NancyE Posted October 16, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2020 Hello Peter, Yes I waxed them. Since they had to cool down some before pulling them out of the kiln, when I thought they were not soaking up the wax enough, I reheated inside the pots with my torch (weed burner). The pots soaked up a lot of wax, the process seemed to work well. It helped to remove them from the kiln so I could roll them on their sides, it's difficult to get the melted wax up under the hip of the vessel. Moving the pots into and out of my top loading electric kiln is problematic to say the least. I want to build a larger, front loading gas kiln that would allow me to make larger pots. Building your own kiln is really expensive :). My local vineyard wants me to make several small, down to 1 gallon, pots for their smaller harvests. I'm concerned whether or not the process will work in such a small pot. They built an air conditioned barn for the qvevri fermentation to manage temps without burying the vessels. I appreciate your ideas and input. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted June 10, 2021 Report Share Posted June 10, 2021 On 10/17/2020 at 1:04 AM, NancyE said: Hello Peter, Yes I waxed them. Since they had to cool down some before pulling them out of the kiln, when I thought they were not soaking up the wax enough, I reheated inside the pots with my torch (weed burner). The pots soaked up a lot of wax, the process seemed to work well. It helped to remove them from the kiln so I could roll them on their sides, it's difficult to get the melted wax up under the hip of the Block and tackle mounted above kiln to aid with loading and unloading. French artist had a contraption which went into the pot and when opened think monkey trap, the pot could be lifted by the block and tackle. He also made v big pots where clay was laid around a Rope covered scaffold and on completion he collapsed the internal scaffold and peeled out the rope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyE Posted June 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2021 Hello Babs, How did you know I was at it again? I am working on Qvevri for this year's season, currently on a 30 gal pot that I have daily discussions with my husband regarding how we will move it. I'll show him your post. I'm also trying to figure out how to dry it considering our constant flooding in Texas and the water running through the studio as well as how to fire it since it won't fit into any kilns I have access to. I'm thinking I don't have many choices other than a pit firing, pretty risky for something I have invested so much time an effort. It's so humid here that pots that have been drying for months are exploding in the kiln. Any suggestions for building a dry/dehumidifier room and firing this pot would be really appreciated. I look forward to hearing from you and everyone else. Sincerely, Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rae Reich Posted June 12, 2021 Report Share Posted June 12, 2021 A candle inside to start. I have a dehumidifier that I’d like to find a home for. Send me a private message. Free! My friend in Oregon built a box with lightbulbs installed for heat - Not LED bulbs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted June 12, 2021 Report Share Posted June 12, 2021 55 minutes ago, NancyE said: ... I'm thinking I don't have many choices other than a pit firing, pretty risky for something I have invested so much time an effort. It's so humid here that pots that have been drying for months are exploding in the kiln. ... Ian Gregory has fired life-size human figures in a sectional ceramic fibre kiln. It's mentioned briefly in his book Kiln Building. At a guess the sections are about a yard in diameter and height, and he used three for a sitting figure. Failed to find anything on the net for this, but I expect it shares a lot with his other fibre kilns. http://www.ian-gregory.co.uk/kilns.html I'd wondered earlier if a clip-together fibre kiln might suit some of your needs, as it could be assembled/disassembled without requiring extra height or sky-hooks. PS $23 for a s/h copy looks far too pricey to glance at a couple of pages https://tinyurl.com/dnk49r2n PPS I have a vague memory of somebody using a string of fairly lights to provide distributed heat for assisted drying, I think on a workbench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyE Posted June 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2021 4 hours ago, Rae Reich said: A candle inside to start. I have a dehumidifier that I’d like to find a home for. Send me a private message. Free! My friend in Oregon built a box with lightbulbs installed for heat - Not LED bulbs! Hello Rae Reich, I used a chicken brooder heat lamp over a tote that worked well for some small letters I was trying to dry. I've considered hanging the brooder lamp inside the pot, but I think I need to make a small dry room with the brooder lamp for inside to even begin drying this pot. I'm very interested in the dehumidifier, how do I contact you? I literally have water flowing through my little studio. Thanks, Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyE Posted June 12, 2021 Author Report Share Posted June 12, 2021 3 hours ago, PeterH said: Ian Gregory has fired life-size human figures in a sectional ceramic fibre kiln. It's mentioned briefly in his book Kiln Building. At a guess the sections are about a yard in diameter and height, and he used three for a sitting figure. Failed