Mark C.

I know a potter who only does custom mugs-thats the whole business-mugs with names on them That would kill me _ can't image the shard pile of uncle Joe and happy dad mugs in his studio

I did custom work for about 35 years-it was alway a murphys law deal.all pots came out great except for custom order.Its just the nature of that custom. It takes to much time to many tries and never pays off. I laid down the law of No about 15 years ago and it has been the best thing for me and for the business. Custom work is for those who have yet to learn this lesson -thats also tru for me on small variations as Mea pointed out still happen now and then.

Manually firing is the way to go. Burners should never cycle off or up and down. Thats a given . I doubt that kiln ever needs 7inchs (full on) start low and turn up a bit after quartz enversion (1100) then up some more around 1800 thats where I start light reduction . and around 2,000 maybe gas is at 3/4 on or 5-6 on guage. You will need to see cones try for two cones if hole is small say a 7 and a 8 if you are firing for 8. Use a small soft brick or clay piece thats solid so cone stand out against that visually. I have zero gas experience with a controller . I think Neils idea of 999999 so its out of the picture is a good one in the kiln specs its says high limit controller and thats what I think it should do limit the top end for safety. set that above cone 8 and fire with cones and eyeball

a few questions is this new kiln with natural gas offices ? Or a used kin that was hooked to propane before ? Most natural gas is piped in at 1/4 pound or 7 inches on manometer is the kiln pipe a 1 inch size as recommended ? If yes to all these questions-(no propane orfices which are smaller than natural gas) I'm wondering how you are getting 13 inches of gas presure? can you address this as its near double what most homes are? No need to fire blind you need good kiln glasses and move the cones a bit further in in a small spy hole situation with a soild brick or clay backstop to help see the cones.This is leraned skill set a small laser pointer can also aid it this. To even the kiln out temp wise the stacking is the thing that will control the evenness the most. In terms of full on with the burners it should not be necessary to have them full on. I would work up to about 3/4 on and let it glide up. The damper setting is whats critical in reduction downdrafts such as this kiln. When in reduction the flame should lick out the botton spyplug a little now and then during heavy reduction Reduction will aid in evening temps and the stack will help as well was the lower shelves tall or small pots? was the top tall or small pots You say 3/4 full where was the empty zone? How was the flue exit area packed loose or tight? I set the air plates to one postion and fire with no changes on all my kilns for me to help I'll need more info I sent you a pm which may speed up the fix Please fill in more details to aid us helping you also are you new do downdrafts or an old hat?

For me watching videos or reading books would not have been enough to get me on my path that has made me a production potter for 5 decades . Those things are just ad ons to the real education I got at school from those who knew more in ceramics than most.Nothing beats the learning directly from teachers especially with throwing,glazing and firing. Maybe as a hobbist it will do fine but for a professional no way.My 2 cents Junior collage can be done on the cheap these days

looks like bloating to me.-yes you can keep it (do not sell it) but if you break it open you will know for sure thats it bloating as the inside will have a bubble in it.

Since you are in England I am on this side of the pond I'm not familiar enough with English insurers. I would shop this around to various companies. You could start out as a hobby and later switch to a business which may be easier with insurers

Rutile is way up as well.Just another heads up

As a Laguna distributor the NEW current price is $62 at the best wholesale price break This high price will start when suppliers reorder-so just a heads up

Just a heads up if you use Tin buy some NOW Distributor Tin cost has just doubled Most Tin is from Mymar and its a mess now politically I'm not much of Tin user myself but if you are may want to double down on it now

I work hard on the functionality of the form 1st. This is a key part of my work-it has to perform as intended well. The glaze also needs to fit into that process. It needs to add to the form in function then at the same time be spectacular . That will make it sell well work well and make for happy users I like the forms to clean easy on fluids inside and look snappy on the outside which is the second process after the functionality of that form

NO idea you will just have to try it

If you are not taking cards you are leaving $$ on the table. I do not add a fee for cards-I''m not in urban environs ever anymore show wise.Usually a big line with two of us-one wrapping the other taking the funds.The whole business is a happy business -people buying pots are usually happy-pots they sell themselves-. If I was ever going to think about adding a fee I would just up the pottery prices and not mention any fees-extra fee are not happy In a smaller home town show its about the same with less people -but thay are still happy

