I have a new Paragon Electric Kiln with a digital controler. I program it for cone #5 with a 10 minute hold for my glazing. What slower cooling rate than the normal cool down should I use to allow crystal glazes to work and help keep Greenware from cracking?

How many of you have raku or salt kilns? -- Stephanie Coleman

Hey guys there is some disagreement at my local potters group about how often kiln elements need replacing. In my own kiln I replaced them after about 150 firings. The kiln began to take longer and then began to struggle to reach temp even though none of the elements were broken. I would...

Hi everyone! I got a little top-loading kiln for my birthday (spoiled, I am!) and did my first firing to 1050 degrees C this weekend. It was a mixed bisque and glaze firing and went very well. I have a couple of questions, though: One of my pots was making little "crackling" sounds hours after...

My favorite wide base ceramic travel mug (I've used it daily for about 20 years) got bumped and is showing some cracks, so I fear it's not long for this world. http://home.comcast.net/~jwisnia18/temp/mug.jpg I really like it because I can use a microwave to heat the coffee in it, it's heavy...

Hi folks :-) Okay - I have been wondering how to fire a couple of pieces. When they are all put together, they will have surfaces that won't be touching the oven shelf, and I worry about slumping occurring. Especially one of the pieces just can not do that (a clock face). So, I was thinking -...

I'm thinking of creating a guitar body in clay and wonder if anyone has ever used wire screening inside of the clay for structural support. I fire to cone 7 and assume that the wire would likely melt but then solidfy when cooled. I would think that this might add some resistance to cracking over...

I am new to this forum and to earth clay and kilns. I have made some small masks about 1 1/2" x 1 3/4" and have bisqued fired them. They turned out really good with no cracks, etc. I am wanting to glaze them on both sides. They have two tubes on the back sides so a cord can be used for...

Hi everyone! I've been reading the post for some time and I have a question too. Has anyone ever made anything with copper inlay? How exactly would copper act in cone 6 glaze firing? I would greatly appreciate your advice or even a reference to where I can find more information on a...

Hi again! Okay - frustration has set in, and is not doing me any good. Centering is NOT like riding a bike! After months away from my wheel, centering has me completely bamboozled again. Not being able to center, is throwing me off center, if you know what I mean. The "right" music seems to help....

i mixed up some clay two weeks back - 50-50 of clay & saw dust chips. all cone 10 clays, a variety from porcelain to toothy sculpture clay body. i kept adding saw dust to the pug mill until the clay looked like wet cow pies. ~ then i stopped. i threw several pieces last weekend and while it...

I have this piece and do not know what the saying means, SI DY POMIS S I also would like to know if anyone else has seen something like this before and can give me information on it. It is difficult to find a marking due to the bottom. It appears to have one but I don't want to clean this too...

I have an old, very ornately painted (glazed) dinner bell my Mom made probably 70 years ago or more. When I was a kid, it had a beautiful ring to it but haven't heard it since. Currently it has a sad "tink" sound to it. The inside "dinger" is not glazed and I don't know how to tell if it's been...

I'm a relative novice at the wheel and to date have used studio and rented wheels (without lugs). I've just acquired my own new wheel and ordered it with lugs on it, thinking it must be more useful/efficient to sit bats on it this way than to have to make clay chucks to hold bats on. Having taken...

Ooh, I'd love to see them, too!

I am testing a liner recipe supplied by Linda Christianson on two clay bodies, Earthstone Crank by Scarva and Rustic Stoneware by Potterycrafts, both iron-bearing bodies; the oxide content is similar in make-up. The recipe is intended for wood firing and hence, I suspect, a long cooling, but I...

Ok mostly I make pottery, but sometimes I get inspired to try sculpture. I especially like using paperclay. I find it very difficult to sculpt eyes though. Having them closed is fine, but open is very difficult for me. I have done one just now with a young woman in a strapless gown, standing...

The handle broke off my favorite mug which is made from white clay. It's very hard for me to find a mug I like that's as big as I like, and this one will do until I find another. Trouble is the handle broke off and I use this thing for hot coffee (can't hold it without a handle). Can I use some...

Hello, I have been throwing for about a year, but I still have trouble pulling my clay up (throwing, right?). Sometimes, I end up with a ring that just comes off when I get to the top. Other times, usually when I am making tall objects, the clay doesnt seem to move up at all after a while. Then...

Hello, I've done almost all my work on the wheel before.. but now I want to make a piggy bank. Does anyone have some tips or some direction (such a an article, website, or book) that could be useful in constructing a piggy bank? Thanks..