Ryleigh

It turned out better than expected. Definitely not perfect by any means, but it will do for now! There are lots of bubbles on the sides/edges of it. Thanks again. If I was going to fire my glazed stoneware (cone 6) would I do a similar firing? Slow down around 850-1050, then maybe medium rate before and after?

Right! Thank you!

I’m just now getting to 800. So after 1050° I should be okay to go a little faster till that last 200°? Since quartz inversion took place already, correct? That is true. Can’t do change anything now!

Neil, thank you! For the cool down I was thinking something similar to what you said. For now I’m worried about the size and shape, the colors aren’t as much of a concern at the moment because she may want to change them anyway. For the initial firing I know it should be slow so that the glaze matures properly. I started the firing around 8am and it is already up to 500°... I have been turning it off and on periodically so it does not heat up too fast. Would 108° per hour till it reaches cone 05 be sufficient? At a rate of 108° per hour it would be 1886° for a final temp.

My test kiln is completely manual, which is new to me. My full size kiln is automatic.

Hello! I am in a bit of a predicament at the moment… My kiln is currently down because I’m waiting on a new thermocouple.. I have a business partner that needs a prototype ornament by Monday of next week (4 days). I am making the ornament out of white sculpture earthenware clay that fires to cone 06-04, the commercial glaze I have fires to 05. When talking to a friend he said to go ahead and glaze it once it was bone dry and single fire it. So, I went ahead and glazed my ornament after it was bone dry. I called the place that I get my supplies from to make sure I was firing my test kiln correctly, and he informed me that doing a single fire with the white earthenware was not something I should be doing... Is single fire okay for this ornament or should I scrap it? I know single fire isn’t uncommon, but I have never done it before. The test kiln is a Vulcan JK-1. I know these kilns fire much faster and cool down much faster than large kilns, so I am unsure how to fire it properly if I have a single fire piece in it.. Since my piece is single fire it needs a longer fire time, correct? How long should I fire for to get the best results?

I’m not sure how I missed your reply, I’ll definitely check it out, both links look interesting and helpful just from skimming. Thank you!

After talking with the kiln guy at the place I get my supplies I decided I’m not going to refire. He said the same thing you pretty much said. It isn’t going to do me any good and could actually make it worse. Thanks for the help, it is much appreciated.

Thank you, that is helpful!

The first mug that is brownish does have some that appear “healed over” but all of the other glaze combinations do not. I was talking to some friends and they also thought it could be dust, firebrick or something of the sort. I’m going to try to refire tomorrow and hopefully it fixes my problem!

I’ll definitely try that with my next bisque firing! Now that I think about it that makes a lot of sense with the way some of the larger pinholes look. I would eventually like to mix my own glazes so I can dip. I am currently brushing on all of my glazes and it is very time consuming and expensive.

250°/hr to cone 04

I just fired my first glaze kiln 2 days ago and finally cracked it opened this afternoon at 150°. Each piece has at least 2-5 larger pinholes that are very noticeable. My clay body is a buff stoneware that fires between cone 2-7 and I’m using amaco PC glazes in an electric kiln. I just realized that my cone 6 setting on my kiln is closer to a cone 5 than it is a 6. My cone 7 setting is a cone 6. Should I refire to my cone 7 setting? The pinholes are really noticeable, and I don’t want to sell them looking like this..

Everything looks alright except for all the pinholes... every piece has at least a few pinholes or bubbles. No crazing or anything. Correct me if I’m wrong but I believe the glaze and clay body fit well together. Here’s one of my mugs (first picture) that has a lot of pinholes and bubbles. The second only has one or two but they’re still there.

Very true!