Mark C.

looks fine to me. I always put a full support under a kiln stand that covers whole bottom. It can be steel plate or hardy board if its a few thicknesses . Kilns usually have poor support stands The full support will keep those cracks from getting bigger.

Good idea but Its taken care of. I bought in 1983 3,000 pounds of Kingman feldspar in Kingman Az when it was going off market for for $300. in 100# bags. That lasted me until two months ago so potash feldspar has never been an issue for me . I still used some custar over that time as well. (I think I have a 50 # bag somewhere as well of Kingman with the az state map on it) I had 4 bags of custar last week and bought out my local suppliers 5 bags so now have 450# of it and this next week I'm heading south for a family gathering and will pick up at least 200#s from another supplier on way south to Santa Barbara and My fall clay order of 3 tons of Pocrelain has another #200s of custar on the truck from Laguna and shows up Tuesday so I'll have #850 enough for my remaining days as a potter. Thanks for the idea but I covered my self on this one. Heck I may start selling grestly borate as I have a lifetime supply as well

open up the air flaps in rear as they are not open enough in your photos to work well. Mine with natural gass are 100% bopen all the time. I never close them down.

always best to just chuck it all out and start fresh. The time wasting for bad reuslts is not worth it in my view. Done overfiring many times in my 50 years at this and its alway just easier to throw it away and move forward.

As a Laguna distributor and with lots of full timer Potter friends I hear things. Right now custard feldspar due to supply issues is now at 200#s per customer (including me) with Laguna clay I'm in the ordering mode this week so I found out about the 200# limit per customer on Custar .There are rumors Custar may be going aways but they are just rumors at this point.So thats a heads up. If I where able to by a lifetime supply right now I would .Just saying The other news is Kemper tools may not be around for long as the owners are selling the property they have been on for many decades in fact at least since 1947 Now someone could set up and buy the equipment and supplies and move the business but I would not hold my breath on this. The tool business has been defuzed in the past 20 years with so many other tool makes as well. So I ordered what kemper tools i like and there are only a few like the pro needle tool thinking its my last kemper order. So if you use kemper tools just beaware they may go away soon or not if its bought up. Well sorry to have such bad news but thats what I have heard all in the past few days after being away on a long trip and just returned.

I have a thrift store blender in. shop for this-works like charm

Before leaving on a dive trip I ordered 18 14x 28 Bailey german made advancer shelves. They were a bit cheaper only $331 each and shipping was in the mid 500$s. Advancers where considerable higher in price and shipping. They show up 2nd week of November . It will be tough to solar dry the wash that time of year so I may have to heat them in the shop to wash them and get them dry.

Not a rub it was darn hard clay work that got me here-

have used many types and brands of mixer over my 50 year career. these are not jiffley which have no side or bottom protection https://www.jiffymixer.com/ Make the best as far as I know I never have them eat the sides or bottoms.I use three sizes two small ones in cordless drill (these smaller ones last about 20 years) and are great for smaller containers And the larger 5 gallon size with a 1/2 shaft diameter for my 1/2 electic drill-I use this every two weeks. I mix so much glaze that I wear the larger size out-I use one and keep in stock as spare . 5 gallon bucket size is perfect for me and the whole thing is about 2 feet long plus the drill from harbor frieght. I am on about #6 of the large size as I wear the bottom stainless out and it then become sharp and can wear a bucket . A hobbist will never wear one out as they are made to last the large size is just over $50 if i recall. Been since I bought one as I have a spare . Yes these cost more but last longer work better and sometimes you get what you pay for. I would measure mine exactly but I'm in Bali diving for 5 weeks -back home on the 8th

I sit to throw in this -I have two of them https://www.pinterest.com/pin/133208101456186331/ I trim on another wheel and use a rolling office chair with a good back support as well. I have been thru lots of throwing chairs in my 50 plus years at the wheel. I have had this current set up for over 20 years now.My wheels are up a bit with Brent booties and my trim wheel is a model A which is low so Its on a wooden platfore to raise it up

I have made a salt kiln out of an electric. The bricks are all rated for 2400 so its a non issue for cone 10 as Bill points out above

I bought a 500$ new washer just for clay stuff and its out next to studio and drains to my timber bamboo patch. I use only cold water and never any soap. You will have to clean out rubber trap under washer every now and then as clat settles there.I would never wash clay stuff into a house drain system especaily ours on a septic septic system

Shop is two kinds-main glaze room and clay wegding area and sink size of room 11x22 measurement of room , is 2x 12 inch wide redwood plank I installed the 1st month I bought my property June 1073. The throwing room is 3/4 tongue and groove floor plywood painted with special foor paint (now worn thry in spots) this was a add on about 20-25 years ago-and there is a 66 foot wide opening between (no doors). I like wood on the feet. The kiln area out side is a new cement slab as well as medium crushed rock mix.all under large metal roof area-hoods chemicals clay 3 gas kilns and 2 peter puggers and an electric kiln with a 8 foot wide gate to road-enclosed on three sides.

