 Tony Hansen's Thousand-Post TimeLineI am the creator of Digitalfire Insight, the Digitalfire Reference Database and Insight-live.com. ... more 
Want bright orange on your ware?Orange is a very difficult color in ceramics. Inclusion stains are the only reliable method and universally used in industry. But you could ignore that and try a bunch of recipes online, buying exotic materials to complete each one. Maybe one will be orange enough, but will it craze or run or ... more Context: Trafficking in Glaze Recipes, Encapsulated Stains Friday 10th May 2019 
When the cone does this I need to adjust the programThis is a cone 04. It is bent too much, the kiln has over-fired a little (cone 03 was also bent somewhat). The built-in firing schedule goes to 1945, that would be much more over-fired than this was (and the built-in ones do not soak, drop-and-soak or slow cool). It only takes a minute to edit the ... more Context: Programming a Bartlett Genesis kiln controller, Manually programming a Bartlett V6-CF hobby kiln controller, Firing Schedule Friday 10th May 2019 Fine tuning the amount of Darvan in a terra cotta slurryThis is slurry is made of 80% Redart and 20% KT1-4 ball clay. It has very good casting properties IF it is deflocculated well (smaller pieces can be cast in 10 minutes and extracted from the mold in another 10). However high-iron slurries are notorious for gelling, either right away during mixing or ... more Context: Deflocculation, Terra cotta Friday 10th May 2019 
Soda fired porcelain vessel by Heather LeppThis is a small cup-sized object made from Plainsman P600 (simply composed of Tile #6 kaolin, nepheline syenite and quartz). It is valued as a product-of-the-process piece, consigned to the "kiln God" as unglazed. It exhibits carbon-trap, soda glaze deposition and flashing. The soda-vapour ... more Context: Flashing, Carbon trap glazes Friday 10th May 2019 
Tin Oxide is expensive, do not waste itThis is a cone 04 glaze on a terra cotta body. Two 300-gram test batches were made. Both have 5% tin oxide added. The one on the left was high-speed propeller-mixed for 10 seconds on a closed container. That was not enough, small agglomerates appear as white specks floating in the glass. The one on ... more Context: Tin Oxide, Opacifier, Opacification Friday 10th May 2019 
Manually programming a Bartlett V6-CF hobby kiln controllerI document programs in my account at insight-live.com, then print them out and enter them into the controller. This controller can hold six, it calls them Users. The one I last edited is the one that runs when I press "Start". When I press the "Enter Program" button it asks which User: I key in "2" ... more Context: Electric Hobby Kilns: What You Need to Know, Why is the clay blistering on this figurine?, Programming a Bartlett Genesis kiln controller, When the cone does this I need to adjust the program, Low fire ware cracking during firing. Why?, Firing Schedule, Kiln Controller, Drop-and-Soak Firing, Manually program your kiln or suffer glaze defects!, Cone 6 Drop-and-Soak Firing Schedule Friday 10th May 2019 
Incredible Titanium Dioxide in a calcium matteThe glaze is G1214Z cone 6 base calcium matte. 5% titanium dioxide has been added. This Plainsman M390 tile was fired at cone 6 using the PLC6DS firing schedule. Titanium can create reactive glazes, like rutile, even with matte surfaces (provided the glaze has good melt fluidity). Calcium mattes ... more Context: Titanium Dioxide, G1214Z - Cone 6 Silky Matte, Reactive Glazes Wednesday 8th May 2019 
The difference propeller-mixing a glaze can makeThe glaze has 5% added titanium dioxide. These were fired at cone 6. The titanium in the one on the left remained agglomerated, it did not disperse in the slurry during hand mixing (the agglomerates can be seen as white particles floating in the glass). On high-speed propller-mixing the effect on ... more Context: Agglomeration, Propeller Mixer Wednesday 8th May 2019 M390 mug by Sarah PikeWowzers! These are actually hand-made, not thrown on the potter's wheel. You can see the vertical join by the handle as it rotates. Her's is a simple concept: A red clay (M390) with a thin application of partially opacified matte glaze. She flaunts a bare red clay base, polishing it. You can find her easily on Instagram and google. Context: Plainsman M390, Sarah Pike Wednesday 1st May 2019 
Titanium as an opacifierThis is a lithium glaze fired at cone 6. It has 6% titanium. This effect will also work in other types of transparent recipes. There should be more blue with slower cooling. Mixing some rutile in (e.g. 4 titanium, 2 rutile) should enhance also. 6% is pushing the edge of how much titanium should be ... more Context: Titanium Dioxide, Opacifier, Opacification Monday 29th April 2019 | Contact Us:Use the contact pages within or outside your account at Insight-Live.com 
Login to your online account Chemistry plus physics. The on-line successor to desktop Insight. Get an account for as little as $15. It does so much more. 
Still available for Mac, PC, Linux Interactive glaze chemistry calculations (legacy, no longer supported) What people have said about digitalfire• Keep up the fantastic work! • Thanks again for a thinking potter's website on glazes - working to take the guess work out of firing results! • I have only been involved with ceramics and glazing for about a year now, and I'm hungry for knowledge. The wealth of information you have on your site and in your products has just been great. • I Everyday visit your website http://digitalfire.com. Fantastic knowledge you have....thanks . • Thank you for your support, it is wonderful and appreciated. • I have had previous communication with you Tony, and want to say that you do a great job. Very informative. All of my former students are aware of your expertise. • You are so good for me. Find a stumbling stone and in a moment the path is easier. Click here to see all 191 What people have said about Insight-Live• I have had your wonderful software for a long time. Do not know what I would do without it. Have close to 200 glazes on it that I have test tiles for. It is wonderful. Happy firing. • Thanks so much this info is so great!! • THIS IS FRIGGIN' AMAZING! YAY! NOW I NEED GLAZE MATERIALS! WOOT! I'm blown away by your site. I'm totally going to geek out on this I can tell. Item #1 on my agenda is to stop being at everyone else's mercy for glazes. • I just want to say THANK YOU for this incredible database of information. Thank you, thank you, thank you! • You are due many complements on your site and software. I usually have your A - Z materials dictionary open in my web browser. • Looking at your website, I have no doubts that there is no other person that would be so dedicated to the subject as you. It is a fact that you have a truly unique knowledge of how things are done, the materials and chemistry being used in such processes. Frankly, I do not complement people and their work easily but you are one of a kind person with some divine dedication to the technology. There are very few people like you and that is a fact. I just spoke with several so-called ceramics, frits and glazes experts and I have to say that they had somewhat limited knowledge while you cover incredibly wide spectrum of all affairs involved in to working with all those great materials. • WOW, WOW, WHAT GREAT INFO! thankyou! I am going to pass your site on to someone i know who is more keen on the science of glazes, than the potting, unlike me... she will love your test works and pics Wow! Thanks again. Click here to see all 113 |
