And speaking of bisque and green glaze firing

In the past I have always pre-fired ware bound for smoke firing to either cone 015 or 014, either way just over 800oC. That way the burnishing survives. Higher than 850oC it starts to go.

Once bisqued you can smoke them in any old metal container with sawdust or paper etc. and all sorts of *interesting* additions!!!

Have fun

Steve Bath UK

In article , DKat writes

Perhaps I should try again. I know that I can fire my pots to cone 010 bisque and maintain the sheen (have done it). My problem is that I have a dozen pots that need fired to the bisque of 010. I have quite a few more that I would normally fire to 06. I'm thinking of firing them all to 010 and then for those I that I will glaze fire then glaze fire at a slow ramp around the bisque of 06 and then up to cone 6. Any ideas if this will avoid pinholes (by putting on a hold at around cone 04 or by doing a slow ramp to cone 04)?

Hi Should be OK but do your slow firing up to 06 and a bit beyond... You need to allow the crap to get out before the glaze starts to melt (otherwise it blocketh der holes..) Not forgetting that in a "normal" bisque crap is escaping (burning out) both on the way up and down so gently gently... Basically "suck it and see"... Good luck Hugs Eddie

Hi , I'm slightly puzzled about your burnished wares loosing their shine. I have always prepared burnished work for smoke or pit firing with an 'Orton' cone 06 firing and although the shine disappears the fine smooth finish remains; after pit/smoke firing I polish the pots with wax and the burnished apearance returns. Is the lower firing (cone

010 and there abouts) used to keep the body more open and recptive to flashing and smoke? As for bisque at lower than cone 06, I'm with Eddie on that one.

And let us know how this works!

I wont be doing the glaze firing for 6 months buy I will definitely report in the results (will be using Randy's Red, Weathered bronze, Floating Blue, generic satin white and Honey so there will be a wide range of glazes to check on how it works). I'm off to California and other parts of the world for a bit (one of the reasons I've decided to do both bisque fires together - no way to build up enough of both before leaving and I would have images of all sorts of disasters striking greenware...)

Thanks one and all! Be speaking to you from the sunny state.

Donna

I'm not quite sure who you are addressing this to, but in my experience biscuit firing at around 800 degrees C turns the work into biscuit pottery, while allowing the body to still be receptive to alteration by smoke etc. Granted body shine can be restored after a higher bisque by polishing, but clay fired to 06 is much less receptive to permanent changed by altering the atmosphere.

Steve Bath UK

In article , plodder writes

The pots keep their shine if not fired above cone 010. Of course the pitfire does not mature the clay any further than the bisque fire so you are left with pots that are more fragil than had they been bisqued fired higher. If it was a real pit fire (not bisqued first) it would be less mature so I guess 010 is a good compromise?

I tried the wax and didn't care for it and really do like the soft shine I get brushing on terra sig and then buffing with a soft rag. So many different ways to skin a cat (sorry roomies - getting evil stares from my felines).

I just saw a pit fire kiln made out of house bricks (basically a square box with 1/2 spacing between bricks for air). I'm looking forward to trying the idea out when I get back. Do you think the cement board they use for tiling would work as a lid?

Thanks Steve, that answers my puzzlement well. I don't often get the chance to do smoke/pit firings, but next time I do I shall have a go at the lower temps bisque.'cheers,Andy.

In my 'umble experience if you raw fire clay in a ground type kiln then it picks up colour well, whereas if you bisque it (bisquit Tee Hee) first then it doesn't pick up the colour so well.. Really it's a compromise (as usual with clay (pottery the art of compromise!!!)) between the look and the strength... I don't really like the "Wax polished afterwards" effect either... Maybe somewhere there's a matt wax poloish that does the job well.... Hugs Eddie

When I get back I will have to pick your brain on how to pit fire with greenware if you don't mind.

I posted a picture under alt.binaries.crafts (subject pitpot) to show the color range I got in the pit firing we did with the pots being bisqued to cone 010. Donna

Certainly, my dear... I'd be honoured Hugs Eddie

Lovely pots, my dear, lots of colours.... Hugs Eddie