Min

Every group raku firing I have seen does this. Usually freshly glazed pieces are placed on top of the raku kiln to warm up while the kiln is firing, taken off the top of the kiln before it's opened up then put in as the kiln by one person while another is unloading the kiln.

Yes. 
Most glazes are just fine with running through an 80 mesh screen once, some run it through twice. I hold a bit of the water back to rinse the sieve out at the end of sieving to try and get as much out of it as possible. 

I aim for 2 glaze loads a week. During the busy times I have 1 kiln firing while the other is cooling. 

Another thing that works for rims instead of a piece of chamois is the microfibre cleaning cloth that comes with eye glasses. They last a long time and don't go slimy at all.
Wire coat hanger corners to make callipers. 
 
 

It seemed like a given that they can and many of us do this but I reached out to the Ceramic Shop to ask them specifically. They make, sell and wholesale posts to other ceramic suppliers in the US and elsewhere. (they make triangular and square ones)
Their reply: 
"Thanks for reaching out!  

To my knowledge, yes, they can be used on their sides. Kiln posts are made to be the most stable on their top ad bottom though and they will take up extra room in the kiln on their side. If you need a smaller kiln post for some works you can check these out:  https://www.theceramicshop.com/product/148/kiln-post-1/ 

All of our kiln posts are rated to cone 10. 

Best, 
Syd"

It seemed like a given that they can and many of us do this but I reached out to the Ceramic Shop to ask them specifically. They make, sell and wholesale posts to other ceramic suppliers in the US and elsewhere. (they make triangular and square ones)
Their reply: 
"Thanks for reaching out!  

To my knowledge, yes, they can be used on their sides. Kiln posts are made to be the most stable on their top ad bottom though and they will take up extra room in the kiln on their side. If you need a smaller kiln post for some works you can check these out:  https://www.theceramicshop.com/product/148/kiln-post-1/ 

All of our kiln posts are rated to cone 10. 

Best, 
Syd"

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Somewhere to start might be looking at Terra Sig with added materials such as salt, soda ash, oxides and stain and borax. Washes would be another avenue to experiment with. . Also have a look at Mary Fox’s work where she uses lithium carb plus copper for a dry surface. (on some of her lowfire sculptural work)
This articles from Pottery Making Illustrated might be a good place to start for alternative surfaces. It’s behind a paywall but you can access 3 free articles a month.
https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/pottery-making-illustrated/pottery-making-illustrated-article/In-the-Studio-Washes-and-Patinas#
Perry’s wash recipes are for cone 10, for lower firing adding flux would probably be necessary for some of them. Also, firing in oxidation rather than reduction will make a difference with some of them.
http://shambhalapottery.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-st-paddys-day.html
Pit firing would be another avenue to explore.
 
 
 
 

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Somewhere to start might be looking at Terra Sig with added materials such as salt, soda ash, oxides and stain and borax. Washes would be another avenue to experiment with. . Also have a look at Mary Fox’s work where she uses lithium carb plus copper for a dry surface. (on some of her lowfire sculptural work)
This articles from Pottery Making Illustrated might be a good place to start for alternative surfaces. It’s behind a paywall but you can access 3 free articles a month.
https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/pottery-making-illustrated/pottery-making-illustrated-article/In-the-Studio-Washes-and-Patinas#
Perry’s wash recipes are for cone 10, for lower firing adding flux would probably be necessary for some of them. Also, firing in oxidation rather than reduction will make a difference with some of them.
http://shambhalapottery.blogspot.com/2013/03/happy-st-paddys-day.html
Pit firing would be another avenue to explore.
 
 
 
 

Old credit cards make good bench-scrapers and ribs. They can be cut into any profile  needed for shaping and trimming pots, smoothing seams and surfaces. Notching the edges of the card will give you many kinds of texture possibilities. 

If you can’t get proper pottery plaster for a reclaim slab, you can lay an old sheet over wire racking and lay thick slurry out on that to dry. 

From the Kanthal website, they recommend an oxidation firing to 1050C / 1922F for 7 to 10 hours. I'm thinking the people who hold for 7 to 10 hours are going to be few and far between if they mean a hold at 1922F and not a slow rise up to this temp. I typically hold for 3 when replacing elements. I don't know anybody who does a re-oxidation of the heating elements. I guess they are talking about a repeat empty kiln firing? 
edit: Euclids recommends holding for "several" hours also.
"To protect elements used under these conditions there is an element conditioning process that is desirable for FeCrAl elements, which requires heating the elements, in air, above 1830oF/1000oC, and holding for several hours. This develops an aluminum oxide coating on the outer element surface, which can dramatically improve element life.https://www.kanthal.com/en/knowledge-hub/heating-material-knowledge/operating-life-and-maximum-permissible-temperature/
 
"In such cases Kanthal® alloys are recommended, provided the heating elements are pre-oxidized in air at 1050°C for 7–10 hours. Reoxidation of the heating elements should be carried out at regular intervals."
 

