In article , Susie Thompson
writes
I've built something which is very, very fragile. It will finally need
firing to 1250C to mature the clay - at which point I suspect that the
clay will be beginning to 'soften' and not be able to take its own
weight.
Dear Susie

A common solution to this sort of problem is to make a number of conical
supports out of the same clay so as to match shrinkage etc.
These are usually called sacrificial props.
the tip of each prop is pointed, so as to leave as little evidence as
possible of its use after firing has taken place.
This technique is generally used when the piece is to be glazed, but has
a lot of merit in unglazed use!

Steve
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK