Hulk

Good question.
I'd executed my parent's estate.
The paperwork and "big stuff" was all clear.
The hobby and tool stuff, not so much.
My Mom's embroidery stuff - not a box of stuff, no, an entire walk-in closet full, plus more boxes - a person who came to look at the lighted magnifying thing took it all, for they ran embroidery classes and were involved with a few groups. They were literally sobbing with gratitude.
My Dad's lathe - a person who bought that took a truckful of material and tools that we pushed. Many tools and contraptions went in the truck to Goodwill.
We found homes and/or beneficiaries for everything, mostly by luck.
The person we called out to fix the well asked after something. I said, "You can have it for giving me a hand moving these things? Can you burn part of your lunch break? We'll feed you." They came back over the weekend; without their help, idk, we'd have never finished. ...and they were thrilled with a pile of gadgets and tools.

Our lifes big  stuff is in a trust-Property etc. autos .boats etc are in  both names and we havea plan with all that . The trust outlines our wishes . The ceramic part of my life is not in that plan so I need to have a plan and it should be soon . The schools here ( two collages no longer have good ceramic programs)  one is not working now in my temp range so my high fire kilns would be of zero interest .My 5 wheels and the electrcic are easy low hanging fruit to sell. The shear volume of materials may be another thing . The property would be best for a working potter but these days that a pie in the sky idea. I need to work on a plan and a plan B.
If you are a full timer and on the west coast send me a pm if your are willing to take it all when that day comes . It includes gas kilns,two that move as  units , two that are a pile of bricks.more bricks fiber, much in new boxes ,more bricks and a few tons of dry materils-you need to be much younger that I by the way and have a great back and a large lift gate truck.
I have gone thru this death deal a lot already with my family  so I know this path and we have no children only nephews who are in the loop with the trust so that part is done.
I once was going to give it all to the local  state collage but that plan went to heck when they plan on tearing down the ceramics lab and no longer have anyone but temperory lectures teaching. Longevity is not on my side of the family as I'm the oldest male in over 100 years to have lived this long. I think clay has a lot to do with that for me.

Hi folks, Some of you may know that I recently lost my father. He had all of his ducks lined up and as executor, I had little to do other than notify banks. His wife notified the SS, military ret., and others. It got me to thinking about what I should be doing. . . Oh, I have the will and living will etc. However, that does not cover the pottery equipment. I have thought to leave my pottery equipment to the HS I taught at, if no one in the family wants it, along with my library of art books.
So once again, the QotW: What are your plans for passing it on when you pass on?
 
best,
Pres

I would make my own wash and remove with a wet sponge  before firing any commercial wash as it usually poor quality.
Speaking of quailty wash I noticed on the Advancer shelve (kiln shelve.com ) site they use the same formula as I posted years ago
1/2 alumina hydrate
1/4 epk
1/4 calcined EPK or (glowmax)

If it hasn't been fired on yet then yes it can be dusty. 
It would just be a guess but the least expensive materials to use in a kiln/ batt wash would be kaolin and silica so if companies are trying to save money with the wash they supply they will load the wash up with that and skimp on alumina hydrate. There is a link below discussing kiln/batt wash with some tried and true recipes (it's towards the end of the link). Also, I would suggest wiping it back from the edge about 1 cm and wipe off any drips from the side of the shelf.
https://community.ceramicartsdaily.org/topic/20981-frit-substitution-chart-orton-cone-charts-kiln-wash-recipes/

Workbench has some recently glazed wares waiting on foot polishing, inspection, and washing; and some just handled raw wares as well.

The test tiles are IMCO's new "Terry" clay.

I think maybe you're working too slowly. It should only take a minute max to sift the plaster into the water, another minute at most to gently hand mix. Then lit it sit for a couple of minutes and then power mix.

