irenepots

Great discussion. Great Forum.

OK here are my results. The cones are 5.5, 6 and 7. I was out of 5s. The sets of cones on the left of each pic are the original, reused cones. On the right are the single fired cones. The last pic is in the first category, but I neglected to add a new set to that lower left half shelf. Do you think there's a significant difference? It looks enough to me that I won't re-use underfired cones again. I hope this info is helpful to you too. Thanks for your input!

Thanks for your answers. Looking on the box is not something I ever thought to do. Duh. Since this is my first glaze fire since changing all the elements and the relays, I have cones on each half shelf. The bisque firings ran pretty much the way I expected so I fired the glaze load as I normally do. I thought if anything it would be running hotter since the parts are new, but it finished a little low. The kiln just shut off so I'll get results tomorrow and let you know if the set from the first run and the second run look the same. Thanks again.

OK thanks everyone for your prompt responses. I'll leave them in and add some new ones and let you know how the experiment goes. I'll be sure to mark them so I know which are the old and which the new ones. I use the free standing cones, I think they're called self-supporting. Thanks for your input! I'm going to run the kiln overnight. By the way, where exactly is the cone supposed to hit for it to be that measure of heat and temp that matches what it's calibrated to? I can't seem to find that info. More thanks......

I need to refire a glaze load and am wondering if I can leave the same witness cones in it for this second firing, which will hopefully get up to the right temperature once I change the cone offset. I think it should work, but I'd like some opinions. The lowest cone only bent a bit so they have a ways to go. Thanks for your help!

My first thought is mosquito larvae. I had some breeding once in a vase where I was rooting something. Yech. I don't know what you can put in there that won't upset the clay, but I'm sure someone on this forum knows exactly what you should do. Maybe it's the sacrifice needed so the bell rings true after it's cast... oh wait, wrong folk tale.

Excellent posts. Thanks

thanks for the tip!

Any suggestions about where I can get a small amount of soda ash? I’ve only found 10 pound bags online and my local pottery store is a hike. Thanks!

Hi Sunnyard. I may be wrong about this so take with a grain of salt if it seems so to you. It sounds to me that the bumps you're feeling in the clay may be air bubbles. Are you wedging well before throwing? Coning up and centering down several times as you center? Are you removing your hands very slowly from the clay as you work? I center with the wheel at highest speed, then open and pull the wall up at a slower speed. I think clay can be centered whether or not the bat or wheel head are perfectly centered. I drilled holes for bat pins in one of my wheel heads and they are slightly off, so the bat sits annoyingly a bit off center, but I can still center, especially when I close my eyes and just go by feel. I hope this is helpful. I'm sure other more experienced potters than me will weigh in and give you ideas too. Don't get discouraged. It's wonderful that you've returned to pottery! It took me 35 years.

Hi Andrea - I've cut out circles, squares and rectangles of various sizes, about 1/8 - 1/4" thick from whatever clay I have handy, all cone 4-6. I bisque them, or put them in a glaze load if that's happening first, then brush some kiln wash on them. I use them pretty much endlessly under just about everything I glaze even tho I rarely have anything run. Famous last words? I have a big collection of them. Some are just irregular pieces from other things I've cut out. I've never had to retire any, tho I do occasionally drop one, and then I use those pieces under witness cones, or in the garbage. Or in the bottoms of flowerpots......

My new cord has already arrived from L&L! Too bad they couldn't fit an electrician in the box.

L&L is sending me a new cord under the warranty and I’m waiting to hear from the electrician so hopefully it will be fixed soon. Thanks for the repair tips Neil but I’m not doing this myself. And the cord does hang straight down so that didn’t cause the problem. It’s still a mystery to me but I’m just glad it’s a relatively easy fix I tried to attach the pic from my phone but it’s same problem with the file being too big. I can only resize when emailing or texting it. I will send a pic when I can, hopefully later this week. Thanks everyone, for your help and moral support. And happy almost spring! Irene

"right click on photo, select "open with" left click and select "Paint". go to home, choose resize, then choose pixels and enter 600 for the horizontal size. the vertical size will automatically become 450. then save it. once saved, post it here. thank you again, john." Thanks dlpotter and oldlady, and I tried to do that, but photos on my laptop has been sort of disabled - long story about lack of storage - and when I right click I don't see Open With, and nothing else there takes me to Paint, nor can I find it anywhere else. (which doesn't mean it's not in there..... somewhere). I haven't had the time or inclination to spend another afternoon on the phone with tech support, tho I have to again soon. But thanks for trying to help me. Hopefully I'll hear from L&L tomorrow and find out what I need to do to get it up and running again. another old lady

I'm not going to fire it. I have a very healthy respect for high voltage. I'm wondering now how long it's been like this and if I only noticed it now. There's no way it could have been stepped on or anything - only I go in the garage. The unplugged cord lays on the floor when the kiln isn't in use. I can only imagine it happened gradually. I'll try again to upload the picture. I was able to email that to LL. Thanks for your responses!