neilestrick

The clear relays run hot because the box that they're in is shallow. You'll notice on the top that there are 5 louvers. They switched to the black relays at some point, presumably because they were cheaper, and found that they burned out really fast, so they made the box deeper (6 louvers) to provide more air flow, and it made more room for the wire terminals so they didn't have to use right angle terminals with those relays. They recommend still using the clear relays in the 5 louver boxes. The clear ones are rated for high heat areas, and in general they do pretty well.
@Hyn Patty You need a new wiring harness. You've still got the original 20 year old wires connected to the relays, and they are most likely what is causing them to overheat. I see this all the time in Skutt kilns, and new wires solve the problem. Transformers rarely fail, and I don't see how it could cause the relay to fail, but as long as you have one coming, go ahead and replace it and all the wiring in the box at the same time.

I have never seen the direction of the wedging to have any effect on my throwing or any of my students' throwing. Once you cone the clay a couple of times during centering, any wedging spiral is gone. IMO she is overthinking the process, or finding something to blame for poor centering technique. I have wedged 'backwards' of the way she's showing for 30 years, and I've never had any issues. Same with my students. Wedge it, make it into a ball, smack it onto the wheelhead, and center it. With good coning technique it doesn't matter which way it was wedged.

The clear relays run hot because the box that they're in is shallow. You'll notice on the top that there are 5 louvers. They switched to the black relays at some point, presumably because they were cheaper, and found that they burned out really fast, so they made the box deeper (6 louvers) to provide more air flow, and it made more room for the wire terminals so they didn't have to use right angle terminals with those relays. They recommend still using the clear relays in the 5 louver boxes. The clear ones are rated for high heat areas, and in general they do pretty well.
@Hyn Patty You need a new wiring harness. You've still got the original 20 year old wires connected to the relays, and they are most likely what is causing them to overheat. I see this all the time in Skutt kilns, and new wires solve the problem. Transformers rarely fail, and I don't see how it could cause the relay to fail, but as long as you have one coming, go ahead and replace it and all the wiring in the box at the same time.

I have never seen the direction of the wedging to have any effect on my throwing or any of my students' throwing. Once you cone the clay a couple of times during centering, any wedging spiral is gone. IMO she is overthinking the process, or finding something to blame for poor centering technique. I have wedged 'backwards' of the way she's showing for 30 years, and I've never had any issues. Same with my students. Wedge it, make it into a ball, smack it onto the wheelhead, and center it. With good coning technique it doesn't matter which way it was wedged.

I have never seen the direction of the wedging to have any effect on my throwing or any of my students' throwing. Once you cone the clay a couple of times during centering, any wedging spiral is gone. IMO she is overthinking the process, or finding something to blame for poor centering technique. I have wedged 'backwards' of the way she's showing for 30 years, and I've never had any issues. Same with my students. Wedge it, make it into a ball, smack it onto the wheelhead, and center it. With good coning technique it doesn't matter which way it was wedged.

The plaster itself should dry the surface of the clay enough that it will release. If it's not releasing quickly enough, then dust some corn starch on the mold or the clay before pressing it. I would not use any sort of liquid on the plaster, as it will just soak in and ruin the porosity of the plaster.

That type of bat is notorious for not sitting flat, at least the round ones. Back when they were made by CI 30 years ago they did the same thing.

I shape simple extruded handles by  putting them inside oval cookie cutters. Extrude the strap, let it set up slightly so you can handle it without messing it up, then push it against the inside of the cookie cutter to get the shape. Leave it in there until it's set up enough that it will hold shape when you take it out. Makes a nice curve that's comfortable to hold. You can buy multiples of the same size cutter from folks on Etsy who 3D print them.

I'm having these moments almost daily since I'm trying out a bunch of new hand building and decorating techniques. I'm amazed and proud of myself every time something works out the way I hoped it would, or I discover a way to make the process faster or more successful. I haven't had this much growth in such a short time since I first started making pots. I'm having a great time!

I shape simple extruded handles by  putting them inside oval cookie cutters. Extrude the strap, let it set up slightly so you can handle it without messing it up, then push it against the inside of the cookie cutter to get the shape. Leave it in there until it's set up enough that it will hold shape when you take it out. Makes a nice curve that's comfortable to hold. You can buy multiples of the same size cutter from folks on Etsy who 3D print them.

I shape simple extruded handles by  putting them inside oval cookie cutters. Extrude the strap, let it set up slightly so you can handle it without messing it up, then push it against the inside of the cookie cutter to get the shape. Leave it in there until it's set up enough that it will hold shape when you take it out. Makes a nice curve that's comfortable to hold. You can buy multiples of the same size cutter from folks on Etsy who 3D print them.

I shape simple extruded handles by  putting them inside oval cookie cutters. Extrude the strap, let it set up slightly so you can handle it without messing it up, then push it against the inside of the cookie cutter to get the shape. Leave it in there until it's set up enough that it will hold shape when you take it out. Makes a nice curve that's comfortable to hold. You can buy multiples of the same size cutter from folks on Etsy who 3D print them.