Another thing that works for rims instead of a piece of chamois is the microfibre cleaning cloth that comes with eye glasses. They last a long time and don't go slimy at all.
Wire coat hanger corners to make callipers. 
 
 

Another thing that works for rims instead of a piece of chamois is the microfibre cleaning cloth that comes with eye glasses. They last a long time and don't go slimy at all.
Wire coat hanger corners to make callipers. 
 
 

It does look like a crawl/reticulated glaze but I think the tricky part would be how they got it to stay on the pot on the undercut vertical surfaces. 
100 Grand maybe?

Another thing that works for rims instead of a piece of chamois is the microfibre cleaning cloth that comes with eye glasses. They last a long time and don't go slimy at all.
Wire coat hanger corners to make callipers. 
 
 

Another thing that works for rims instead of a piece of chamois is the microfibre cleaning cloth that comes with eye glasses. They last a long time and don't go slimy at all.
Wire coat hanger corners to make callipers. 
 
 

Another thing that works for rims instead of a piece of chamois is the microfibre cleaning cloth that comes with eye glasses. They last a long time and don't go slimy at all.
Wire coat hanger corners to make callipers. 
 
 

Tiny tips one may have never seen, read, or heard 'bout before.
Flexible metal rib, ideal (almost) for moving insects on the surface of water/glaze/liquid to outside the Studio.
Tiny spiders, gnats, et cetera land on the surface tension - timely removal can prevent a tiny insectoid blob (and the bug can live on!). The rib's edge, just on the surface, allows the bug to change footing without wetting, nor harming them. Step outside, blow the bug gently off the rib, onto a rock, plant, or somewhat. Note the tiny antennae nod of thanks.
Using actual real chamois leather chamois*?
Is it floppy - stretched out - slimy and soft? When next you pour hot water into your throwing bucket, note that your chamois, when exposed to hot water, will shrink and "tighten up" considerably! ...maybe too tight? Don't worry, it will loosen up after while...
It's not rainy today!

*We have an actual leather chamois that was a gift promotion from an auto parts store, decades ago.
I've been trimming strips off of it for pottery use over the last six+ years...

Small update - here is the finished oil clay with a very simple Lego mold box erected around it.  I tend to use Legos (or generic off brand) for tiny things and I made larger mold boxes out of wood or thick acrylic plexi as needed for larger projects.   I have sealed this down with oil wax and then added a bead of oil clay all the way around it on the outside.  I'm about to add a very thin bead of oil clay around the inner edge of the box as well so I can be REALLY sure there will be no leakage.  I will then coat the inside of the mold box and glass backing with oil soap.  I can fill it with water to the depth I want to check for leaks, then pour the water off and measure it to see how much plaster or rubber I will need to make my pour.  
At this point you can see I haven't bothered to lay in a pour hole, sprues for air venting, or even mold keys - but I can!   I'd just want a larger mold box to give me plenty of space to do that, which I have not set up  here.  This pour is set up for a uber simple one sided open mold.  It is otherwise about ready to pour plaster or rubber.   If I did this in plaster I'd want to make a rubber mold of my plaster mold before I started production so I can pour however additional plaster molds I might want or need in the future. 
Another option is I can pour rubber now and skip the plaster.  I can still use an open backed one sided rubber mold to cast a single flat resin.  I pull that out, clean it up and fine tune anything I like, even adding more sculpting in epoxy if needed.   I can get away with undercuts and very thin areas if it's going to be rubber molded for resin production.   I can also cast  a rubber positive master from that rubber mold, from which I can also go on to make plaster production molds.  So there are LOTS options on how to proceed! 
In my case I want to do BOTH so I have to decide which one I'm going to do first, then go from there. 
 
  
 
 

I've altered the Studio White to remove the Gerstley Borate and supply the boron with frits instead. I've also removed the Minspar 200, I did this because I wanted to get some clay into the recipe and the original only had 2 bentonite and zero epk, most of the sodium and potassium is now supplied by a frit. I replaced the calcium carbonate / whiting with wollastonite for two reasons, firstly it melts better than whiting + silica and secondly it has less loss on ignition. I kept the oxides the same in the formula, they are just being supplied from different materials. My hunch is it will melt more than the original. Kept the same flux ratio and reduced the LOI. Because of all the frit this glaze should have 2 main melting zones, lower temp for the frits to get started melting and then higher temp for the zinc. (put the epk in your mixing container first so the frits don't just stick to the bottom)
For the Wollastonite Clear I used 3 frits, I kept the boron level high. I wanted to reduce the silica and alumina amounts plus raise the silica above a 1:10 alumina : silica ratio. I reduced the sodium and potassium and increased the magnesium. By reducing the alumina and silica this version should be more fluid than the original, it did raise the COE slightly though.
Overall the Wollastonite Clear should make a more durable glaze than the Studio White. I didn't add tin to any of the recipes, wanted to see the numbers without it. (use 325 mesh silica) Please ask if you have any questions about why I subbed what I did if you are unsure of anything. (as always please test a small amount of the altered versions, what looks okay on paper doesn't always translate to a pot)
edit:  "I'll do a  full cone 6 fire on a small bowl as soon as I bisque some test bowls." +1
 
