Thanks for your comment. I like making textured and exstrem textured pots. The tool you mention, I think it is what I call a "Chattering Tool". I make them out of 1/2, 5/8, and 3/4 inch metal cutting band saw blades. I use them some, mostly on the outside of bonsai pots. Once I chattered the inside of a large soup bowl. Bad idea. Its hard to use a spoon over the chatter marks. ;) I made a new photo album showing textured pots, including 4 new photos.
A hacksaw blade is a little on the light side, but will work if clay is a little on the soft side. I tend to use the 5/8 inch blade the most. I got the 5/8 and 3/4 inch at two local machine shops. Both had old blades around, in the trash. I traded a pot for each blade. Use a grinder to cut them off, and grind the teeth off. Heat the blade to bend at a 90 degree angle. The blade must be sharp to work good. Grind the end to a 45 degree angle. After that .... practice.
Please try to keep this Area focused on Single fire issues. There are some good discussions going on, but texturing, for instance could be a discussion topic for the whole network, and is not specific to this group. If we discuss everything everywhere, no one will be able to find or follow a conversation
To anyone following this group, it looks like it has been a while since a posting. I am new to Electric Cone 6, Mid-Fire Potters and was glad to see something about single firing, but perhaps this group has slowed down too much.
Anyway, I have single fired only once, fairly recently, and used a mid-range porcelain. I was pretty happy with the result on one pot and not so much on the other. The not so happy pot was to be part of a set of four where only three made it into a first firing and this one was single fired to go to a show with the first three. The issue was that the gloss of the glaze did not match the three conventionally fired pots. I found time to add some glaze and refire, but it was still somewhat mismatched. I am looking forward to the next single fire.
I've been taking a break from pottery to be outdoors more this summer, but I do have some single fire tests coming up, and will post results here. John L., welcome to the group. The experience you had with single firing is to be expected. The interactions between clay and glaze are different enough that you should never expect the same results from the same glaze on the same clay when single firing vs. glaze firing bisqueware.
I agree. I did nothing to adjust the glaze for single firing, and since it was a commercial glaze, I would have been guessing anyway. But single firing did allow me to complete the set. I was very pleased with the other pot, which was not part of a set. I plan to go deeper into the technique and to be able to use it for most work, rather than the exception.
I'm firing my first kiln load of single-fire pots. The glazing went well with some poured interiors, some dipped but mostly sprayed exteriors. One tankard handle separated at the lower join, but that was the only obvious raw glazing mishap. Using Nutmeg, Variegated Slate Blue, C Harris Temoku, Rutile Matte, Floating Red, Water Color Green, Hannah's Fake Ash Blue, Strontium Crystal Magic White. Doing a slow preheat around 212 deg F to drive off the loose water. Then a slow climb up through 1400 deg F. Regular heating and cooling from that point on.
Need a reason to single fire? How about this. Sunday I threw 11 pots. Monday evening I put handles on 9 of them that were mugs. Tuesday they dried in front of a fan. Wednesday evening ( I have a day job) I waxed and glazed them and got them preheating in the kiln at 11 p.m. Thursday about 9 p.m. I should be shutting down the kiln. Friday morning about 10 a.m. my finished pots should be coming out of the kiln. That's a five day turn-around from wet clay to finished stoneware. With the added tricks of drying your pot with a heat gun or torch and finish drying in your kitchen oven, you could actually do it in three days!
I'm baaack! After doing a load of bisqueware last week, I'm back to single firing. I have a load cooling now. I have noticed with spraying 4 or 5 layers that it is hard to keep the wax on the bottom. It tends to get pitted, allowing glaze to stick and then needs to be wiped which enlarges the pit. I think I need a harder wax. I'm using an emulsion wax that is pretty soft and has a pretty greasy feel.
Ah... so this is where I join this group. I have posted photos of recent single fire work on the single fire main page. Should I move them to here? Thanks, Susan
Kathy had a good question about glazing for single firing. I took her question and incorporated it into a discussion topic on its own, rather than leaving it here in general comments. Find it under this group as a discussion entitled "Glaze Application for Single Firing".
I am still pursuing single firing as my kiln is very small and I have been trying a couple of different methods as spraying was still leaving too much moisture. My biggest problem is with the pieces cracking in the green state from the moisture in the glaze. Recently I've tried brushing the glaze on in small sections and drying quickly with a heat gun. The glaze doesn't go on smoothly and I've tried adding 2% CMC gum to my glazes which helps brush-ability and toughens the glaze, enabling me to get it to the kiln but it still clumps on the pot. I am having success with glazing my pots while still leather hard which is working much better. I's tricky to get enough glaze on the pot and I am having trouble with splitting in my large mugs along the seam which I am looking at as a design issue. Bowls and open forms seem to do really well with this and I wondered if anyone else is dealing with this issue and finding solutions?
Hello everyone. My name is Ian. I am the owner of Cloud House Pottery in Delray Beach, Fl. I mailny do Raku. But when I fire to cone 6, I usually single fire. I would like to get to know all of you & share experiences
~What clays are folks using at the cone 5-7 range??? I am looking for info about vitrification at that temp.
