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Single Firing?


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I have a small kiln and a deadline and would like to single fire.  I am using anasazi cone 5 clay with extra iron: http://nmclay.com/ProductDesc.aspx?code=ANASAZI_5X&type=4&eq=&key=it&desc=AnasaziCone5withExtraIron and firing to cone 6.  I am using coyote cone 6 glaze.  Does anyone have any tips.  I will be firing a decal on afterwards.  Thanks and sorry for taking over the forum at the moment.

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This is the place for questions,and everyone here is more than happy to help. I'm sure everyone prefers having a bunch of topics from you, as opposed to the SPAM bots trying to sell us every product under the sun. So please, keep the questions coming.

 

Anyway, in regards to single firing, you want to take the front end of the cycle slow. Explosions are bad enough in bisqueware, but far worse, when the wares are glazed. You end up with small bits of ceramic that are now glued in place with glass, all over the kiln interior. So make sure your wares are properly dried, and ramp the temperature up slow. Remember, it's not just the physical water, that you have to worry about, but the chemical water, that gets driven out around 900 F. Even if your wares are fully air dried, increasing the temperature too fast, can cause issues around this temp, because that chemical water has to leave the clay body slowly, just like the physical water.

 

Once you get past this point, then you can generally hit the pedal, all the way up until your desired temp.

 

And as Stellaria brought up, is your clay rated for Cone 6? I know some say "Cone 4-6" or something of the like, but if it just a Cone 5 clay, you may have issues at a higher temp.

 

I'm sure there will be a couple, more knowledgeable posters, who can provide a more in depth firing schedule. What is the type and model of kiln, you will be using? What type of controller?

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Unfortunately you will not know whether a single fire works with this clay/glaze combo till you fire it. Like Neil said... go slow. Still, there is a chance of producing some very ugly pots if there is too much glaze soak in or the glaze bloats on application. The latest  issue Ceramic Monthly has an article that deals with the hazards of single fire.

 

I have had mixed luck with trying single fire on some of the glaze/clay combos I use.

 

If there is any way to run a quick test tile before you commit your whole load of pieces then do this first.

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