I did a little research and found that old plaster sets up fast,  a bag that is 4 to 6 months may to old.   And the big hard lumps are from adding to much plaster at one time and not getting well mixed.  The plastic bag might have made it harder to mix,  I use a pretty old bucket and pop off the cured plaster and wash it.   When it gets to the point it won't clean up anymore I find another old bucket.     To make sure my water is really cold I put ice cubes in my water,  when they are melted I am ready to mix.    I never slake my plaster slab plaster,  I haven't had trouble with bubbles.  I set the edge of the bucket in the bottom of the mold and pour it out letting the plaster fill in the corners.  Sometimes I need two buckets of plaster so I find a friend to help mix a second bucket  while I empty the first one.   I made two to four piece molds for a while,  and used the finger flip method on ornate pieces to eliminate bubbles.   I was train dental lab technician and spent the first couple of years making plaster molds off the forms the dentist sent us.  You should be alright on you next slab,  just one of those days.    Denice

Seeing (just a minute ago) there was an update on this thread, thought of some of my Parents' and Grandparents' tools that I treasure.
The needle/pin tool I use most in the Studio was made from a small screwdriver that my Dad ground down to a point; it's a convenient length, and I like the handle as well.
There are several, err, a few dozen potential replacements in the bad screwdriver bin, but the one I'm using is special, because.
That's a nice caliper Hyn!
Is there a vernier on the inch scale as well?
I've several of Dad's calipers. There's a large one (it's big!) he bought when we were in Italy, and several smaller ones, both the vernier and dial indicator types, which will get you within a few thousandths or so.
In the Studio I use inexpensive plastic calipers, similar to the brass one depicted in Hyn's post, above, except the jaws for measuring inside are opposite the outside jaws. When it wears out, there's several more queued up for "next"...

Firing two glaze fires today still trying to appease the pit monster.I can now work 1/2 days before foot say no more.Spent many 1/2 days glazzing and loading up till todays firing. Spring mini heat wave yesterday (81 was the high and the low was 37) it's a 3 day deal.

Thank you for answering. The kiln is very basic, no kiln sitter, just the controller shown in the attached phot. I changed the fuse which has fixed it, but I don't know why the fuse would have blown - maybe it was just old. I waited until it had cooled and had a look inside - everything looks ok, just half-fired! I have now turned it on again and will just watch to see if it happens again.
Julie
 
 

Workbench has some recently glazed wares waiting on foot polishing, inspection, and washing; and some just handled raw wares as well.

The test tiles are IMCO's new "Terry" clay.

For Flux Sake is one of the offshoots from the inestimable Matt Katz, who in one of his webcasts long ago expressed an opinion that in addition to the usual list of pinhole suspects, poor application of the glaze was often a cause, particularly with brushed glazes. If the first coat of glaze had irregularities, those nooks and crannies could be covered by the next coat, leaving a tiny air pocket underneath. The problem is especially acute on textured surfaces. As the glaze melts during the firing, those little air pockets would rise to the surface and pop, leaving the pinhole. So, in Matt's opinion, pinholes could be from user error as well as decomposition of the glaze or outgassing from the body. Matt typically uses porcelain tiles for his testing, and bisques to 08 for consistent absorbency. A clean body such as porcelain does not need the higher bisque to burn out the organics and impurities.

The reason was that the high porosity leads to glaze sticking well without much (invisible) air bubbles. I’m doing a bad job explaining it, if you can listen to the podcast, it made sense technically but I have never heard of it before.

Workbench has some recently glazed wares waiting on foot polishing, inspection, and washing; and some just handled raw wares as well.

The test tiles are IMCO's new "Terry" clay.

I am glad you are getting better,  I know that eight weeks is a long break for you.   I finished my radiation therapy on my skin cancer a month ago and it has finally healed.   I need to go buy a big straw hat for the summer.   Don't overdo it.      Denice

Thank you so much!!! You made my day!!!

