Allthegear Posted August 15, 2020 Report Share Posted August 15, 2020 Hello - new poster, would be so grateful for any advice please. I'm feeling bad about having an 'all the gear and no idea' moment with my new kiln. I have a (probably very basic!) question about bisque and glaze firing a clay I am using for the first time in a new kiln (has had dry firing). I'm using a white stoneware clay which matures between 1200 and 1290. I'm unsure of how to choose a temperature for the bisque firing and how many ramps it would need at what temp--could anyone advise me please? Is mostly dinnerware. Secondly, when it comes to glazing this new white clay, most of my glazes work between 1180 and 1250 (again not sure how to choose a temperature within this range) but one of the brush ons notes that cone 6 gives best results. I understand how cones work in general, but find the charts about cone temperatures hard to understand. What temperature would this fire at, and can I fire this in the same load as the 1180-1250 glazes? Apologies if these are too many basic questions. Have done a lot of reading but am a bit stuck. Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Min Posted August 15, 2020 Report Share Posted August 15, 2020 Does your controller have pre-programmed schedules for bisque? I'ld just use one of those and go to cone 04. If the clay isn't bone dry when you start then do a pre-heat (candling) prior to starting the bisque firing. Schedules for slow and fast bisque and glaze firings here if you need them. If you are making functional pots, like dinnerware, you are going to want to fire the clay to maturity, 1290 in this case. You have a broad range firing clay, it can't be mature at both the low end of 1200 and the high end of 1290. I would strongly suggest looking for a claybody with a narrower firing range. If your glazes look best at cone 6 then find a body that matures at that temperature with an absorption of under 2%. Welcome to the forum and congrats on your new kiln! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sorcery Posted August 17, 2020 Report Share Posted August 17, 2020 On 8/15/2020 at 9:19 AM, Allthegear said: Apologies if these are too many basic questions Better to ask now before ruining stuff! Sometimes the glaze has a recommended "glaze 04 bisque". Sometimes the clay says "bisque to blah blah". Skipping the bisque and single firing is a revelation. Sorce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Coyle Posted August 22, 2020 Report Share Posted August 22, 2020 You never know with a new kiln. Best to waste some gas/electricity/clay and fire some sample pieces. Min & Sorcery are right but don't ever commit a kilns worth of pots to a firing schedule you didn't try or a kiln you are not familiar with, or a new glaze. Of course... good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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