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Wrong cone firing started- no idea how long to fire


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I have only fired my kiln once- a Paragon SnF-24-3 (second owner). I wanted to fire that firing at a cone 6 but the ceramic supply place I went to only had ^5  sitter cones and ^4 shelf cones. So I went with those. The firing went well. Now I am doing a glaze firing and I'm afraid I have messed everything up. I started a firing just like the last one (same cones) but I have ^06 low fire glazes in there and now I'm not sure what to do. It has been going for almost 3.5 hours (the cone ^5 firing took about 6 hours and 15 minutes). I don't know if I should just stop the firing and get the right cones and do it again or if the glaze has already run all over my shelves. I know this was a really avoidable, foolish mistake. I really should have known better but nevertheless, here I am. Any advice?  

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AS others have said, stop the firing. Now before jumping all over, sit down and think. 1) What is the firing range of the clay I am using?  2) When firing a kiln, we usually fire a bisque and a glaze firing. The glaze firing is usually hotter than the bisque fire to set the glaze. The bisque is lower to be able to absorb the glaze on to the surface and slightly into the pot. So why did I fire the higher temperature first? Is Cone 06 low in the firing range for my clay in a glaze firing? 3) Do I need to purchase glazes that match the firing range of my clay at the upper range for best ware?

 

If you would answer these questions for yourself, and answer them here in the forum, I think one way or another things will become more clear for your future firings.

 

best,

Pres

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On 3/26/2019 at 10:59 PM, HDPottery said:

I wanted to fire that firing at a cone 6 but the ceramic supply place I went to only had ^5  sitter cones and ^4 shelf cones. So I went with those.

Your clay and glazes dictate what temp you should be firing to, not what was immediately on hand. Read the labels on your clay boxes and glazes; fire to the recommended cones.

Also, if you bisqued to cone 4-5 then your pots likely wont hold the glaze at all; Bisque is usually at the 06-04 range.

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