I never adajust my air flaps only gas pressure and danmper setting.and 98% is only the damper setting no presure after about 1800 degrees

You have alot of potters in southern Or who could help you. Thier was a southern Oregon potters guild as well and was very active at one time

I have an 10 cubic skutt electric-I fire it rarely now at best -once in 2023 so far, only for overflow bisque.It's a cone setter kiln with an automate turn up control. No computer I have a 35 cubic gas car kiln I made long ago and its my workhorse. Bisque and glaze in it . soft cone 11 reduction-soft brick inside hard brick outside I have a 12 cubic updraft fired to soft cone 11 reduction--soft brick (Berman brand) usually same time as the car kiln -at least in the last few years always a simi fire going on with both kilns Just last month I got a new to me gas 18 cubic Geil downdraft gas softbrick kiln, and have done two glaze fires and two bisques in it. I just ordered 20 14x28 Bailey advancer shelfs that should be coming just after my 5 weeks here in Bali diving ends .I fired it to soft cone 11 reduction. This kiln has a very basic DD controller which can turn off at a set temp or hold a set temp. My plan is to use this kiln more and more in my future as it super cost affective and a joy to fire.How it will fit into the mix is an unknown. best laid plans and all. I also have a homemade 24 cubic salt kiln-gas fires to cone 10 out in the side field . its a new age hard /soft and fiber combo fired 10 time so far.

I have found that water just drys or drips off when putting away dishwasher tall feet. It's never been a big issue-yes water collects but it goes away when picked up.

I would make the lip a bit less sharp as well , Mins suggestion also is good, I think a trim foot / glaze drip catch is also needed. Come 10 work can and will run glaze wise especially when using glaze combos. I have another professional pottery friend that uses the same clay and fires to soft 10 less runs . Thicker lips will help with the sharp edges.

On plates its got to not chip, same with bowls-no sharp edges. It need to hold the pot off the table and catch glaze if thats in your temp range. It needs to last a lifetime of use without chips. It take lots of work to get this one figured out and at the same time make it yours.. I always say at least 5 years and thousands of pots. I look back on my earliest work and it substandard foot wise and it was low fire in high school. The glaze did not run but the foot was an after thought not part of the whole work.

My skutt 10 cubic foot kiln -48 amps wired with copper #6 wire is hooked to a 60 amp breaker-the 125 rule is in effect and youir inspector is not familiar with that for kilns. You can educate them of do the 50 and swap out later if they are hardheaded .

One thing of note is how important your foot can be to your work. I feell it gtakes time to develop ones own foot style . I mentored a person in Canada for a long period of time (over a year) with her finding her foot-that is the one that fits her work. It hard to develop ones own style of feet -it comes over time. The temp you fire at and the forms you make all fit into this thought process. My feet are ones I developed in the 70s and have refines slowly since then. My 70s feet are similar to my 2023 feet. I have my own style and each potter need to find theirs. Its a very important feature of the pot

Well Bailey had the stock mixed up and they had in stock 20 of the 14x28 Thermo Lite shelves at $331 each so I ordered them all-Trucking to my remote part of the planet for a 275# box on a pallet was $590. Now my back is feeling better not using old shelve tecnology which is heavy ,and I had them shipped to my friends lumber yard a few miles away for cost reduction in shipping -still $590 via Fedx ground economy . They will show up second week in November when I return from diving Indonesia . I'll need to wash them lightly and bisque fire them with a bisque load..work almost never stops Funny the shelves cost more than the kiln, never used to be that way.

My foot is a glaze catcher-its a no trimmer on most forms but on trimmed forms like bowls its even larger.You can see it on my pots on my photo posts. for the no trimmers its put in with a wooden tool on the wheel . With my runny rutile glaze it has to be there.

This applies your your stack as well. Seeing as you have 15 of them in that load. Those spacer chunks if washed will not stick.As far as bricks for stilts no worries-I would wash the ends. Its not smaller profile its about mullite and post fuzing to the shelve. Wash will sholve that on all posts/bricks tops and all those small spacers you have in load. (Yes the tops of pots shold be washed and the spacer chucks as well. If unwashed it will leave pieces fuzed over time to the bottom of the shelves and make for uneven stacking and can crack a corner. Also posts and spacers will stick and be harder to remove especally at cone 10 temps.) I'll Pm you if we make that trip and still have the shelves. This am I'm ordering 17 14x28 Bailey advancers for delevery in 3 + months from Germany

yes and I know what kind they used. I use the same Pioneer /texas talc for that glaze as well. I have a supply of many different talcs for specific glazes. This one is my only Texas talc one.