Pres

Garage (where one of three bays* is the "Studio") outlets protected by GFCI, per code.
There are several extinguishers out there, however, they aren't mounted, thanks for the reminder!
It's easy enough to forget where they are; so, in plain sight and the "same place they have always been" could help.
There wasn't a smoke detector out there, nor was there one within twenty feet of the kitchen's ovens and range.
There are now.
Combo unit - smoke detector and CO detector - are available these days.
I didn't know (or forgot) CO is slightly "lighter" than air. Apparently is does mix well, so CO detector near the floor maybe not so bad; any road, the water heater is out there, also various flammables, a car and truck, so.
Before switching the wheel on, one may already be in the habit of checking the foot pedal position (particularly if one has already vroomed a mess, heh).
Consider also, tuck hair, jewelry, clothing - any and all anywhere near the wheel head - securely away.
Double check the torch is off and put away securely, each time.
Check ground on all the circuits.
Keep your feet dry.
Look both ways afore stepping off the curb! ...look again ...and again...
 
*Looking to make time to get the wall up this Winter!

WOW! After reading all this, I just checked my little library of about 40 books and found a copy of Clay and Glazes for the Potter...I guess I'll have to take a look and see what it's all about. It was given to me by an acquaintance who was into clay for awhile but drifted away from clay and turned to glass and fabrics...lucky me!

I used to run a Ceramics for Adults on Saturdays in the months of January and February. This really was not a class in that I did not have a series of set lessons. I would always start the first day with a 5X7 questionnaire card, asking basic contact info, experience levels, followed by questions about what they wanted to accomplish or do in the class. This always followed an introduction to the studio and equipment that included slab rollers, extruders, potters wheels, banding wheels etc. The first session I also introduced/demonstrated throwing a cylinder on the wheel. Following sessions would include construction with slabs, extrusion, and other coils where the demonstrations would include pieces they had mentioned in their questionnaires. The last session (6th) would be on glazing and they would glaze their pieces for glaze firings. They requested in the last years an extra day where they could see everyone's finished work. This class worked out very well, but in the end I guess you could call it an open studio. It earned enough money to help keep up equipment and add 4 wheels to the mix along with an extra extruder and several other pieces of furniture and tools.

I was looking around in the shop the other day, and noticed that the GFCI on my outlets was popped. Checked around and could not find the cause, but the circuit was working fine. Made me wonder how many folks have GFCI's, and then I wondered how many of you have fire extinguishers in your shop areas? I have both.  Got the fire extinguisher after a little grinding fire while sharpening some trimming tools. Easy to put out, just an oily rag, but a ceramic canister with lid was nearby. However, could have been worse so in came a fire extinguisher.
QotW: Do you have a fire extinguisher or a GFCI protector in your shop areas?
 
best,
Pres 

Of course I'm not an institution or a art center , just a production potter slowing down a bit. Safety is 1st always is a good rule to live by

I was looking around in the shop the other day, and noticed that the GFCI on my outlets was popped. Checked around and could not find the cause, but the circuit was working fine. Made me wonder how many folks have GFCI's, and then I wondered how many of you have fire extinguishers in your shop areas? I have both.  Got the fire extinguisher after a little grinding fire while sharpening some trimming tools. Easy to put out, just an oily rag, but a ceramic canister with lid was nearby. However, could have been worse so in came a fire extinguisher.
QotW: Do you have a fire extinguisher or a GFCI protector in your shop areas?
 
best,
Pres 

All my outlets in outer kiln area are all GFI  (overhead lights as well in outer area) and I have a few fire extinguishers  around-one in shop one near kilns.
 

I was looking around in the shop the other day, and noticed that the GFCI on my outlets was popped. Checked around and could not find the cause, but the circuit was working fine. Made me wonder how many folks have GFCI's, and then I wondered how many of you have fire extinguishers in your shop areas? I have both.  Got the fire extinguisher after a little grinding fire while sharpening some trimming tools. Easy to put out, just an oily rag, but a ceramic canister with lid was nearby. However, could have been worse so in came a fire extinguisher.
QotW: Do you have a fire extinguisher or a GFCI protector in your shop areas?
 
best,
Pres 

I can add, 20 amp generally better than 15 amp rated. If they trip though (not from self test)  there is almost always leakage beyond allowed so is it a nuisance or is it just telling you there is leakage?  Generally the device being powered has a small amount of leakage to ground. All the more reason to make sure the shell of the device is well grounded, GFI or not.

GFCI protectors often do not work well with motors. The motor tricks the GFCI into thinking there is a ground fault and the GFCI trips. A common situation is when people have a refrigerator on a GFCI in their garage and the motor in the refrigerator sometimes trips the GFCI. Some motors work fine for a long time on a GFCI. I have a full-sized refrigerator on a GFCI that works no problem, but a mini-frig I have routinely trips a GFCI. So, yes, try using your wheel on a GFCI but be prepared to move it to a non GFCI outlet if you get too many nuisance trips. 
Another good safety thing for a studio is a WiFi smoke/fire/CO detector like the Nest that sends alarms to your phone. I use them in the studio and throughout the house. 

Yep, personally any receptacle located near water, any operating wheel. Fire extinguishers - yes, checked and renewed yearly, for personal use, quite a few life safety additions as well. Good question! My experience if a gfi tripped there was a reason for the leakage I need to figure out.
Commercial
Two fairly large studios I have friendly access to - all have a bit more required commercial health and safety items: GFI’s as described above, both have fire extinguishers located throughout. Many I helped the owner install including code required: extinguishers, tempered hot water to 120 degrees, battery backup exit signage,  emergency lights, night lighting, real ventilation for spraying, real extraction for glaze composition, real designed combustion air and ventilation for occupancy ….. quite a few requirements they benefit from whereas at home one is sort of free to pick and choose. GFI and fire extinguisher probably the minimum though.

