots instead. The cost of clay is cheap in the big picture, and your time is worth a lot more than whatever you'd save.

For me, contrast is key, whether it's matte and shiny or light and dark or opaque and transparent. Light over dark is generally more interesting than the opposite. You also need the glazes to be fluid enough that they move. Glazes with titanium in them tend to make for interesting layering. A over B does not look that same as B over A, so test every combination.

If you're not set up with a good mixer, pugger, and appropriate ventilation, then don't mess with mixing clay. And even if you are set up, it's not worth the time and hassle. If you don't have a good de-airing pugger, then don't even think about it, because the quality will not be good if you plan to throw with it. Leave mixing to the people who do it for a living, and spend your time making pots instead. The cost of clay is cheap in the big picture, and your time is worth a lot more than whatever you'd save.

If you're not set up with a good mixer, pugger, and appropriate ventilation, then don't mess with mixing clay. And even if you are set up, it's not worth the time and hassle. If you don't have a good de-airing pugger, then don't even think about it, because the quality will not be good if you plan to throw with it. Leave mixing to the people who do it for a living, and spend your time making pots instead. The cost of clay is cheap in the big picture, and your time is worth a lot more than whatever you'd save.

You'll want to get the elements and thermocouples from L&L. Relays you can find online for 1/3 of the price, like HERE. If you're going to replace the wiring,  getting a wiring harness from L&L would be the fastest way to go, but you can buy  insulated wires, controller wiring, and terminals ends by the foot online and save some money there. Search SRML wire for insulated wire, I buy HERE. For jumper cords make sure you get cords rated for 105C/220F- you can buy SEOOW cable from McMaster and put your own plug ends on it. You can use SEOOW for the power cord, too. You can get insulating sleeving on Amazon. For the element blocks, use stainless steel hardware from the hardware store. You don't have to use the hex head bolts since they're hard to find, just use 10-24 panhead bolts.
Make sure all your wires are the appropriate gauge for what you're doing.
Get a Bartlett Genesis 2.0 controller. There may or may not be deals out there, just order from Bartlett if not.

You'll want to get the elements and thermocouples from L&L. Relays you can find online for 1/3 of the price, like HERE. If you're going to replace the wiring,  getting a wiring harness from L&L would be the fastest way to go, but you can buy  insulated wires, controller wiring, and terminals ends by the foot online and save some money there. Search SRML wire for insulated wire, I buy HERE. For jumper cords make sure you get cords rated for 105C/220F- you can buy SEOOW cable from McMaster and put your own plug ends on it. You can use SEOOW for the power cord, too. You can get insulating sleeving on Amazon. For the element blocks, use stainless steel hardware from the hardware store. You don't have to use the hex head bolts since they're hard to find, just use 10-24 panhead bolts.
Make sure all your wires are the appropriate gauge for what you're doing.
Get a Bartlett Genesis 2.0 controller. There may or may not be deals out there, just order from Bartlett if not.

You'll want to get the elements and thermocouples from L&L. Relays you can find online for 1/3 of the price, like HERE. If you're going to replace the wiring,  getting a wiring harness from L&L would be the fastest way to go, but you can buy  insulated wires, controller wiring, and terminals ends by the foot online and save some money there. Search SRML wire for insulated wire, I buy HERE. For jumper cords make sure you get cords rated for 105C/220F- you can buy SEOOW cable from McMaster and put your own plug ends on it. You can use SEOOW for the power cord, too. You can get insulating sleeving on Amazon. For the element blocks, use stainless steel hardware from the hardware store. You don't have to use the hex head bolts since they're hard to find, just use 10-24 panhead bolts.
Make sure all your wires are the appropriate gauge for what you're doing.
Get a Bartlett Genesis 2.0 controller. There may or may not be deals out there, just order from Bartlett if not.

If you're not set up with a good mixer, pugger, and appropriate ventilation, then don't mess with mixing clay. And even if you are set up, it's not worth the time and hassle. If you don't have a good de-airing pugger, then don't even think about it, because the quality will not be good if you plan to throw with it. Leave mixing to the people who do it for a living, and spend your time making pots instead. The cost of clay is cheap in the big picture, and your time is worth a lot more than whatever you'd save.

For me, contrast is key, whether it's matte and shiny or light and dark or opaque and transparent. Light over dark is generally more interesting than the opposite. You also need the glazes to be fluid enough that they move. Glazes with titanium in them tend to make for interesting layering. A over B does not look that same as B over A, so test every combination.

For me, contrast is key, whether it's matte and shiny or light and dark or opaque and transparent. Light over dark is generally more interesting than the opposite. You also need the glazes to be fluid enough that they move. Glazes with titanium in them tend to make for interesting layering. A over B does not look that same as B over A, so test every combination.

