Friday, September 4, 2009

First Firing Done




The first firing is done and the results were mixed. The front 1/3 of the kiln came out great, the middle third was OK but somewhat cool and the back never got to the temperature I wanted it to achieve. The firing took 15 hours which includes a 4 hour preheat with gas to cure the arch keystone and the back wall top inset. I learned that with this kiln less wood per stoke is better than more as it is easy to choke it up with too much wood. Also, the front air intake required less air than I anticipated. There are 4 air intake ports on the bottom front and I ended up using the two middle ones. My biggest problem was even distribution of heat which is not uncommon for a wood kiln but I think I crammed it too full and did not allow enough room for heat flow front to back. It was fairly even in terms of heat from top to bottom in the front and middle of the chamber. I used a little salt at the end and it combined with the ash deposits on the clay nicely.
The next firing will be stacked a bit looser and with less little stuff crammed everywhere. Also, there were some pieces of castible on the surface of the top pots so I need to work the loose bits out of the margin between the last bricks on the inside top of the arch and the cast keystone. I will post some pictures of the finished pots in my next posting.

3 comments:

Chyquitia said...
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Chyquitia said...

Wow! What a blast from the past!! I was surfing this a.m. and checking out what's up in the Greenville art scene these days and found your blog.

I see you're still making beautiful pottery for us all to enjoy. I would love to see what you're creating these days and perhaps purchase a piece for myself - economics permitting these days, of course. :)

V. came into the store I was managing some years ago - TZ's Fine Wines - but I only realized it was her after she'd left. Sadly, a missed opportunity for me.

I would love to know how to get in touch with you and V. to find out where your studio is located and take a look at what you've had going on.

Your friend and former co-worker, Chyquitia, former assistant to Virginia from the old "Governor's School for the Arts" days.

David JP Hooker said...

Maybe it needs some side stoke holes about 1/2 way down to pull that heat from the front