John Baymore on fri 12 apr 02
Hi.
I use a heavy duty propane torch. Like the ones for sweating pipe joints=
. =
Yup..... a direct and large flame. The flame is placed directly against
the work....... often so the inner bight blue tip of the flame is just of=
f
of the peice. Sometimes I use a "fan head" on the torch..... to spread t=
he
flame. I far prefer it to heat guns and hair dryers.
It requires that you keep the piece that you are drying moving.... or wav=
e
the the torch back and forth a lot. It will dry stuff quite fast. Once
you get he hang of it.... it is a real treat to be able to join leatherha=
rd
stuff so quickly after the fresh making part. It drys stuff quite evenly=
too....unlike the heat guns and hair dryers that tend to dry out the oute=
r
surface of the clay cause of all that air flow but leave the interior wal=
l
much softer. The torch seems to drive the moisture from the interior of
the wall also. =
One thing that you soon learn is that the piece will continue to dry quit=
e
a bit after the heat is removed. It will sit there steaming for quite a
while. You soon learn how much more drying happens . Also if you use=
plastic bats....... well....... DON'T try to dry the very bottom . On=
wood bats ..... just keep the bat moist. Ditto metal wheelheads. And i=
f
you try to heat the inside of the piece, if you use a handheld propane
torch....tipping it with the nozzle downward will cause liguid propane to=
get to the orifice........ makes a BIG flame and then usually goes out. =
Also drying the interior fills the vessel with CO2.... and soon the torch=
goes out from lack of oxygen in there .
I first saw the flame drying method in a workshop with Tashiko Takezu way=
back in the early 70's. She started a newspaper fire in the inside of a
big form and dried it so that she could continue working on it. She just=
kept feeding more newspaper in there to keep the fire at a steady burn. =
The piece was still flared open and big enough that oxygen could get to t=
he
paper. At that time it of course amazed us all. She also eventually set=
off the fire alarm in the building with the smoke .
Best,
..............................john
John Baymore
River Bend Pottery
22 Riverbend Way
Wilton, NH 03086 USA
603-654-2752 (s)
800-900-1110 (s)
JohnBaymore.com
JBaymore@compuserve.com
"DATES SET: Earth, Water, and Fire Noborigama Woodfiring Workshop Augu=
st
16-25, 2002"
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