Hulk

Good question!
Books and magazines/periodicals are still very much in the frame for me. Earlier on, watching others work was more important to me than now; I watched - really studied - the other students, guests, and instructors during my two semesters at the local JC ceramic lab, and spent some hours watching video clips every week. Some - several dozen - of my favourite clips, I've returned to again and again, for I'll often "see" differently after some time has passed.
Now, well, perhaps I'm well into that long stretch where time at task is the main thing.
This forum has been (err, is) a great source, and offers a sense of community. There are other forums/groups, aye, however, this one's best, imo.
"What a fascinating modern age we live in."*
- Captain Jack Aubrey
Yep.
Exactly where is the block drain on my Toyota truck - found it.
How to set up our son's wellhouse to run off his generator - found it, use a "transfer switch," aye.
   Where to find a simple transfer switch - found it, arrived at front door three days later.
   How to wire the transfer switch, how to work on the main panel safely when the sun's shining (solar array, heh) - found it.
How to change out the headsets on my road bikes - found it.
Where to find a pump for a twelve year old dishwasher - found it.
   How to replace said pump - found it.
...and so on; "the internet" is remarkable.
That said, learning with/from others, there's nothing else like it; same for opportunity to help others learn - there's nothing else like it, and no matter how much one may try to fully appreciate the opportunity when it's happening, I believe we take those opportunities somewhat for granted. 

hulk, thank you for this post.  i do not know if you meant it to be on the clay website but i have been looking for something to re-string my dog's bed.  the stuff you are talking about is exactly what i want to buy.   thanks again!

It’s quite handy! Here’s a couple of images, because that’s probably better than a verbose description. The  first image is of an open card, which are the list items you can see in the background. The second image is of the production board. You can play around with formatting more than I did if you like things really pretty. I only changed the background to an image from my picture files on my tablet. 

Even with low production I may need to check it out. I used my white board  like that, divided into rectangles w/lists & check-offs & notes. Now I use it to keep my muscles toned. See pics LOL.

Yes it is ought to be just fine. Wax burns off at around 800 degree f so in the range of let’s say 450 degrees to maybe 850 degrees folks often smell the wax. Use a lot of wax, lots of smell. You should not see any signs of carbon as it will burn away in the rest of the firing. Any kiln vent will help this but downdraft vents are often not capable of removing the smell completely …… and they are not really designed to get all the wax smell. So a downdraft will help but not likely to capture all of the wax smell. The smell will however disappear above 800 degrees.
As far as refiring, a simple general way to think of this would be: for a glaze firing, if you have not fired within 300-400 degrees of you finish temperature then you have not done much real heatwork. Silica and alumina don’t melt less than 3000 degrees so they need flux and enough kiln energy  to help them melt earlier. Until your kiln reaches this melting temperature (often called a eutectic) not much is done in the way of useful work on the glaze. So refiring is generally just fine for most. Technically (Per the Orton cone chart) most of the relevant heatwork to maturity is done in the last 200 - 250 degrees of the firing.
For bisque firing, generally it’s not a concern, just rebisque to your proper cone. Generally It’s ok to bisque more than once and often done when multiple layers of decoration are desired.

Hi Pessy!
I use wax on almost every piece - to get a sharp boundary/transition at the rim between liner glaze and outside/color glaze - hence a strong odor early in the firing cycle, but not enough to make clouds of smoke.
No doubt the wax (along with glaze ingredients that burn away) is designed to fully burn away; I've not noticed any marking where the wax was, any road. Hence, my guess would be normal on question one.
As for re-firing, I haven't (yet) had the experience of re-starting an interrupted glaze cycle, however, reading indicates yes on question two and no on three.
I'm curious to know if the wax burns more cleanly with an air supply? I've fitted my (also somewhat ancient) Skutt with a kiln vent, which pulls a small stream of air from the bottom of the kiln, hence, small streams of air are pulled in through the various cracks, as well as the small holes drilled in the lid. Kiln venting is recommended for longer element life, more thorough bisque burnout, and nicer glaze colours.
While the kiln vent helps quite a bit with the fumes, I did not feel comfortable being in the studio, at all, during firing, so have also set up an overhead rig to pull heat and fumes; it's noisy, but works well.

