Newbie Potter- Help?

[amo]

Hi all,
I'm a newbie potter, and just got my first own kiln: an Olympic 1818K, about 15 years old, electric (still need the 240V-plug for it wired up), capable of firing to cone 6 (or so it says on the front). No fancy electronic controls, just a couple of dials, and a kiln sitter.
I know next-to-nothing about firing, and glazes, but am desperate to learn! I also haven't been able to find a user's manual for the kiln online, only one for the kiln sitter.
So, pardon my ignorance, but:

1) How do I go about firing? Once my pieces are dry enough to go in the kiln, what do I do?

2) I have a mid-firing clay (cone 4-6, I think). What cone number do I bisque it at, and what cone glaze?

3) I also have a low-temp clay (cone 06, I think) and underglazes and glazes (the paint-on ceramics type) which came with the kiln, so I'd like to try them out on that clay. Could I also use those low-fire glazes on my mid-fire clay, if I bisqued it to cone 5 first? Or would they not stick to the pieces?

4) What would be a good "starter set" of glazes for the mid-temp clay? As I said, I don't know anything about glazes; I've never mixed one or anything. I'd like to use some pre-made ones until I know what I'm doing, but I also don't want to lay out too much cash on glazes. I was thinking a basic clear one, and maybe some stains? Or a blue and a brown or something?

Any help is appreciated...
amo

[rosebead]

Hi Amo,
here are some links for you ( found in ourstickies at the top of the forum)
They should help you get started.

http://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/tip13.htm
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/tip17.htm
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/tip31.htm
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/Tip48.htm
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/Tip49.htm
http://www.bigceramicstore.com/information/tip61.htm

[beautifulfreak]

For cone 6 clay I'd bisque at cone 08-06, you could bisque as low as 010 but I prefer the higher bisquing. Place cone in sitter. When you stack the ware and shelves make sure there is a 2 inch clearance all around the kiln sitter for the sitter to work properly. In a bisque firing with no glaze the work can touch one another. I bisque fire for normal ware with all switches on low with lid up for 2 hours, all switches on low with lid closed for 2 hours, all switched on medium with lid closed for 2 hours then leave lid down and turn to high and let it run til cone is met. Then let the kiln cool down. I use the method of lightly testing the outer side of the lid with my hand. Once i can place my hand on the lid and leave it there comfortably I feel it is safe to open. Let the kiln cool while open for a bit before removing the work.

Now before you get your work prepared to fire to cone 6 make sure the kiln will reach that cone. Old kilns with old elements might not be able to fire to its max. temp. anymore. As elements age they reach a point where they can no longer reach their youthful maximum. So test fire it with empty shelves stacked in it(you can shorten the firing cycle while testing).

Your cone 4-6 clay matures at cone 4-6 so that is the usual cone temps you would glaze at. You can attempt to glaze fire the cone 4-6 clay at lower temps. You may or may not like the results depending on how your glaze fits your clay at those tempertures. If you fire your cone 4-6 clay to cone 4-6 before you glaze you will find your glaze will be shrinking more than your clay and this could cause glaze fit problems. Also applying glaze to mature fired clay bodies will be more difficult as the clay will not be porous so you might have to use a binder to make the glaze stick to your ware.

Loading glazed ware in your kiln make sure the wares do not touch each other or any part of the kiln wall. Also your kiln shelves need a good coating of kiln wash on them before you fire. Also you will need to decide if you wish to dry foot your work or stilt your work. Dry footing means that your wares have no glaze on the bottom. Stilting means you have kiln stilts on the bottom of your works so the glazed bottoms do not touch the kiln shelf. At cone 4-6 I prefer to dryfoot...actually I always dryfoot, I don't own any stilts but higher temp clay such as stoneware usually do better dryfooted in my experience.

If you want to try out the low fire stuff you got with your kiln just go purchase a block of terra cotta or white earthenware. Clay is fairly cheap and low fire is more easier to come by at local shops if you are not near a clay supply house. If you are afraid of mixing up what kind of clay you used, mark the bottom of your pot/work with a triangle(cone) and the cone range of the clay, my terra cotta work will have the mark ^06-04 on the bottom so I do not get it in a higher firing kiln load.

I don't know about a starter set of glazes but the idea of starting with some basic glazes and adding stains and or oxides is one I am using with my class. A clear gloss, a opaque white gloss, a opaque white matt, some iron oxide, cobalt carbonate, rutile, etc. is a good place to start. Request a catalog from a good supplier and you'll get to see all the colors they carry. Remember just cause they got that color from that glaze doesn't mean you'll get that color from that glaze. Make some test tiles and test glazes out before you glaze your most bestest work in them.

Check out the Kiln Goddess link in my sig, I am growing a squidoo lens there with info and links to various clay topics.

[sculpturedolls]

Hi there,

You can purchase glazes at a reasonable price on ebay. A lot of times people get out of the hobby and lose interest and end up selling their whole lot of glazes.

Many of the Mayco low fire glazes can be fired successfully on up to cone 6 and not lose their color. You can check their website to see the changes that each of their Cone 06 glazes make when fired to Cone 6. I've made my own tests and was surprised to see how fibrant the colors are and how they turned out when fired to that high when they are designed for low fire.

[amo]

Thanks, guys, this is great info. Will check out all those links.
Muchly appreciated! :)

amo

[Artofclays]

1) How do I go about firing? Once my pieces are dry enough to go in the kiln, what do I do?

2) I have a mid-firing clay (cone 4-6, I think). What cone number do I bisque it at, and what cone glaze?

3) I also have a low-temp clay (cone 06, I think) and underglazes and glazes (the paint-on ceramics type) which came with the kiln, so I'd like to try them out on that clay. Could I also use those low-fire glazes on my mid-fire clay, if I bisqued it to cone 5 first? Or would they not stick to the pieces?

4) What would be a good "starter set" of glazes for the mid-temp clay? As I said, I don't know anything about glazes; I've never mixed one or anything. I'd like to use some pre-made ones until I know what I'm doing, but I also don't want to lay out too much cash on glazes. I was thinking a basic clear one, and maybe some stains? Or a blue and a brown or something?



1. Stack all your greenware on shelves in the kiln or you can tumble stack them with out shelves that is up to you. When you do the bisque start slowly, turn the dials up once an hour. After about 4 hours you should be at red heat and can turn up the dials fully until the kiln sitter is tripped.

2. Mid range clays bisque from 08 to 04 so any where in there is good.

3. Low temp clays can be tricky in a kiln. I would bisque that at 08 or 012, then test it at 06 with some low fire glazes. If you go over the firing temp for that clay it could melt and ruin your kiln. Also sounds as if that would be a good raku clay.

4. Use a search engine to find local or online ceramics shops they will carry pre-made glazes and may be able to help you further.

AOC