Ceramic Kiln News - January 2020

Is there any chance of getting another load of bisque through before the raku firing Saturday? There are a couple pieces that were covered with colored slip that I was hoping to bring.

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We are running the paragon again with new 03,04,05 cones to see if it truly is not reaching temp. The readout said it reached 1945.

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Very old cone boxes of 04 and small is an 05.

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Amy, I don’t think we can meet a Saturday timeline on bisque. We had to run the paragon again and the luster event is planned for tonight (firing when the paragon is done). There is also not enough on the bisque shelf to run one now. Sorry :neutral_face:

Would be super alsum if we could run a bisque first, as there is a timeline in the Raku event.

Would you be able to run the bisque in another kiln? People signed up for the Raku event have pieces they need for it.

Since the luster class (scheduled before Raku) did not have enough pieces to load the kiln, I can run another bisque tonight as long as the rest of the community who was waiting for a glaze run is fine waiting another day or two.

All pieces must be on the shelf, dry, and labeled for the Raku event by 4:00 today.

Thank you thank you!

Bisque unloaded

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Raku folks, I’ll be in before my 11:00am class to unload the bisque kiln as long as it’s under 200. If not I’ll vent it and open as soon as possible

Thank you Monika, due to the weather the raku event has to be rescheduled though, so no longer a rush.

Thank you for the update, much appreciated :grinning:

Bisque unloaded in the 1027. Shelves are full so please come and get your pieces

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Top shelf in 1027…04 cone is the one bent. The 03 and 05 did not bend.
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The middle shelf the 05 is the fine bent, 04 is slightly bent
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Bottom shelf 05 is bent cone
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Glaze unloaded

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While looking at the AMACO website for layering ideas, I came across this (listed on glazes marked as food-safe): “Safety Warning: Tableware producers must test all finished ware to establish dinnerware status, due to possible variations in firing temperature and contamination.”

With the Kiln having issues with the correct firing temperature and all, should I be concerned about the mugs/bowls I’ve made being food-safe? (if I’ve used food-safe glazes) :thinking:

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That’s just “boiler plate language”. The odds that your finished wares are not food-safe, when you’ve used a food-safe glaze, are very, very slim. It’s just that Amaco has only had specific firing temperatures tested, and they are not willing to say that something is safe unless they’ve had the test run. One quick way to test your glaze combo is to do “the lemon test”. Put a slice of lemon on your item, and let it sit overnight. If the lemon is discolored, then your glaze is leaching chemicals. Although, to my way of thinking, if that chemical isn’t toxic, then neither is the glaze. Granted, Amaco doesn’t tell you their formulas. However, if the raw glaze is non-toxic, it doesn’t contain toxic chemicals. Of the glazes we’ve got, only a few (the ones with copper) have a toxicity warning.

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And Palladium, I believe.

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Palladium is odd. It’s not toxic, but the fired glaze isn’t food safe. I wonder if the surface isn’t “sealed”, thus allowing food particles (okay – molecules) to stick, and collect bacteria. That’s one reason a glaze might not be food safe. That was the reason I was given for raku wares to never be food safe – the surface is a bit porous. And, if it’s the metallic, both raku and palladium are gloriously shiny…

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If glaze is under fired, it might not be noticeable, but by looking but under a microscope it would look like gravel or pavement and able to hold bacteria. This may not be food safe.

You should test just to make sure if you think your piece was under fired. Lemons are cheap.

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Glaze unloaded from 1027image image image image image

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