I have a old HP, CI wheel, pedal & speed control when bad a few years back. I call speedball direct they connected me to an engineer that works for them that worked for CI. Engineer told me to buy the controller & pedal for the speedball Big Boss wheel follow the directions on how to install it! I did & my HP Creative Industries wheel has worked great ever since.

Well, Primal came out looking less exciting than I hoped so I am going for a refire. Not Broken broke a little bit again and did not get the super colorful treatment I'd planned---I decided to keep it simple. Here is the finished wall piece. 

Whilst out on the bike (and waiting on glaze load to cool off), was reflecting on what I'd read in my notes, then aha! How useful notes can be, sometimes.
Detailed firing notes, detailed results - clays, glazes, what worked, problems, etc. Don't count on remembering, heh.
For example:
  > notes support my guess that yesterday's much longer firing time was related to more mass - an extra half shelf, and lots of ware - for the cool down time is also much much longer (still waiting); those times and temps can be helpful.
  > notes indicate that reclaim glaze came out well on one of three clays; I couldn't remember which one, aha.
  > the tin chrome red I'm using sometimes catches little flecks of blue, why? More to th' point, can the look be repeated? Not completely sure on why, however, results indicate that yes, the look is repeatable - the "secret" is in the notes.
  > am getting closer on evening out the firing, particularly the cool zone right at the top. Notes help, for I'm not quite able to remember what I'd tried, when, for how long, nor the bend in cones.
There's more ...take notes.

Whilst out on the bike (and waiting on glaze load to cool off), was reflecting on what I'd read in my notes, then aha! How useful notes can be, sometimes.
Detailed firing notes, detailed results - clays, glazes, what worked, problems, etc. Don't count on remembering, heh.
For example:
  > notes support my guess that yesterday's much longer firing time was related to more mass - an extra half shelf, and lots of ware - for the cool down time is also much much longer (still waiting); those times and temps can be helpful.
  > notes indicate that reclaim glaze came out well on one of three clays; I couldn't remember which one, aha.
  > the tin chrome red I'm using sometimes catches little flecks of blue, why? More to th' point, can the look be repeated? Not completely sure on why, however, results indicate that yes, the look is repeatable - the "secret" is in the notes.
  > am getting closer on evening out the firing, particularly the cool zone right at the top. Notes help, for I'm not quite able to remember what I'd tried, when, for how long, nor the bend in cones.
There's more ...take notes.

wheels under everything you will move, and you will move things if but to wash that floor.   Harbor Freight stores have lots of types.  avoid plastic wheels that are inexpensive.   buy full bags of the commonly used glaze ingredients.  the best containers i have used are the Rubbermaid totes but they do not seem to be in the big box stores anymore.  Sterilite is very brittle for holding large quantities of heavy ingredients.  rubbermaid might sag but sterilite cracks.   do not leave your purchases in the original bag!  store them in something strong enough and easy to open, preferably on wheels.  bags become dusty and there is no way to open them repeatedly that will not cause a dust storm under your nose.   buy a respirator first thing.
second purchase is a decent cut off wire that you can control.   fishing leader lines come in different lengths, i find a 12 inch very useful and a 9 inch is always in use.   attach round metal key rings to the ends.    take your key rings to a fishing supply place that is not too big so there will be an employee who can advise you.  these wires are already braided so they cut clay the first time and last for years.
label everything.  not on paper that is taped to a container, tape will  dry up and fall off.   use a sharpie directly on the container.  you can remove a label if you change things.  just use hairspray and a cotton ball to wipe all the sharpie off.   hairspray works better than acetone and smells better.
there are a number of posts about setting up a studio, i do not know how to retrieve them from this website but if you search, you will find some really great ideas.   i do have strong opinions on most things because my education has been the school of hard knocks.   trying to save you some pain.

Ergonomics. In other words, take care of your back. Make everything in your studio fit YOU. 

When doing lighting, go LED, brighter, less shadows, easier to pay attention to detail.
 
best,
Pres

Very good advice. Thank you @Pres @Russ @oldlady @LeeU. 
@Callie Beller Diesel that is a big one. It is good to read it, as I am here reading the forum, delaying a little going to practice at the wheel, with fear that nothing will work today. Going there right now! Thank you.