 
 
 

I would keep the kaolins, can sub those quite easily in glaze recipes. Calcined kaolin I would keep, use it as part of the kaolin in any glazes that crawl due to high kaolin amounts.  (have to recalc the amount used to sub for un-calcined kaolin) 
Alumina oxide can be used in place of alumina hydrate in kiln wash (use 1/3 less by weight).
If anyone uses washes then the Barnard, Burnt Sienna and Umber can be used in those if they want dark/earthy colours.
Kona (F4) can be subbed for Minspar 200 in a 1:1 ratio.
Tennessee Ball comes in different forms, given how inexpensive ball clay is I would donate that one if you don't know which you have. Fireclay, Sagger clay and mullite, unless someone is making their own bodies I'ld donate those. Redart can be used in bodies and glazes.
Silica sand, might be useful if someone is firing large heavy pieces or wants to wedge into their clay but if nobodies used it for years maybe not worth keeping.
CMC gum, mostly used for making brushing glazes or hardening a dusty glaze.
Calcium Carb precipitated, this is just whiting/calcium carb, keep it. 
Black Iron Oxide, can be used in glazes, need to compare the iron content with whichever red iron oxide you are using to sub it. It doesn't create the red staining mess that red iron oxide does.
 

I would keep the kaolins, can sub those quite easily in glaze recipes. Calcined kaolin I would keep, use it as part of the kaolin in any glazes that crawl due to high kaolin amounts.  (have to recalc the amount used to sub for un-calcined kaolin) 
Alumina oxide can be used in place of alumina hydrate in kiln wash (use 1/3 less by weight).
If anyone uses washes then the Barnard, Burnt Sienna and Umber can be used in those if they want dark/earthy colours.
Kona (F4) can be subbed for Minspar 200 in a 1:1 ratio.
Tennessee Ball comes in different forms, given how inexpensive ball clay is I would donate that one if you don't know which you have. Fireclay, Sagger clay and mullite, unless someone is making their own bodies I'ld donate those. Redart can be used in bodies and glazes.
Silica sand, might be useful if someone is firing large heavy pieces or wants to wedge into their clay but if nobodies used it for years maybe not worth keeping.
CMC gum, mostly used for making brushing glazes or hardening a dusty glaze.
Calcium Carb precipitated, this is just whiting/calcium carb, keep it. 
Black Iron Oxide, can be used in glazes, need to compare the iron content with whichever red iron oxide you are using to sub it. It doesn't create the red staining mess that red iron oxide does.
 

Spray the glazed pots with hair spray and wrap with dry cleaner plastic.  Works really well.  Lin

Interesting stuff. The main thing it's missing is that the sodium is not just reacting with the silica. It also needs alumina in order for it to form the glaze. Pure silica will not be affected by sodium vapor. We used to dust flint onto our salt kiln shelves to protect them.
High zirconia blanket is about 15-17% zircon. It's in there primarily to bump up the heat rating of the  blanket. It may help protect from the soda, but not much. High zirconia bricks are 60+% zircon, so it's going to be considerably more durable than the fiber.
The life span of salt and soda kilns depends more on the amount of salt and soda being used in each firing than which one you're using. Salt kilns can outlast soda kilns and vice versa. In general, I see soda people using a lot more material than salt people.
Neither salt nor soda is more dangerous than the other, and your car will create many times more pollution than a salt/soda kiln being fired every week. Much of what comes out the stack is water vapor, and about 96% of the salt/soda that goes into the kiln comes out the stack as the same thing.
Read 'The Truth About Salt' by Gil Stengel in the Sept. 1998 Ceramics Monthly. HERE is some other good info. HERE is a good discussion.

In a recent QotW (2/15/24) about how often we fire our kilns, I disclosed some personal functional limitations that I'm coming to grips with, that significantly change how and what I do with clay. "The next fire is my first post-diagnosis test run--will she sink or will she swim?? The main challenge is that construction is fairly rough & funky , but I don't want the pieces to look too rough & too funky,  so I need to turn the heat up under the burner labeled "visually appealing", and pray." This is the first greenware heading into this new phase. I'll come back post-fire with the results. My tag line is (still) "Sculpturally Functional Ceramics ".  Most of the work is draped bowls/catchalls/small trays and tea light bases.