I shape simple extruded handles by  putting them inside oval cookie cutters. Extrude the strap, let it set up slightly so you can handle it without messing it up, then push it against the inside of the cookie cutter to get the shape. Leave it in there until it's set up enough that it will hold shape when you take it out. Makes a nice curve that's comfortable to hold. You can buy multiples of the same size cutter from folks on Etsy who 3D print them.

I'd put thin foam sheets between them with them tight to each other, and transport them standing up, not laying down, on something soft like a sheet of styrofoam. Tie them or block them to the side of the car/truck so they can't fall over.

Clay-King seems to have a bunch in stock. Maybe they're fulfilling distributor orders and don't have enough to sell directly from their website. FYI, their 220C is the greatest clay knife ever. Of course those are out of stock, because everyone agrees with me!

I'd put thin foam sheets between them with them tight to each other, and transport them standing up, not laying down, on something soft like a sheet of styrofoam. Tie them or block them to the side of the car/truck so they can't fall over.

Red earthenware bodies get their color from iron. Adding iron will only make it darker, and it's a bad way to color a clay as it tends to increase brittleness. Generally red bodies get darker the hotter you fire them. So firing lower will give you a more orange and less red color. However firing lower may not be an option with your glazes, and it also will increase the porosity of the body. If you want a truly orange body, then you may want to try adding a stain to your clay, but that may work best with a white body.

Check the manufacturer first. If they're super expensive then check Euclids.

I'd put thin foam sheets between them with them tight to each other, and transport them standing up, not laying down, on something soft like a sheet of styrofoam. Tie them or block them to the side of the car/truck so they can't fall over.

Cone 6 porcelain is definitely under 1%. Stoneware bodies can be, but many are closer to 1.5%, which is still pretty tight and within the range we call acceptable for functional work.

@Pyewackette That makes sense. You like the atmospheric stuff, which gas kilns are great for and electric kilns are not great for. I will argue that cone 6 porcelains are just as good as cone 10 porcelains. I've used cone 6 porcelain for years and years and I don't see any advantage to the cone 10 porcelain I used to use. Both are white, glassy, and translucent.

@neilestrick Pretty much all of the above.  I like the glazes, shinos, etc, the way the same slip or glaze can give you varying results.  There's a sort of freeness to it.  Glaze results are less constrained and, I feel, more natural.  Some people have been able to more or less imitate these results at ^6 in an electric kiln - Shikha Joshi for instance - but at great effort.  Shikha Joshi refires her glazed pieces as many as 4 times to get the results she wants.
I'd love to do soda firings but given how it eats away at bricks I probably can't.  But I can get close to those sorts of results at ^10 reduction through judicious selection of glazes and firing schedules. I've read about different processes that allege they can achieve similar results but haven't been able to try them, like ash glazes or washes that can help get flashing on a pot without exposing the entire interior of the kiln to soda fumes.  I can't try these if I don't have the kiln in which to try them.
And most porcelain fires better (or only) at ^10. If you're going to high fire a lot - and I would certainly like to do that - that's an awful lot of money in elements and other parts (over $900 for an element change in the 4 section Jupiter kilns).  Somehow I don't think those elements are going to get any cheaper.
I get that its not an automated process like in an electric kiln.  That also has a certain allure for me.

What specifically do you like about reduction- certain glazes, certain clay bodies, the process,...? Not being negative about it here, just getting a feel for what you want from a kiln. I talk to a lot of people who want reduction simply because that's all they know and haven't had much experience with oxidation, or have been working at a studio that had horrible oxidation glazes. If you can be happy with cone 6 oxidation, the whole process of getting kiln set up and firing successfully will be faster, easier, and less expensive. I totally get the allure of reduction- I fired gas, wood, and salt for 12 years before switching to electric, and loved it.

On the topic of your body being able to do the work: There's a very real possibility that one's business model will have to change (or even stop) well before you reach retirement age. I am at a point in my career where that is happening to me. I'm 51 years old, and after 30 years of making pots my hands hurt way too much to continue wheel throwing. It's nothing that surgery can fix for the most part, and I want to be able to use my hands when I retire some day, so I am now a hand builder! If I was making my living 100% from making pots, that would be a severe change in my production output and my business may or may not be able to survive that kind of change. Luckily for me, selling pots is only one of 4 income streams I have. That said, kiln repair work is also really hard on my body and I'm starting to see signs that I will probably have to stop doing it well before retirement age. None of this was an issue when I was 40, I'm just worn out. Once it starts happening it seems to build quickly, so you have to plan ahead for those changes. There's a reason you don't see many 64 year old guys framing houses or installing roof shingles.

I don't think that 'work' in itself is the issue. Rather, it's the type of work. Some people can work for hours and hours with spreadsheets on a computer and have no problem with it. Some folks install shingles all day or frame houses. Some teach kids. I can work hard all day in the studio but I would hate other jobs. It's a matter of finding the work that you enjoy, and if you're not totally into clay then it's not going to be work you want to do all day.