Make sure you have enough lighting, everything looks good in the dark.    Denice

Show up. Especially when you’re scared, or vulnerable, or avoiding it.

I am so tempted to just write "Run, Forest, run".    Long silent pause.    But, OK, I'll play. 
1. Unless you have zero debt and zero money concerns, determine a realistic budget strictly for the studio and it's operations.
2. Include all things ceramic, such as related travel, major & minor supplies, overhead, fees for participation in exhibits/craft fairs/conferences/local potters guild etc.  
3. Set the financial projections up for about 3 years--it will take that long to see what the real expense  is for your mode of claywork is going to cost you.  
4. If by now you're saying to yourself but it's "just a hobby", run, Forest, run.
5. Stick to the budget and if it is not working, don't delay making the necessary adjustments. I check my budget monthly to see if I'm on track, and I enter expenses when they occur--not 3 weeks later when I can't remember what I got or what I paid, and I've lost the receipt (which should be in a file but sometimes isn't).  

totally agree with russ.   i got the kind of bucket you step on and pull the mop straight up through the two rollers.   the mop is sold with strings as the water carrier.   take them off and use an old 100% COTTON towel, preferably one that was bought years ago for one dollar and is foldable lengthwise to give you about 15 inches of folded mop.   there are LOTS of new, modern, in style, non-cotton mops that are totally inadequate for a studio.  the bucket is still sold in real hardware stores, the small kind in a small town.   they are inexpensive so the big box stores do not carry them.  they would rather sell you a $25 huge, yellow. plastic thing that wants you to use your hands instead of your foot.
 

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

Hi folks, nothing new in the pool for QotW, so once again, I will pose a question.
A while back we asked: What studio habits do you have that others have warned against?  Asking just the opposite- QotW: What best habit would you recommend to a beginner setting up their studio?  My best suggestion would be to look at your storage, surfaces and flooring, in order to control dust. I would suggest sealed rubbermaid type bins for chemicals, sealed buckets for glazes, work surface easily cleaned, without dust gathering canvas or other materials. I would try to stay away from containers with deep recesses in their lids, as they gather dust, Stay away from low shelving as they will gather underneath. Use dolly's to move larger containers out from under shelving to be easier to clean areas. Then clean once a week at least. Limit your ceramics space to ceramics, no household tools, or other storage in the studio. Most of my mistakes are listed here! 
Asking once again! QotW: What best habit would you recommend to a beginner setting up their studio?
 
best,
Pres
 

Oooh, I like all those too, even Simon, haha, "Oh Hi there, how are you, potters, friends, utubers?"
Ton a day Isaac Button, classic; first of four segments https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmG5NOmQy_4
Michael Casson, here's one of his - there are a few others https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19YjNGEtUYo (I like his book too)
Still watching this one 'bout once a month,
Genji Shimizu (artist name Hokujoh) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybb-HhSrtxA&t=8s   NHK Ceramic Treasures series - some great stuff here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUCSFSJSz477hmqwO98PWp940W_voWW7W  Clinton Pottery clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs2tUxKQIic&t=70s
Tim See - not seeing many potters anchoring hand on the away side to center - works for him https://www.youtube.com/user/timseepots
...where's the German lady, and the Swedish lady, hrrrm… (still looking)
Add Bill Van Gilder https://www.youtube.com/user/vangilderpottery/videos
 

Just a heads up to anyone who might substitute Sierralite talc for Amtalc-C98, there is a significant difference in chemistries between the two talcs. A direct 1:1 substitute likely won't work unless it's just a very tiny amount of talc being used. Main differences are in the silica and alumina levels.

I use sierra lite from laguna-its a white talc-no stortage, cost is more.

yep - inside and outside diameter, and height.
Maybe start with a few drops of Liquid Wrench on those bearing seats; from there, if they don't tap out, a smidge of heat (a smidge I say!), evenly applied.
Good luck - please report back.

All else fails, McMaster likely carries them. Gotta spend some time measuring though.