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alternate firing methods

updated thu 24 feb 05

 

Emily Lees on tue 22 feb 05


Has anyone had any experience firing in a Weber grill or similar? What
sort of precautions do you need to take? I have a large deck, but my
property is wooded.

Mike Gordon on wed 23 feb 05


Emily,
I would have a hose near by, and put a piece of wonder board or cement
board under the weber, if you are going to fire it on your deck and
monitor it constantly, if you place is heavily wooded as mine is. All I
have ever done with mine is smoke firing already fired pots to darken
the surface. I also never get to use it for cooking again since I have
burned chemicals in it. I use sawdust, pine needles, redwood foliage.
It would be safer too put on the ground. Mike Gordon
On Feb 22, 2005, at 4:54 PM, Emily Lees wrote:

> Has anyone had any experience firing in a Weber grill or similar? What
> sort of precautions do you need to take? I have a large deck, but my
> property is wooded.
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
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> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
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> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
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Mark Tigges on wed 23 feb 05


On Wed, Feb 23, 2005 at 09:19:27AM -0800, Mike Gordon wrote:
> Emily,
> I would have a hose near by, and put a piece of wonder board or cement
> board under the weber, if you are going to fire it on your deck and
> monitor it constantly, if you place is heavily wooded as mine is. All I
> have ever done with mine is smoke firing already fired pots to darken
> the surface. I also never get to use it for cooking again since I have
> burned chemicals in it. I use sawdust, pine needles, redwood foliage.
> It would be safer too put on the ground. Mike Gordon
>

Why sacrifice a perfectly good barbecue for smoke firing? I just
build a small kiln out of brick, and fill it with pots and sawdust.
You can do this virtually anywhere in perfect safety. Just let the
sawdust smolder. I did one on the weekend with three pots, they
turned out beautifully, but I haven't taken pictures yet.

Mark.

> On Feb 22, 2005, at 4:54 PM, Emily Lees wrote:
>
> >Has anyone had any experience firing in a Weber grill or similar? What
> >sort of precautions do you need to take? I have a large deck, but my
> >property is wooded.
> >
> >_______________________________________________________________________
> >_______
> >Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
> >
> >You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> >settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
> >
> >Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> >melpots@pclink.com.
> >
>
> ______________________________________________________________________________
> Send postings to clayart@lsv.ceramics.org
>
> You may look at the archives for the list or change your subscription
> settings from http://www.ceramics.org/clayart/
>
> Moderator of the list is Mel Jacobson who may be reached at
> melpots@pclink.com.

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bonnie staffel on wed 23 feb 05


Hi, I have done pit firing in a large Weber Grille. (caution here is to
never use it for food preparation again) and I had great success getting
color, patterns, etc., from the copper and salt included in the firing. To
get results, you need a good hot fire going. I would suggest that you do
not use it on a wooden deck. Any pit firing should be done in a clearing,
driveway, or a concrete pad so that sparks, etc., will not set anything on
fire. I put the lid on the grille partially, leaving an opening so that I
could feed the sticks into the fire which kept things under control. There
isn't much in the way of smoke, just flames that are vigorous, depending
upon how fast your wood burns.

If you have further questions, write me off list and I will be glad to
answer.

Regards,

Bonnie Staffel
http://webpages.charter.net/bstaffel/
http://vasefinder.com/bstaffelgallery1.html
Charter Member Potters Council