Russ

I have the smaller shimpo nra04. 4 bolts come out and the barrel comes off.  takes about 5-10 minutes max to clean it.

Any easier? Dont know.  I formulate and mix my own clay and after its mixed its run thru the pugmill. It takes about 2hrs to run about 600lbs. Its fairly good about me feeding and not having to push the clay too hard down the hopper.

Iron oxide is the main colorant in practically every glaze i make.  Rutile would come second not as a colorant but just for the effect it has on glazes. 3rd cobalt ox or carb.

Iron oxide is the main colorant in practically every glaze i make.  Rutile would come second not as a colorant but just for the effect it has on glazes. 3rd cobalt ox or carb.

Iron oxide is the main colorant in practically every glaze i make.  Rutile would come second not as a colorant but just for the effect it has on glazes. 3rd cobalt ox or carb.

Yes, it will remain bloated. Clay bloats when it gets hotter than the top recommended temperature, and some of the ingredients are starting to break down, which starts releasing assorted gasses. Because the clay isn’t as porous anymore, those gasses get trapped and form pockets inside the wall of the pot, which is bloating. Adding more heat only makes it worse, and the pots will get very brittle.
The reason a slow bisque helps with darker clays is because they have a lot of secondary clays in them, which tend to have a lot of impurities that need more time to burn off. If they’re not given enough time in the bisque, those materials will continue to burn off in the glaze. Because glazes begin to melt and fuse at lower temperatures than the clay body does, the glaze can seal in gasses that still need to escape. This is especially true if the glaze fire is set to move through bisque temperature range quickly. 
If you want to have a look at what a bloated clay looks like in cross section, I had a kiln malfunction earlier this spring that lead to a load being VERY over fired. If you go into the link in my signature here to my instagram feed, at the top tap on the circle marked NOOO! I talked about how it worked in my Stories

I still make my own clay body.
I rarely wedge anymore. I figure thats what a pugmill is for.
Giffin grip is used on almost every piece made.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

Invest in a good mop and mop bucket and use it frequently. Your lungs will thank you.

We are permitted to create pottery at the mercy of our industrial overlords.

I use pieces to direct flame path along with the height between shelves and how tightly packed is very specific to each and every shelf especially at the front of the kiln. How I set the work on shelves determines whether the bottom back will be more even in temp to the top front ...so... what would that be? A bit of both?

katie, please do not feel bad.   this is really a good group of very caring people who want to help.  i have been where you are now and nobody offered any help.  that was a long time ago when the only education i could get was in books.   after all these years, i have learned a few things about working with clay and making things i can sell.   it sounds as though you have a reason to make this specific item.   has someone agreed to pay you for the mugs and you think you can earn that if you just find a way to fire the ones you have already made?
you are not being criticized, each of these answers are to help you learn that you really need to follow some "rules" to progress.   lately, there have been some questions that were not asking for an answer, they seemed more like challenges from some people who wanted to do stuff their way no matter what anybody suggested.   i read the answers here and realize that all the answers are past what you have learned.   you are still working on the alphabet and the answers are like reading shakespeare. 
it will take a lot of time and many, many mistakes before you will be able to do exactly what you want almost every time you touch clay.  try to find a way to learn the basics and not become unhappy when you run into the inevitable rock when you escape from the hard place. 
 

Early 70's  I had first glaze class in my first year of college,  no  one wore masks or gloves.   I was working with red lead glazes,   I believe there was one mask for people who were mixing clay in the bread dough type mixers.    I wasn't able to finish my degree had to get a job.   I continued to work with clay at home.  I was able to go back to school in the 90's.   Safety protocol had really changed,  gloves and masks  had to be worn in the glaze mixing room.   Hazardous materials were marked and pouring water and stirring was done in a open area.  Dust storms have silica in them,  silica is everywhere.    I have been working with clay since 1968,  I'm still here no lung problems.    Denice

Yup! About 60% of the earths crust is silica. Neat video showing "dust" from the Sahara travelling thousands of miles. Diatomaceous earth is approx 80-90% silica, much of the Saharan dust is diatomaceous earth from dried lake-beds in Chad. Not saying it's okay to have sloppy studio hygiene but keep it in perspective.
 

It can be, depends on the clay. I never dip pots in water before glazing, they are always dry when I glaze.
@Pir, I'ld rub those pinholes over with a dry fingertip when the glaze is dry.

I would be slightly worried about them falling off with glaze in a glaze fire.
Sorce

Also Ive found if you apply slip to both pieces and then score youll have a far better success rate . The scoring with the slip incorporates it into the clay body better than scoring one side and then adding the piece with slip.

The tech I have: electric wheel, giffin grip, pugmill, clay mixer.  No no no no. I mix my own clay and glazes and i fire in a large wood fired kiln. That offsets the tech I have.

The tech I have: electric wheel, giffin grip, pugmill, clay mixer.  No no no no. I mix my own clay and glazes and i fire in a large wood fired kiln. That offsets the tech I have.

I'm in the "no" camp as well, except to give up an electric kiln for a woodfired one, if it came with people to help chop wood and fire it.