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firing electric to cone 10

updated fri 8 apr 05

 

Louis Katz on wed 6 apr 05


I think the question here should be, " what can you do at Cone 6 that
you can't at cone 10?"


On Apr 6, 2005, at 3:20 PM, John Hesselberth wrote:

> On Apr 6, 2005, at 12:07 PM, Sam Hoffman wrote:
>
>> Show me a true cone 6 oilspot, and I'll switch my firing range
>
> Hi Sam,
>
> I just might hold you to this. I am working on it and am close. Not
> there yet, but maybe.
>
> I don't disagree that there are a few things where cone 10 produces
> results that can't be achieved at 6, but the list is a lot shorter than
> most people realize and it gets shorter every year. We are still
> learning about cone 6. The gap is definitly narrowing.
>
> Regards,
>
> John
>
> John Hesselberth
> http://www.frogpondpottery.com
> http://www.masteringglazes.com
>
> _______________________________________________________________________
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>
Louis Katz
Flamin Pipe Organ (needs Quicktime and high speed acess):
http://www.tamucc.edu/~lkatz/cs/

Sam Hoffman on wed 6 apr 05


Hi John-

Show me a true cone 6 oilspot, and I'll switch my firing range. It is
true that a lot of high fire glazes can be reproduced, but there are
many effects that have to be cone 9 or higher. I like the cone 6-8
macrocrystalline glazes, but they are not quite as spectacular as those
fired slightly hotter. Translucent porcelain just gets better with
more heat.
The cone 6 range is exciting and the work that you and Ron are doing
is phenomenal. But there there are some cases where hotter is better.
Many potters are doing exciting work at cone 10 that is NOT simply a
matter of tradition. With fuel at a premium, it is critical that
potters not be wasteful, and lowering the firing range is a great way
to increase efficiency. But some clays and glazes are simply meant to
be fired HOT!

Willing to burn the midnight oil,

Sam

S.L. Hoffman Pottery
Corvallis, Oregon
www.samhoffman.com


On Apr 5, 2005, at 5:44 AM, John Hesselberth wrote:

> Hi Claudia,
>
> It is mainly a matter of element life. While your kiln will get to cone
> 10 the element life will probably be half or less than it will be at
> cone 6. Someone may have some better numbers than this estimate, but it
> will be much shorter so factor that into your thinking.
>
> The question I have is why do you want to fire to cone 10? There is
> very little that can be done at cone 10 that can't be done at cone 6 in
> an electric kiln. Firing to cone 10 might be important for macro
> crystalline glazes, but I know people firing these glazes at cones 6-8.
>
> Firing to cone 10 is mostly a matter of tradition. It was necessary to
> get a good melt if you didn't want to use lead or zinc and before boron
> became available at a reasonable price.
>
> Even some potters who fire with gas are dropping to cone 6 these days.
> My prediction is that more will convert to cone 6 every year.
>
> Regards,
>
> John
>
> On Apr 5, 2005, at 1:27 AM, Claudia MacPhee wrote:
>
>> Hello All, Is there any consensus on firing an electric kiln to cone
>> 10 if
>> the kiln is rated for it?
> John Hesselberth
> http://www.frogpondpottery.com
> http://www.masteringglazes.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.
>

John Hesselberth on wed 6 apr 05


On Apr 6, 2005, at 12:07 PM, Sam Hoffman wrote:

> Show me a true cone 6 oilspot, and I'll switch my firing range

Hi Sam,

I just might hold you to this. I am working on it and am close. Not
there yet, but maybe.

I don't disagree that there are a few things where cone 10 produces
results that can't be achieved at 6, but the list is a lot shorter than
most people realize and it gets shorter every year. We are still
learning about cone 6. The gap is definitly narrowing.

Regards,

John

John Hesselberth
http://www.frogpondpottery.com
http://www.masteringglazes.com

Darin Lang on thu 7 apr 05


On Apr 6, 2005, at 7:28 PM, Louis Katz wrote:

> I think the question here should be, " what can you do at Cone 6 that
> you can't at cone 10?"

So for more information about Cone 6, where would I go?
I have heard the name of a book "Cone 6 Glazes" bandied about here. Is
that the most up to date resource? Are there others? I am trying to
figure out how to set up my studio, I have a cone 6 kiln.