For me, contrast is key, whether it's matte and shiny or light and dark or opaque and transparent. Light over dark is generally more interesting than the opposite. You also need the glazes to be fluid enough that they move. Glazes with titanium in them tend to make for interesting layering. A over B does not look that same as B over A, so test every combination.

If you're not set up with a good mixer, pugger, and appropriate ventilation, then don't mess with mixing clay. And even if you are set up, it's not worth the time and hassle. If you don't have a good de-airing pugger, then don't even think about it, because the quality will not be good if you plan to throw with it. Leave mixing to the people who do it for a living, and spend your time making pots instead. The cost of clay is cheap in the big picture, and your time is worth a lot more than whatever you'd save.

I wold think that even at 30 gallons they would not need to be especially thick. Clay is strong stuff. Just picturing a 30 gallon trash can, 1/2" walls should be able to hold it. It would be difficult to build that thin, though, so I would just do what you can and not worry about it.

I wold think that even at 30 gallons they would not need to be especially thick. Clay is strong stuff. Just picturing a 30 gallon trash can, 1/2" walls should be able to hold it. It would be difficult to build that thin, though, so I would just do what you can and not worry about it.

I wold think that even at 30 gallons they would not need to be especially thick. Clay is strong stuff. Just picturing a 30 gallon trash can, 1/2" walls should be able to hold it. It would be difficult to build that thin, though, so I would just do what you can and not worry about it.

How handy are you with kiln repairs? Brick replacement can be difficult in some models. Also look up how much replacement elements cost. Some Paragon elements are incredibly expensive.

I like to use a darker clay for the mug, and white clay for the medallion. That way I can dip one glaze on the whole thing and still get good contrast between the two. Just make sure the two clay bodies have the same shrinkage rate.
I roll out 1/16" thick slabs for the medallions. Anything thicker than that looks pretty bulky. I've used simple rubber stamps that you can order online from any number of places for very little money, and I've used more expensive stamps that make a raised emblem (I think I got them from 4clay.com). I spray the slabs with cooking spray to keep the stamp from sticking. After stamping, I cut out the shape and set the medallion on a rolling pin or pvc pipe so that it can dry in a curve that roughly matches the curve of the mug, and clean up the edges once it has set up. You want the medallion to be as close to leather hard as possible when attaching it, otherwise you risk it cracking as is dries. Also, the stiffer the better so you don't mess up the image. To attach, I do some very light scoring (can't do much since the medallion is so thin) and coat the entire backside of the medallion with slip. I like for the slip to ooze out around the medallion so it gives a really clean edge where it meets the mug. No little voids.

I think this is the answer. Every time I've actually heard pieces blow up, the kiln was around 500F. It takes a lot longer for the heat to penetrate and cause problems than we realize.
So why does Bartlett program their preheat to hold at 180F?  Probably because it makes their lives a lot easier. If it was set at 240F, or anything too close to 212F, they would have to educate their users on the subject, and they'd get blamed every time something blew up. They'd be dealing with phone calls and email on the subject every day. 180F works just fine, and it's far enough from the boiling point that if something blows up it's definitely not their fault.

I like to use a darker clay for the mug, and white clay for the medallion. That way I can dip one glaze on the whole thing and still get good contrast between the two. Just make sure the two clay bodies have the same shrinkage rate.
I roll out 1/16" thick slabs for the medallions. Anything thicker than that looks pretty bulky. I've used simple rubber stamps that you can order online from any number of places for very little money, and I've used more expensive stamps that make a raised emblem (I think I got them from 4clay.com). I spray the slabs with cooking spray to keep the stamp from sticking. After stamping, I cut out the shape and set the medallion on a rolling pin or pvc pipe so that it can dry in a curve that roughly matches the curve of the mug, and clean up the edges once it has set up. You want the medallion to be as close to leather hard as possible when attaching it, otherwise you risk it cracking as is dries. Also, the stiffer the better so you don't mess up the image. To attach, I do some very light scoring (can't do much since the medallion is so thin) and coat the entire backside of the medallion with slip. I like for the slip to ooze out around the medallion so it gives a really clean edge where it meets the mug. No little voids.

A downdraft vent is good because it will increase element life and decrease corrosion of the kiln's metal parts. However, like Bill said, having it blow out into the hood is probably not very effective at removing the fumes from the room. With big powerful hoods it'll work pretty well, but not so much with a cooking hood. The hood is not going to catch everything. I would run the downdraft duct all the way to the outside. As for whether or not it needs more fresh air holes, you'll need to measure the temperature of the air in the duct. It should be under 140F. It's a balance between pulling enough air from the kiln to remove the fumes, but not so much that you're bringing too much cold air into the kiln and making it work harder. Ideally, the fresh air hole in the duct should be right at the kiln. Otherwise you're pulling really hot air through that flexible duct, which isn't safe and will degrade the duct very quickly. You're trying to keep the ductwork cool as well as the vent motor.