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cones reading them?

updated sat 24 dec 11

 

Amy Romaniec on wed 21 dec 11


All this talk about cones Just exactly how do you read the little "pyrami=
=3D
ds"
say for ^ 10 I put in 9 =3D2C10 and 11 =3D20
I know the bars in my bisque kiln sitter have to be relatively bent to trip=
=3D
it
also is it REAL important to have them at an exact angle? say like the angl=
=3D
e of the base.
I make my own clay cone pads (little animal sculptures that I sell=3D2C No =
wa=3D
ste) =3D20
=3D

William & Susan Schran User on wed 21 dec 11


On 12/21/11 10:58 AM, "Amy Romaniec" wrote:

> All this talk about cones Just exactly how do you read the little "pyra=
mids"
> say for ^ 10 I put in 9 ,10 and 11
> I know the bars in my bisque kiln sitter have to be relatively bent to tr=
ip it
> also is it REAL important to have them at an exact angle? say like the an=
gle
> of the base.
> I make my own clay cone pads (little animal sculptures that I sell, No wa=
ste)
>
Yes, they MUST be at the exact proper angle, otherwise you will screw up
your entire firing!

KIDDING!

The cones should be at a slight angle, encouraging them to bend in a
specific direction. I used to prepare my own clay cone pads , but several
years ago I got the Orton cone plagues that hold 3 large cones (got a box o=
f
100, still have more than 1/2 left) and these place them at the same correc=
t
angle every time. I think the cone plaques were intended for one time use,
but I use them for many firings.
It's more important that you are consistent with how you set the cones in
your pads so that you will get consistent, repeatable results.

My reading for the highest heat reading is the tip of the cone bent down to
the level of it's base.

Bill

--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com

Pottery by John on wed 21 dec 11


Per Orton both angle and height of mounting DO make a difference; follow th=
e
link:

http://www.ortonceramic.com/resources/reference/correct_use.shtml

Like Bill Schran, I use one of the same two commercial cones packs I bought
in 2006. I dropped one and haven't replaced it, but I have 8 more I
purchased at the same time as back up. If you don't drop them they will
last and last.

John Lowes
Sandy Springs, Georgia
http://wynhillpottery.weebly.com/

Arnold Howard on wed 21 dec 11


On 12/21/2011 9:58 AM, Amy Romaniec wrote:
> also is it REAL important to have them at an exact angle? say like the an=
gle of the base.
> I make my own clay cone pads (little animal sculptures that I sell, No wa=
ste)

Amy, it is clever of you to make animal sculpture cone pads. I love the
idea. I used to have carton boxes filled with bent self-supporting cones
that were glued to sheets of cardboard. One day I gave them to an
artist. She wanted the cones because they looked like elephant heads.

The cones must be slanted 8 degrees from vertical. Perhaps you could
make a jig that would assure that the cone bottoms in your pads would be
precisely parallel with the kiln shelf.

Sincerely,

Arnold Howard
Paragon Industries, L.P., Mesquite, Texas USA
ahoward@paragonweb.com / www.paragonweb.com

Snail Scott on wed 21 dec 11


On Dec 21, 2011, at 9:58 AM, Amy Romaniec wrote:
> ... is it REAL important to have them at an exact angle?


Yes, it is real important, in caps.

If you hold one against the tabletop, the angle it sits
at is the exact recommended angle it needs to be at
to read accurately to factory spec. Too low an angle
and it bends sooner (less heat-work), and too vertical
a position leads to delayed bending. Now, if you are
very consistent, you can get valid data from cones
even if they aren't at the recommended angle, but you
need to work out your own calibration. If you put your
cones at a low angle, your '^8' might actually be a ^6,
for example. That's OK as long as you get consistent,
usable results, but you won't be able to assume that
anyone else's ^8 recipe will work at your ^8. (It's like
the US using the English weights and measures - it's
fine as long as no one else is involved, but it makes
for problems in translation to anywhere else.) All in
all, it's so easy to keep the standard angle, why choose
any other?

Note that consistency is absolutely critical, here!

Regardless of the angle you choose, you must stick
with it, or you will not have any useful data from
one firing to the next. If your cone angles vary, so
will the apparent heat-work, and every firing will be
different. So, there is no freedom in having non-
standard angles, at all. I may be an iconoclast at
heart, but I can't see any benefit to having anything
but the factory-recommended angle for cones.

-Snail

Steve Mills on thu 22 dec 11


Bill ,
Aka: Arabesque, as in Ballet; it's just like a properly bent cone :-)

Steve M

Steve Mills
Bath
UK
Sent from my iPod

On 21 Dec 2011, at 19:23, William & Susan Schran User wro=
t=3D
e:
> My reading for the highest heat reading is the tip of the cone bent down =
t=3D
o
> the level of it's base.
>=3D20
> Bill
>=3D20
> --
> William "Bill" Schran
> wschran@cox.net
> wschran@nvcc.edu
> http://www.creativecreekartisans.com

Sandy Henderson on thu 22 dec 11


I must have been doing something wrong (nothing unusual there!) -- when I t=
ried to use the commercial cone packs/placques (cone 5, 6, 7), cone 5 and u=
sually cone 6 would melt and stick to the placque. Is there a trick to this=
?

