Hello Prophets and non-Propheteers, 'tis your ol' fuzzy pal Marko with another Friday diary. This is an open thread, floor's open to share and discuss what you will.
I just finished loading my kiln. I thought I'd share a couple of photos and then, over the course of the next day or so I'll post updates and share the process of firing the kiln with you. If you'll just join me below the ginger hairball I'll get things fired up--
I came out to our place in the country bright and early. I got to work bolting insulation to the inside of the door to the firebox on the kiln. After lunch I was glazing pots all afternoon and into the evening.
Here's a look inside the firing chamber of the kiln-- nearly finished loading:
And I've already got a couple of bricks in place to seal off the chamber. At that point I was still waiting for a couple of sculptures to arrive before I finished sealing the kiln. I lit a couple of candles inside and began to warm things up. It mostly just helps the pots dry after glazing. Many of the pots were unfired before I glazed them.
And once the sculptures were in and the pyrometric cones in place I sealed the kiln. I'll have a picture of the sealed kiln and a better explanation of everything for you in a few hours when I'll be starting a proper fire in the firebox.
Meantime, help yourself to some refreshments ....
2:23 PM PT: Heading out to check on the candles. I've got a nice, tall candle to replace the one out there. A single candle can produce a surprising amount of heat and I'll need a long, warm start to this firing. Applying wet glaze to unfired, dry pots is risky in a couple ways: adding too much water to dry clay can make it expand, crack, even crumble to bits-- it will, at the very least, partially moisten the dry clay and require the piece to be dried again. About half of the pieces in this firing are "greenware", unfired ceramics.
Off to light a candle and then off to bed. More updates coming in the morning. Dobrou noc!
8:46 PM PT: And a fine "dobre rano" without diacritical marks to you! I just got up a minute ago and checked the comments. I'll recheck-- somebody just added a comment while I was typing. Anyway, it's now a bit after 5:40 in the morning here and I'm the only one awake around here. I'll hop out to the kiln and take a couple of photos and add them to this update after I check out everything. I'll need to set another low-fire pyrometric cone in some clay because I noticed that I'd managed to break the one I had already set up. The joys of loading kilns in the dark. Back in a bit with photos!
There's the side of the kiln, sealed and ready for a layer of insulating clay. You can see the closed door to the firebox in the lower left corner. The little door in the sealed wall is my peep hole into the kiln so I can check on things during the firing. You can also see the broken pyrometric cone sitting atop the kiln.
Speaking of pyrometric cones and peep holes:
There's a peek into the peep for you. There's my dragon sculpture with a bit of oxide on it-- adding some black. On the far right you can just see a bit of a sculpture by a friend of mine (the one that just moved for those who regularly read these diaries). Prominently place in the foreground on the left is a hunk of porcelain-- some old fuse sockets or something. There are several similar items in the kiln this time. Seeing how they react, hoping to burn out some old bits of rusted metal and wiring. In one part of the kiln I'm using some porcelain light bulb sockets for spacers/supports between the shelves.
Pyrometric cones (you can see my new low-fire cone perched high atop a little wall there above the other cones. Pyrometric cones are thin, tapered, three-sided pyramids-- mixtures of clay that are made to melt at a certain temperature. By keeping an eye on your "cones" you can have a rough idea of what the temperature is in the kiln. The green cone on the left melts at 1221 degrees Celcius. Its neighbor melts around 1185 degrees (aqain Celsius, you don't expect me to do conversions do you?). The next cone melts at 1100 degrees and the last should droop when the temperature gets over 1043 degrees.
I'll leave this update with a view into the firebox at the candle that burned through the night-- toasty warm in the kiln. I'll head out to slop some more clay over the freshly sealed wall and get a small, slow fire going. Back in a few hours to reply to comments and post a couple more photos.
Sat Sep 07, 2013 at 2:48 AM PT: Another update! For a few hours I've been maintaining a small fire in the firebox with the door open and a cap on the chimney.
In the second picture you can see, through the smoke, a couple of these:
These are decorative ceramic stove tiles pressed into the wet clay and chaff mixture I've used to cover the bricked up side of the firing chamber. They were given to me for decorating the kiln from our friend, an old classmate of my Favorite Female, who once took some ceramics classes for adults that I was teaching. She dropped off a couple pieces to be fired and will be coming over later today with her kids to help with the firing. She's the one in charge of the red wine.
Now I've closed the firebox door and removed the cap from the chimney-- better get back out there before the fire goes out. More updates and photos as time allows ...
Sat Sep 07, 2013 at 5:53 AM PT: Checking in. Thought I'd take a minute to reply to some of the comments. I've cut some more wood and set out a couple of dilapidated old, comfy chairs near the kiln. I even had lunch! Ham with spinach and potato dumplings. Oh, and I just finished the first beer of the day too...
Sat Sep 07, 2013 at 9:31 AM PT: The guests have started to arrive and the first cone has fallen. Alright, so it's just a cone for 650 degrees but that's better than my oven at home can do. I'll be busy, busy, busy. I've hooked up a couple of fans to blow a bit of extra air when some oomph is needed. The kiln will be a hungry beast for a few hours. I'll check back in-- perhaps in the wee hours with some photos to share.
Sun Sep 08, 2013 at 12:33 PM PT: And a last update. The firing was great fun but I fear it wasn't entirely successful. Around 10:30 the 1043 degree cone slumped over and although we continued to feed the kiln until a couple of hours before dawn when the supply of wood ran out the cone for 1100 degrees failed to fall. Still, I've learned a few things. I've got a few ideas for improvements. The journey continues.
I'll leave you with some pictures of the flame blasting out of the chimney after the last of my crew had wandered off to bed. And one last look at the kiln, festively festooned with paper lanterns, as it looked this morning.