@NanS, I had the same problem as you a few years ago when firing my new L&L. I followed Neil's instructions after some back and forth and now my firings are consistent at ^6. Not hard to do, and as I came from an all manual kiln. . . .I get more sleep at night!
 
best,
Pres

Like Mark said I highly recommend at least 2in of kaowool if not more. It will cut your firing time substantially and will prevent your kiln from cooling too fast which will affect your glazes. IMHO  A single layer of brick is not an issue if its properly insulated.  My  80cubic foot c10 wood fired kiln is a single layered hard brick insulated with kaowool  that is going on its 24th year. The only problem ive had was the door was cast with fireclay vermiculite mix cracked and crumbled. I replaced it 15yrs ago with a factory made castible and its held up like a champ.

I agree on the fiber but 1st the mortar need to fill the holes (chinking the voids) then fiber then it need to be kept dry always (metal roof) Fiber should not get wet as well as the mortar .I always keep a few boxes of fiber on hand myself. Just in case

Purging is also a yearly event in my studio.   I did a purging recently,   my husband was installing  new led tube lights on my ceiling.   I had to unload some of the shelves so they could be moved.   I didn't think I threw away that much such but I I seem to have several empty shelves now.   Denice

full.  My shelves are full.  There is a purge that happens once a year, then mysteriously they fill again.  The wooden shelves, metal shelves.  All of them.

Hi folks, I have recently gone through some cleanup in the shop, and remembered how my first set up of shelving was done.  When I first set up the garage as the pot shop I had nothing but bare walls, electric came from the house on an overhead wire, and all of the inside wiring was 110v, and even plugging in a heater would flip a breaker in the house. I did not have a wedging table, and the first few years wedged on the concrete floor! First I had an electrician put in a separate line to the garage. . . meter and all. Then I put in the wiring for the various boxes and areas I envisioned, keeping a space for the electrician to put the kiln in near the circuit box. First L &L arrived and was wired in with a 12 foot cable allowing me a little leeway in positioning it. I decided I needed some shelving for in progress pieces, greenware, and bisqueware. So I built a series of 2X10's with grooves cut in both sides that had notches at the top, and deadbolt latches at the bottom. These were attached to the garage door 2X8 that went across from wall to wall for the door rails and springs. Then a series of 4'X8'X3/8" were cut to make 18"X24" ware boards to slide into the slots of the uprights for shelving. Over the years having this shelving setup let me a adjust shelving for taller and shorter pots, allowed the shelves to come out to set next to the wheel for wet work and then on the rack to dry. It turned out to be very versatile and held up for many years until my needs changed and the space was needed for other things.
QotW: How do you have your shelving setup in your studio, is it hand built, bought, wood, metal or plastic? Particular please, even pictures if you can.
best,
Pres

Pres, I'm asking about white clay.

The mini-cones and pyrometric bars are more-or-less equivalent. Some would argue that the bars are more accurate, in that they cannot be shifted to one end or the other to slightly change the outcome, but if her bars are 018 or 019, they will be fine for your work.

I work with porcelains  at cone 10 ,Daves Porc (99.9%) and some Babu and some 50/50
for salt pots its mostly iron bearing stoneware with a small amount of Porcelain  again cone 10 from Laguna clays

martinja, do you have only a few members or are there people tracking floor dust all over all day?   keeping good cleaning working habits are the safest way to avoid dust.   add some containers to all areas and tables so small bits can be tossed into them instead of being brushed onto the floor by sleeves or other items.  put up signs and teach any new person exactly what you expect from users.   clay is easer to clean if it isn't there.

No worse that any other forced air system. Follow basic cleaning guidelines (wet cleaning- mop, sponge, etc) and you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

I forgot to mention that I keep some Flinthills black  and some dried paper clay around for special projects.    Denice

Three; white, red, and buff with speckles stoneware.
The first two are mined, processed, and sold by a local (Sacramento) company; the speckled buff is a Laguna product that they carry.
I'd been working on fitting my liner glaze to white stoneware, then tried a different clay, voila! ...haven't changed the liner glaze formulation since, although I did switch clays.
I like each color - and the glaze response to each - too much to give any up just yet.
Each is the "best of" so far.
Prior white stoneware got me working on low COE liner glaze, were not as plastic, had higher rate of "off-gassing large particle defect" and cost more to get, being further away.
Prior red stoneware, not as plastic, narrower glaze firing range (much), higher rate of particle defect, poor drying behavior, cost more to get.
Prior buff stoneware, narrower glaze firing range, cost more to get.

I use two clay bodies, one for cone 6 soda firing and the other is a local clay that fires at cone 03.
The cone 6 body is Laguna B-mix 5. After trying various clays I found it responds well to soda as well as hot and cool spots in my kiln. It seems easy to throw for me and is pretty tolerant when my craftsmanship isn’t perfect. The downside is it’s expensive compared to other white stonewares.
The local clay is something I’ve played with for many years and gotten to know. It isn’t tolerant in any way! I add 1-1/2% Veegum to it, the biggest monetary expense. It cracks, slumps in hot spots, and is left porous in cool spots. I have to be completely on my game to make it work, which is part of its charm. I haven’t tried to calculate the cost, I’m afraid it would be too discouraging.