Thanks!
Sandy Henderson



>------------------------------
>
>Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:07:21 -0500
>From: Pottery by John
>Subject: Re: cones reading them?
>
>Per Orton both angle and height of mounting DO make a difference; follow t=
he
>link:
>
>http://www.ortonceramic.com/resources/reference/correct_use.shtml
>
>Like Bill Schran, I use one of the same two commercial cones packs I bough=
t
>in 2006. I dropped one and haven't replaced it, but I have 8 more I
>purchased at the same time as back up. If you don't drop them they will
>last and last.
>
>John Lowes
>Sandy Springs, Georgia
>http://wynhillpottery.weebly.com/
>
>------------------------------

John Rodgers on thu 22 dec 11


You didn't mention what happened with cone 7

Cone 5 should melt, cone 6 should bend to either 90 or 180 degrees(tip
down to the shelf) and Cone 7 should stand tall or ever so slightly
bent. I've seen cones 6 and 7 both ways with good results. If cone 6 is
where you want to go - you have too much heat or you are holding to
long. To get a good cone 6 I fire to Cone 5-1/2 with a hold at the end.
The cone 6 bends nicely. Don't know your set up, but if yoiuwill fire
with the cones set where you can see them through a peep hole as the
kiln approaches temp, you can learn a great deal, especially if you have
a pyrometer, or a computer. But I will tell you - some of the best
firing I have ever done was done watching those cones for the visual
cue for exactly when to turn off the power - or the gas. If you use ANY
commercial cone pack - or make your own as I often have done in the
past - you definitely need to watch those cones. Cones will vary between
batches even - always close - but slight variations. You need to know
what your supplies are doing.

Good luck,

John

John Rodgers
Clayartist and Moldmaker
88'GL VW Bus Driver
Chelsea, AL
Http://www.moldhaus.com


On 12/22/2011 4:58 PM, Sandy Henderson wrote:
> I must have been doing something wrong (nothing unusual there!) -- when I=
tried to use the commercial cone packs/placques (cone 5, 6, 7), cone 5 and=
usually cone 6 would melt and stick to the placque. Is there a trick to th=
is?
>
> Thanks!
> Sandy Henderson
>
>
>
>> ------------------------------
>>
>> Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:07:21 -0500
>> From: Pottery by John
>> Subject: Re: cones reading them?
>>
>> Per Orton both angle and height of mounting DO make a difference; follow=
the
>> link:
>>
>> http://www.ortonceramic.com/resources/reference/correct_use.shtml
>>
>> Like Bill Schran, I use one of the same two commercial cones packs I bou=
ght
>> in 2006. I dropped one and haven't replaced it, but I have 8 more I
>> purchased at the same time as back up. If you don't drop them they will
>> last and last.
>>
>> John Lowes
>> Sandy Springs, Georgia
>> http://wynhillpottery.weebly.com/
>>
>> ------------------------------
>

William & Susan Schran User on thu 22 dec 11


On 12/22/11 5:58 PM, "Sandy Henderson" wrote:

> I must have been doing something wrong (nothing unusual there!) -- when I
> tried to use the commercial cone packs/placques (cone 5, 6, 7), cone 5 an=
d
> usually cone 6 would melt and stick to the placque. Is there a trick to t=
his?

Yes, same thing happens to me.
Cone 6 is knocked/pried off with screwdriver.
I have to give the really melted cone 5 a whack with the screwdriver.
This usually breaks the edge of the plaque.
Coating the plaque with alumina helps.

Bill

--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com

Liz Gowen 1 on fri 23 dec 11


I put a light coat of kiln wash on the holders and sides and have been able
to reuse them for a number of firings so far. still need to pry off the one=
s
that curl around the base but they pop off the base pretty easily...Liz
Gowen

-----Original Message-----
From: Clayart [mailto:Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG] On Behalf Of William & Susa=
n
Schran User
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 9:13 PM
To: Clayart@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Subject: Re: cones reading them?

On 12/22/11 5:58 PM, "Sandy Henderson" wrote:

> I must have been doing something wrong (nothing unusual there!) --
> when I tried to use the commercial cone packs/placques (cone 5, 6, 7),
> cone 5 and usually cone 6 would melt and stick to the placque. Is there a
trick to this?

Yes, same thing happens to me.
Cone 6 is knocked/pried off with screwdriver.
I have to give the really melted cone 5 a whack with the screwdriver.
This usually breaks the edge of the plaque.
Coating the plaque with alumina helps.

Bill

--
William "Bill" Schran
wschran@cox.net
wschran@nvcc.edu
http://www.creativecreekartisans.com