1st Firing!

[Tammyr67]

I just fired up my new Paragon Fire Fly kiln with my first batch of porcelain bisque (all small peices)

Hopefully all will work out well.....start praying you guys! I need all the help I can get!

I do have a question though...my clay is cone 06 porcelain. How long does the kiln have to stay at 2232 degrees once it gets there? Does the size of the peices matter? I made a bunch of pendants and beads.

Thanks for the help and support.. Don't you just love WC!

[Rob Hendriks]

Congrats with your new kiln.I often fire biscuit porcelain jewelry twice so it became vitreous enough, and keep it 10 min at the end temp.I work with a pyrometer, maybe this differs from a cone.

[Tammyr67]

I used a pyrometer too. I was afraid I was doing it wrong, but I enjoyed keeping track of the temp. The total firing time was about 7.5 hours. Does that sound right?

when you say "I often fire biscuit porcelain jewelry twice so it became vitreous enough" what does that mean exactly?
How long would you fire it?

Can you overfire porcelain?

Sorry I'm so full of questions, but I am not finding any answers in my research, as there are alot of 'ifs'.

[Rob Hendriks]

The biscuit porcelain I use is probably different to cone 6 porcelain.I though you mean with biscuit porcelain Paris porcelain,this looks like marble after firing.This biscuit porcelain glazes itself in a way that differs from the usual glazing,but only when it fired at the right temp.and for a right period.So I fire this porcelain twice biscuit,otherwise it is underfired,and looks dull.

When strongly overfired the porcelain melted and become deformed.Often biscuit porcelain(paris) is fired with an external armature to increase the marble look, but to prevent deformation.

Now I understand that you mean with your first batch of porcelain biscuit cone 06 porcelain,that it is one time fired(biscuit).I don't know the exact firing scheme for this porcelain,maybe somebody else has a scheme.Not only the proper temp is important but also the lenght of the firing,you are right to be keen about this.

[Tammyr67]

hmmm Paris porcelain...something else to research.

There is always something to learn!

I'm doing my 1st glaze firing today, I'll postpics tomorrow after I open the kiln. I'm going to try a cone 6 transparent glaze mixed with mason stains.
I will probably need to do a 2nd glaze firing, I want to try to lustre some of the peices and see how that works.

Test, Test, Test!

Thank you Rob for the interaction.

[Tammyr67]

I finally did my first glaze firing. The glaze crackled on some of the peices, why? Did it get too hot? I fired to cone 6.

My high temp wire also bent and dropped some of the pieces, therefore they got stuck together. What can I do to prevent this?

Thanks for the help clay people!

[Rob Hendriks]

Tammy,cracking in glaze can be a result of too thick glaze apply.The steel wire is not suitable when you fire to 1240C/2264F(or cone6).I suggest you fire lower, or fire (a suitable) glaze lower.

[Tammyr67]

Thanks Rob

After pondering it over all day I think it was both, some peices were to thick, but I think I also fired too high, I'm going to try cone 4 next time and try to fire a little more slowly and precise.

I have to work on my patience! It wasn't a total loss, a couple of peices did come out satisfactory.

Thank you so much for your input.

[red46]

Originally Posted by Tammyr67

I just fired up my new Paragon Fire Fly kiln with my first batch of porcelain bisque (all small peices)

Hopefully all will work out well.....start praying you guys! I need all the help I can get!

I do have a question though...my clay is cone 06 porcelain. How long does the kiln have to stay at 2232 degrees once it gets there? Does the size of the peices matter? I made a bunch of pendants and beads.

Thanks for the help and support.. Don't you just love WC!

Your pieces only need to reach the temp. They don't have to soak at that temp. As for crackling...if you pull glaze out of the kiln too soon, you will get crackling. If that's the case, all you have to do is refire.
Judy

[Tammyr67]

thanks Judy!

[Tammyr67]

Judy I forgot to say...
Welcome to the wonderful world of WetCanvas!!

[jab04241914j]

hi, i'm new on WC. I'm looking for any and all information and direction in making kiln fired clay and ceramic beads. I would like to purchase a small kiln but i have no idea what to buy or how to get started. is there a book out there with this info? Any help would be so appreciated.
jab04241914j

[Tammyr67]

Looks like you found the best resource! WetCanvas!

Check out the stickies and search the forum and you will find all the info you need.

If you need answers to specific questions, post them. The kind folks that frequent this forum will be glad to help you out!

I purchased a Paragon Fire Fly kiln, it's small, but perfect for the jewelry pieces I make. I paid $299 for it I think (it's been awhile).

Welcome!

[sculpturedolls]

Maybe check the "Wearable Art" forum as they might know of other resources/websites for jewelry making and kiln details needed. I know I've seen that some buy very small kilns, if I recall right, maybe only 15" square box shape kiln. I saw a thread here on WC showing how they use kiln wire to hang the beads. They have strips of beads in rows and have techniques to get a lot of beads in one kiln load.

It's been awhile since I saw the thread but if you find that thread then you can search through all of their threads and see what they say as to the type of kiln they use.

[Rustic Potter]

Hi Tammy,

Firing the bisque and glaze can be tricky and a lot depends on the qualities of the clay and glaze, as you have discovered.

There are optimal temperatures for both the glaze and the clay and the relative differences will control certain qualities.

For the clay - as was mentioned - there is a maximum high temperature for each clay. After that the clay will bloat, deform and eventually melt. When you buy the clay you should be told the maximum temperature. This is not always the case, however and you may have to discover it by over-firing.

Lower than the maximum, the temp you fire to is personal choice - you may fire to different temps to get different amounts of vitreousness, surface color, surface texture, to fit a particular glaze, etc. For functional pottery, for example, it is important that the clay is vitreous, ie. the clay will not absorb water and your vases will not leak all over the antique wood table, etc.

For the glaze, the same is true. There is a maximum after which the glaze will run down the sides of the pottery or bead and get all over the kiln. There is a minimum at which the glaze will not get melted and look good.

Then there is the "fit" of the glaze to the clay. They have to be compatible at the temperature at which you want to fire the clay. For example, there is the case of crackling or crazing because the clay shrinks more than the glaze can handle. This can be avoided in some cases by firing to a lower temperature. Or, like was mentioned, if the clay cools too fast it can cause crackling.

I would also like to mention that there can be an optimal bisque temperature in some cases. The clay will shrink in the bisque and also in the glaze firing. Sometimes the glaze fit will depend on the bisque temperature. For example, if the bisque is at cone 010 the glaze may craze or crackle or shiver but it is fine if the bisque is at cone 04.

As far as soaking, I also do not believe there is a benefit to soaking a bisque kiln, however, as was mentioned, there appears to be a benefit to the clay body in some cases by firing twice. Glazes can certainly be affected by the rates of firing and cooling and the amount that the kiln is "soaked" or kept at a certain temperature for a while. You will have to experiment to see how your particular glazes is affected.

So, hope that rambling is helpful.