Glaze is unloaded. Everything looked great.
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I’m Glazing, and glazing, and glazing, when the next bisque load comes out you should have plenty to start a load of glaze.
By the way The Carolyn” came out just fine. I have a couple tweaks and need to install the LED light kit I got for it. . I’ll post a pic when done.
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I am so glad! I’ve read and read on what might have gone wrong with the small kiln. The firing program showed correctly when stepped through but the temp readings were all so off. I’m calling Paragon again tomorrow just to get a quote on a total electrical rip-out but I’m not really feeling that option. We should have time to discuss everything at our next committee meeting and still make the cut-off for new Board agenda items.
(Glaze Fire was in small kiln (daring!) or the big kiln?)
Unloaded community glazed, no way I’ll use the small kiln.
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Small kiln is imbued with evil. Smart woman.
Bisque kiln is now loaded. Dang! There was a lot of stuff. I’m hoping to unload Wednesday night, since I’ll be headed to Arkansas Thursday. Not everything got loaded – just not enough room.
We’ll see about loading glaze. It’ll depend in part on how cool the kiln is when I take the bisque out.
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The bisque kiln is mostly unloaded. It was still too hot to unload the bottom layer. So – if something isn’t on the bisque shelf or the green ware shelf, it’s probably still in the kiln.
I hope to be there after 4pm today, if I don’t get side tracked. I’ll finish unloading for you.
Bisque kiln is fully unloaded. We are short on firing the next glaze kiln.
There are several racks of ornaments currently on the shelves that seem to be glazed on both sides (would fuse to shelf) . If this is underglaze, please let me know what brand/kind so we can make sure it doesn’t need to be stilted. The holes are too small for the bead rack wires. Your ornaments are awesome, let me know what is going on.
The glaze is Mayco stroke and coat. Let me know if I need to find wire to hang them on.
Thanks!
It looked like S&C but I wasn’t ready to put money on it, :).
That is a glaze and will fuse. If you want to put them on the bead racks you will need a wire that will go to Cone Six (~2232F). Your holes are super small and this might be a challenge. If you find something and want us to check it out before spending big money, let us know. Anita says that they make a type of wire twisty closure thingy for ornaments but isn’t sure where to find it. I wish you much luck with your google-fu!
(I’ll send you a photo of our bead racks so you have an idea of size and how long it I’ll take to fire them all if you hang.)
I found a few options that will work:
Cone 10 Wire
There’s also Kanthal A1 wire. It will fire to 2550 degrees. Amazon sells it for ~$8 for 100’. If you want to try and get it locally, your best bet will be a hobby shop like Wild Bill’s or R/C Zone. It’s used on foam cutters. Vape shots should have it too
Kanthal makes a number of other wires that will work. Just check the chart for the max temperature.
Don’t get the Kemper High Temperature Wire or Nichrome. It’s only rated to Cone 5.
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So if we want to make a bead tree or related furniture, any preference on the above?
For a custom bead rack, it depends on the rack design. If your design uses a rod, you can use nichrome rods. Most commercial bead racks use nichrome. It’s melting point is 2462 degrees Fahrenheit, but the max firing temp is only cone 5. Firing it above cone 5 will weaken the rod and you’ll eventually run into sagging issues. Hopefully you don’t find out the rod has passed a critical weak point during a firing. You’ll also have to replace it more often when overfiring it.
Personally, if I’m going to do a custom setup, I’d go with the Kanthal A1 wire or one of the other in that series so you won’t have to worry as much about it losing integrity. You’ll still want to keep an eye on the rods and replace them over time, but I wouldn’t expect you to need to do this very often. Also, apparently the nichrome has the chance to leave a green stain on the clay when fired. If it’s fired above cone 5, there’s a chance of leaving a black stain as well. The Kanthal A1 wire doesn’t have these issues.
You can get the Kanthal in a pretty broad range of gauges. I’d get a lower gauge to make rods, pins or hooks with. You can get a higher gauge if you need a smaller diameter and wire the beads onto the rack.
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Thanks for the great info. I’ve been toying with an idea I want to chase and it needs beads. Beads make everything better, ya know.
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I would be interested in going in with someon on buying the wire
I keep wanting to do pendents, and buttons as well as beads
I just don t need a huge amoun of wire for them
Just throwing this out there, pretty much ignorant of pottery practices. Maybe you canuse Nichrome wire you can buy it really cheap at Tanners by the foot. based on temp it should work. It often used for heating elements. Maybe just buy a foot, try it just to see how it holds up.
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If a standard bead rack will work for you, we have 2 in Fired Arts you can use. I’m fairly certain the rods for them are standard nichrome. If the bases will work, you can use them and provide your own rods. Just let us know so we can return your rods to you.
Alternatively, you can purchase your own rack, switch the rodding out and fire with that. There’s a couple of ways to put your name on it that will survive glaze firing. I can help you with that part when you’re ready.
The two we have look like these:
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Those would likely work. Didn’t realize we had any. Similar to what I was thinking to make. Thx
We’ve got 3 bead racks already. You should take a look. Generally speaking, the nichrome we have works fine. Just don’t overload it. It works better for the beads than the stilts.
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