: Diane Puckett - Viewing Profile

I have an L&L Easy Fire 23T with 3" brick. A glaze firing about 2 weeks ago was set for fast glaze cone 6 with a 15 minute hold and controlled cool. Cone 7 was more than touching. Last night, with a similar load of pots, I ran it at fast glaze cone 5 with a 15 minute hold and controlled cool. Cone 5 was just touching. I anticipated cone 6 being down, but it barely moved. This is so confusing. Does anyone ever really get their kiln calibrated to temperature, or is that just a fantasy? Does it even matter as long as the glazes look okay and the kiln reaches an acceptable cone? I understand the difference between heat work and temperature, but this whole lack of calibration is annoying. For what it is worth, I did take the Kiln Goddess out of the window and sit her on top of the kiln last night, so perhaps she is just messing with me.

I am reading about Laguna's paper clays and thinking about trying some. I would like feedback from those who have used paper clays. They give a wide firing range. Do these clays ever vitrify? Will they hold water? How are they for tiles and detail work? So they play well with glazes? Pros and cons?

Two of my test glazes ran onto a kiln shelf. I swear the glazes ate partially through the shelf. I know I have to grind out all the glaze. This is leaving a gouge in the shelf. Is there something I can use to permanently fill that area before decorating with kiln wash?

After two and a half years, I have finally gotten my glaze problems solved. I am beyond relieved. Now I can focus on making pottery that will not end up in the landfill.

In my last glaze tests, I got some really nice, small crystals with Opulence Bamboo. Someone had indicated it was matte because it was under-fired. Is it possible to have crystalline formation in an under-fired glaze?

I just fired a kiln of glaze test cups using three ^6 Highwater clays, Little Loafers, Bella's Blend, and Desert Buff. All were slow bisqued to ^04 using the program which came with my L&L. The kiln is calibrated. I had tried bisquing Desert Buff to ^08 but had lots of large blisters, so I went back to bisquing to ^04. All the pots were wiped down with a damp sponge to remove any dust. I purposely did not stack any pots in the bisque firing, as I wanted to make sure everything had as much exposure to heat and ventilation as possible.

In this glaze test,
- The Little Loafers pots came out very well with few glaze issues, just an occasional pinhole.
- The Desert Buff all had problems, pinholes inside and out, small blisters on rims, particularly where I layered glazes, and what I call crud appearing on the inside. This even happened with commercial glazes.
- The Bella's Blend was somewhere between the other two clays in having problems.

Of the three clays, I assume Little Loafers is the cleanest so should have less organic material to burn out. I have difficulty throwing large posts with Little Loafers, as it has little tooth and tends to collapse. Desert Buff is great to throw with but has given me too many glaze issues. I was hoping Bella's Blend would be a good compromise.

Suggestions?