I first learned about single fire with Dennis Parks at a wrkshp in NH in '75... waste oil kiln too. He applied glaze to dried pots. quickly inside then sponge the outside bottom with clear water to equalize pressure then quickly dip the outside. timing was essential. I have not done it in many yrs, my forms are too complicated to withstand the stress. Have a great day.
I am working in a community studio, and they are exploring single fire right now. No real issues at this point and the clay is the cone 6 b-mix from laguna.
Will let you know once I can single fire my own work, as I am using cassius by aardvark and just moved to electric brown by laguna (was hearthstone from mile hi in denver but they do not consistently have the clay).
I fired my first raw glazed, once fired load. Everything went wrong. I had a power failure at cone 1. The kiln temperature was 198F when the lights came back on. I re-fired to cone 6. There was serious crawling of one glaze and mild to moderate in others. A shino glaze worked like a charm. Does anyone know whether the re-firing may have caused the crawling. I assume it was a poor glaze / clay fit.
Robert Young
Sep 7, 2009
Robert Seele
Dec 17, 2009
Robert Seele
Dec 17, 2009
Robert Seele
Dec 17, 2009
George Lewter
Dec 21, 2009
John Lowes
Anyway, I have single fired only once, fairly recently, and used a mid-range porcelain. I was pretty happy with the result on one pot and not so much on the other. The not so happy pot was to be part of a set of four where only three made it into a first firing and this one was single fired to go to a show with the first three. The issue was that the gloss of the glaze did not match the three conventionally fired pots. I found time to add some glaze and refire, but it was still somewhat mismatched. I am looking forward to the next single fire.
Aug 17, 2010
George Lewter
Aug 18, 2010
John Lowes
Aug 19, 2010
George Lewter
Nov 1, 2010
George Lewter
Nov 4, 2010
Victoria Cochran
Nov 4, 2010
John Lowes
Nov 4, 2010
George Lewter
Nov 10, 2010
George Lewter
Nov 23, 2010
George Lewter
Dec 5, 2010
susan claysmith
Ah... so this is where I join this group. I have posted photos of recent single fire work on the single fire main page. Should I move them to here? Thanks, Susan
Dec 11, 2010
George Lewter
Comments about firing schedules posted here today were moved to the firing cycle discussion area.
Dec 15, 2010
Kathy Ransom
Kathy had a good question about glazing for single firing. I took her question and incorporated it into a discussion topic on its own, rather than leaving it here in general comments. Find it under this group as a discussion entitled "Glaze Application for Single Firing".
Changed by George Lewter, network creator
Apr 13, 2011
Caroline Long
Apr 21, 2011
Kathy Ransom
I am still pursuing single firing as my kiln is very small and I have been trying a couple of different methods as spraying was still leaving too much moisture. My biggest problem is with the pieces cracking in the green state from the moisture in the glaze. Recently I've tried brushing the glaze on in small sections and drying quickly with a heat gun. The glaze doesn't go on smoothly and I've tried adding 2% CMC gum to my glazes which helps brush-ability and toughens the glaze, enabling me to get it to the kiln but it still clumps on the pot. I am having success with glazing my pots while still leather hard which is working much better. I's tricky to get enough glaze on the pot and I am having trouble with splitting in my large mugs along the seam which I am looking at as a design issue. Bowls and open forms seem to do really well with this and I wondered if anyone else is dealing with this issue and finding solutions?
Dec 29, 2011
Ian
Hello everyone. My name is Ian. I am the owner of Cloud House Pottery in Delray Beach, Fl. I mailny do Raku. But when I fire to cone 6, I usually single fire. I would like to get to know all of you & share experiences
Jan 7, 2012
Maggie Jones
~What clays are folks using at the cone 5-7 range??? I am looking for info about vitrification at that temp.
I first learned about single fire with Dennis Parks at a wrkshp in NH in '75... waste oil kiln too. He applied glaze to dried pots. quickly inside then sponge the outside bottom with clear water to equalize pressure then quickly dip the outside. timing was essential. I have not done it in many yrs, my forms are too complicated to withstand the stress. Have a great day.
Feb 28, 2012
matthew mejia
I am working in a community studio, and they are exploring single fire right now. No real issues at this point and the clay is the cone 6 b-mix from laguna.
Will let you know once I can single fire my own work, as I am using cassius by aardvark and just moved to electric brown by laguna (was hearthstone from mile hi in denver but they do not consistently have the clay).
Feb 28, 2012
Kath Bonson
I put his on the main wall - http://cone6pots.ning.com/photo/dsc-2571-7?xg_source=activity
Jul 13, 2012
Rodney Allen Roe
I fired my first raw glazed, once fired load. Everything went wrong. I had a power failure at cone 1. The kiln temperature was 198F when the lights came back on. I re-fired to cone 6. There was serious crawling of one glaze and mild to moderate in others. A shino glaze worked like a charm. Does anyone know whether the re-firing may have caused the crawling. I assume it was a poor glaze / clay fit.
Oct 20, 2014