kilns and cones

Have a look at http://www.ortonceramic.com for all the information you need
about cones and cone firing

Dave


"MKent41616" wrote in message
...

My quesion is, at school they
use
several cones to mark the progession of the firing. They range from cones
4-10.
I will be firing at no higher than cone 5 or 6. Do I also need several
cones
or
would two do, say cones 4 and 6? Thanks!

I would use three cones. A cone that is one cooler than your firing
temp., a cone for your firing temp., and a cone that one hotter than
your firing temp. On the first firing, I would place several pads of
cones in various places throughout the kiln as well as the one at the
peep hole. Any time you fire a kiln for the first time, whether it is
new or old, it is essential that you know it is firing evenly. By
placing several pads of cones, you can compare results throughout your
kiln. The number of pads would depend on the size of the kiln - but
don't be stingy. The information you gain will be invaluable to you in
future firings.

By using the three cones, you will know when the first cone goes down
that your are nearing completion of the firing and need to pay close
attention. The hotter cone tells you if you went too far.

When you shut the kiln down, cover all the peep holes and leave the kiln
alone until it is cool, This is especially important if you are a
novice. If you open the kiln too soon, you will never know if the pot
cracked because of your building technique or because the kiln was still
too hot. This is probably the hardest part of being a potter - waiting
(waiting, Waiting, WAITING) for the kiln to cool.

Jan C.

In article et, Jan
Clauson writes

I would use three cones. A cone that is one cooler than your firing
temp., a cone for your firing temp., and a cone that one hotter than
your firing temp. On the first firing, I would place several pads of
cones in various places throughout the kiln as well as the one at the
peep hole. Any time you fire a kiln for the first time, whether it is
new or old, it is essential that you know it is firing evenly. By
placing several pads of cones, you can compare results throughout your
kiln. The number of pads would depend on the size of the kiln - but
don't be stingy. The information you gain will be invaluable to you in
future firings.

By using the three cones, you will know when the first cone goes down
that your are nearing completion of the firing and need to pay close
attention. The hotter cone tells you if you went too far.

I agree that it is important to find out if your kiln fires evenly and
so initially you would be wise to follow this advice. However, for
subsequent routine firings I would only use two cones. One for the glaze
firing temperature and one below this so that you get some warning of
the time shut down.

When you shut the kiln down, cover all the peep holes and leave the kiln
alone until it is cool, This is especially important if you are a
novice. If you open the kiln too soon, you will never know if the pot
cracked because of your building technique or because the kiln was still
too hot. This is probably the hardest part of being a potter - waiting
(waiting, Waiting, WAITING) for the kiln to cool.

Jan C.


--
David
David Hewitt Pottery
7 Fairfield Road, Caerleon, Newport,
South Wales, NP18 3DQ.
Tel:- +44 (0) 1633 420647
Fax:- +44 (0) 870 1617274
Web:- http://www.dhpot.demon.co.uk

Bisque it to cone 06. This leaves it porous enough to take up glaze before
going up to cone 5. Repeating, bisque at cone 06 (~1000 degrees Celsius.)

Tony, TX

--

http://tonyolsen.com/up/
"GaSeku" wrote in message
...
Ok, now that I have gotten such great info I am getting ready to use the
kiln.
I have some things already made that aren't that great so I figure I will
use
them as a test. I have cone 5 stoneware. What cone should i fire them to
bisque? The school does cone 8, but some have said that's too high. Thanks
in
advance.

Now you're confusing me. Does your school bisque to cone 8 or cone 08?
I usually bisque to cone 07.

Jan C.