to find anything on the net for this, but I expect it shares a lot with his other fibre kilns. http://www.ian-gregory.co.uk/kilns.html I'd wondered earlier if a clip-together fibre kiln might suit some of your needs, as it could be assembled/disassembled without requiring extra height or sky-hooks. PS $23 for a s/h copy looks far too pricey to glance at a couple of pages https://tinyurl.com/dnk49r2n PPS I have a vague memory of somebody using a string of fairly lights to provide distributed heat for assisted drying, I think on a workbench. Hello Peter, good to hear from you. Amazon has the book for sale for 900.00$!. I have thought about trying to find it through interlibrary loan. I think a break apart fiber walled kiln is something I am capable of doing, and would have a much better chance of controlling the firing and thus having a successful outcome than doing a pit fire. Thanks for pointing me in a much better direction. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted June 13, 2021 Report Share Posted June 13, 2021 13 hours ago, NancyE said: Hello Peter, good to hear from you. Amazon has the book for sale for 900.00$!. I have thought about trying to find it through interlibrary loan. I think a break apart fiber walled kiln is something I am capable of doing, and would have a much better chance of controlling the firing and thus having a successful outcome than doing a pit fire. Thanks for pointing me in a much better direction. Nancy If you do make a ceramic fibre kiln , which sounds a good way to go, be aware the temp drops like a rock when firing temp reached with ceramic fibre kilns which would be drastic for such a pot. So firing down or apply a lot of insulating material would be the way to go. Think @Preshad ideas for drying pots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pres Posted June 13, 2021 Report Share Posted June 13, 2021 I have the softcover of the Gregory book, from 1995. Packed away right now in the attic I think. This fall the library will be finished. . Yahoo! As to drying, all of us know that the best method is time and air. For that, especially in these Summer months a dehumidifier is helpful. I have some plates thrown last week, trimmed while pretty wet, that still haven't begun to dry too well. So I turned on the electric heat to provide circulation and to remove some of the moisture. Not really much heat. I also place fans in such a manner as to keep running the air in a circular motion in the nearly square garage. If things stiffen up enough to safely handle them, they go into the kiln not to be messed with until the load is ready for bisque. At such time I usually candle the kiln overnight and then start a regular bisque. If I were firing student pots, or sculptural pieces with lots of joins or thick areas, I could candle for a few days! Lately though, with the new kiln, I am using a slow bisque or medium bisque to fire pieces. I am working presently to set up some of my own programs for firing based on what I know as far as my manual firing. best, Pres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted June 13, 2021 Report Share Posted June 13, 2021 16 hours ago, NancyE said: Hello Peter, good to hear from you. Amazon has the book for sale for 900.00$!. I have thought about trying to find it through interlibrary loan. I think a break apart fiber walled kiln is something I am capable of doing, and would have a much better chance of controlling the firing and thus having a successful outcome than doing a pit fire. Thanks for pointing me in a much better direction. Nancy It really a book about building brick kilns, and has two pages on fibre kilns and four pages on the sectional kiln. The fibre kiln stuff if far less informative than that on his website i.e. http://www.ian-gregory.co.uk/kilns.html The information on on sectional kilns is really just a set of pictures introducing the idea, and a short description of the process. Photograph (a) shows a coiled figure built in situ on the kiln base. (b) shows the first fibre ring placed in position on the brick floor. (c) The second ring is now in position and wired to the first using 'stitches' of nichrome wire. (d) The third ring is now in position with the roof section made from ceramic blanket attached to rigid wire supports. (e) Gas-burner in position. PS I hope that being able to remove the kiln from around a warm pot might reduce the manhandling needed to wax it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babs Posted June 14, 2021 Report Share Posted June 14, 2021 @Marcia Selsor has a top hat kiln for her raku... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted July 29, 2021 Report Share Posted July 29, 2021 @NancyEFYI a new thread has started which you may find of interest. It mentions petal kilns: see https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/ceramics-monthly/clay-tools/ceramic-kilns/clay-culture-petal-kiln/# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyE Posted July 29, 2021 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2021 Very, very interesting. My 30 gal qvevri is cracking, I think because I took too long to build it and it had uneven drying. The grape harvest was lost due to the extreme weather we had, so, I have time to design and build and experiment for next year. This looks like it has potential to address several issues. I appreciate your thinking of the qvevri. Nancy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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