Yes it can be reused -keep it on the shelve and not in the elements. You can vacuum kiln after use if you get sloppy most use it as a smooth flat bed not in a container.

any good ceramics outlet that carries glaze materials will carry it. If you are kiln building and just need some sand the lumber store carries lesser quaility sand

I recently gave away my slip mixer tank and motor and pump to another potter who could and is using it daily in her business-as well as some master molds. I bought her SS VMP20 Peter pugger as well. I did not ask for any $ for that stuff as its hard around here to find anyone who is in the slip making world.This stuff all went to Portland Or where slip is a thing now more than other locations. I sold a Brent wheel last year during the begining of covid for a good deal for her (not trying to gouge any buyers) at a time when wheels where non extistant. Its all part of the ceramic community in a broader sense I feel ,we help one another as this is hard enough and helping others avoid mistakes is the right attitude to have

I feel you change over time about sharing. For me it was quest of knowledge for the 1st 20 years then the next 20 years was about execution. The past 10 years (yes it been 50 years now) has been about to some extent giving back. I have lots of knowledge in kiln building, marketing , firing and glazing and instead of dying with that info I have tried to give some of it back Ceramics takes about two lifetimes to master things-I am near the end of the 1st one I only have 2-3 things I have yet to share-one is my rutile glaze reciepe that I use the most of my 15 glazes (its out there if you look) the other is salt/soda coating I developed about 15 years ago. I have shared components of it (today someone is calling me with a salt kiln question from NC) I have thought about marketing it but am on the fence still. The last thing is I was given Otto Heino's Million dollar yellow recipe and promised not to share it so I respect that promise All the rest is an open book-I have written some articles for CM that really are just sharing what I have learned. I really want to encourage others on how to be successful in a full time pursuit of ceramics as I have. The thing is one can make a really good living at this if you have the fortitude drive and tenacity .If I can pass this on to one person I feel I;ve done a good job In our area (most of the west coast as well ) there are not many young potters up and coming doing funtional wares-the void is huge. Right now the market demand is at an all high and I'm scaling back. My most hopeful local younger potter has long haul covid and at least for the past 2 years cannot even make pots as he has no energy. -Its a sad story. he may never recover as its all an unknown.

West coast shows for me have always been 1/3 to a bit more cash-the pandemic years a bit less cash

who is the insurer ?

Well many here may not have this and do not need it but I do and have for many decades. Since I did many shows over time that required it. Over time this one time cheap poilicy (300$) has really gone up at the same time my exposure has really gone down (only 3 shows this year -two next year). Now for the 1st time I only need it for one event at a shopping center at xmas(and I need to name them on the policy ) The shows I now do have thier own coverage. Of cource its more than doubled in price. It was a two million poilicy with a 1k deductible . I have my agent cutting that back to 500K liablitiy and 3k deductible to get to the minimum of 500$ per year. This also covers my studio for 45K for fire insurance (homepolicy does not cover stutio) and 12 k for equipment . State Farm is my carrier as well I dislike insurance . This is an understatement

The better wheels which will not slow down with pressure are Skutts and Brents and Baileys. Better warranty as well. These wheels last though the test of time Brents are my wheel of choice -10 year warranty Pacificas are slowly getting better with better materials now (no longer have say flakeboard uder the plastic deck) they now use that Bat material which is morte waterproof .

P.S. it use to be that credit card companies prohibited the seller from penalizing the customer and could take away charing privileges, is this no longer true? That law was erased a few years ago and merchants can now pass the fees on to consumers. It country wide

Its now legal to do this now.(pass the fees on) Most around here do not do this yet.If the public is used to it no big deal. I always add tax no matter what. I have never done it and am almost out of shows-only one out of state show left this summer-then only a local show moving forward.

You could spin it using with some fine emory cloth to smooth it if its rough. I really think its no big deal. Looks like it will not affect function at all.

In 49 years, I have never heard of any of the toxic moulds that are associated with causing major illness growing in clay as well. Clay is not for everyone thats for sure.