2 segment firing schedule

[Saramics studio]

Hello everyone, 

I recently got a pottery crafts aurora kiln and I need a good 2 segment firing schedule.

 

i contacted the company for one but my pieces came out under fired (I use HF amaco glazes)

my program was

1) 60 Celsius to 600

soak for 10 

2) then 120 to 122

and soak for 10 mins

 

anyone recommend another firing schedules for cone 5 or 6 for me to try out? Or should I just make the second soak longer?

[Bill Kielb]

Are you familiar with the Orton cone chart and making the last segment go the speed in the chart for the final 100c of the firing to get the cone to drop?

The center column speed is common so your last segment speed would be 60c per hour and for cone 5, end of firing = 1186c, start of final segment: 1186c - 100c = 1086c.  So last segment starts at 1086c, goes 60c per hour and ends at 1186c. This should get cone 5 to drop as planned.

your first segment can go as fast as your pots will tolerate so approximately 100c - 250c per hour.

It turns out, most of the heatwork is done in the last 100c, so get that right and you can more accurately fire to cone. If you add a hold to the end generally a 15 to 20 minute hold drives it approximately to the next cone.

This way, you always have a place to start working on a “good” schedule.

 

 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Bill Kielb