My husband also used calipers in his job as a technical writer, illustrator and drafter fifty years ago and then the  evolution to computers happened .  He still uses to calipers when he is restoring a car but they are digital.   He tries to give them to me when they are broken,  I don't think he has figured out my measurements need to be as accurate as his.    Denice

My hands and my eyes (and maybe my mind too) are all irreplaceable in my work.  Everything else?  I can get by without, or replace, or just remake.  A lot of my tools I've made or reshaped to fit my needs.  Denise!  Your heavier than usual wire cutter for example is likely stupid easy to make a replacement. 
I use dental tools, clay tools, tiny knitting needles for fine hair texture, etc but the one dearest to my heart is my solid brass slide rule - because my father, who was an aeronautical engineer of some renown, gave it to me when I first started sculpting so many years ago (almost 50 years ago now).  I use it like calipers for smaller pieces I need to measure and check proportions on - great for making sure the leg bone lengths match, or checking the length of the head against the length of ... well, anything else.  And so forth.  So sure, I can just run out and buy another slide rule but ... this one is special.  I'd hate to misplace it.

Second post about this kiln,
After managing to connect all the wires and replace the thermocouple and bought new controller only the red light working but nothing else,
i have checked the contactor (i hope this its name), and its not turning on always on 0,
i have tested continuity of all wires and all fine,
and i have tested the ohm resistance of the contactor and its fine,
kindly advise,
 
Solved: found one of the mains fuses are blown, replaced it and finally the kiln is working fine

Update for anyone following this thread:
 I have now finished my firing schedule experiments and didn't come up with a schedule that worked well.  So far there are  two possible solutions:  (1) refire and (2) only glaze one side (to allow gases to escape from the unglazed side). I will use two firing schedules:  my original firing schedule (the one that gave good results on Rutile Green, and Variegated Blue) and Min's suggested firing schedule which gave a good results for Studio White for the next set of experiments --  thickness of application and adjusted glaze chemistry.   
The results for the over 20+ firings are:
peak temperature:  the best results were in the range  2165-2190.  I used both the 108 ramp and 27 degree ramp.  Worse results were experienced going higher or lower than this range.   soaks at peak:  increasing the length of a hold from  2190: 5 - 30 minutes ; 2165: 18 to 30; and 2133: 30 to 75  didn't improve the results. slow cool rate:  tried 500, 125 and 60 and got worse results the slower it went.  The VB developed blisters with the extended hold.   drop and hold soaks:  soaks in the range  1900 to 2090 (going down by 10 degrees) didn't make any difference in the results for the Wollastonite Clear or Studio White.  The only success on the VB and RG were in the original firing schedule.   Next predicted update in one month.  

Although the market for used pottery gear may have softened a bit, looks to still be very strong.
My only suggestions would be a) peruse recent listings (new & used) - same as buyers would do - and price accordingly, and b) keep the wheel, if you've a place for it to wait 

@Bill Kielb @neilestrick
Thank you so much!!  
Bill I’m so impressed and grateful for the time and energy you took to help me out! I have been trying to fix this since last year when I received the kiln but nobody had a clue …and in just one day you fixed it!!!  It took a long time and effort for me to get a kiln and I was devastated  because I couldn’t use it.  I can’t express how happy and relieved I feel!! God bless you!! After all this time,  I am about to finish my first glaze firing with the temporary set up, the kiln is cooling now and everything is going great! 

I will follow the advice and update with pictures and results so more people like me can find this post in the future and fix similar issues easily. 
This is a great community and you guys are amazing, thank you so much! 

Thank you, i think you're right, might just try replace the outside, was hoping to find another one that looked the same and take the frame form it.
The engine inside is a cone shaped thing that spins and then you use a lever to push it up against a wheel that then spins the top pottery wheel.  I imagine very old school but it works at least which is a win!
 
Thank you

There isn't a one size fits all firing schedule to fix pinholes and blisters but somewhere to start would be to drop 100F below your top temperature and hold there for 15 minutes. One other thing I do is for my kiln and my glazes it works to fire below the top temp and soak there to bring cone 6 down then do the drop and hold/soak, (I also do a slow cool for my satin matte glazes but that isn't necessary for many glazes). It can take a few firings to dial in what works for your kiln and glazes.