Using a heat gun, it took 2-3 minutes to get this mug to soft leather-hard for trimming. It took 30 seconds to stiffen the handle for attachment afterward. I am now taking it to stiff leather-hard to prepare for glazing (left). Then I pour-glaze the inside and immediately push it lip-down into it to glaze the upper outside. I immediately gun it for a couple of minutes and then re-dip the outside bottom (up to the previous glaze boundary). Last, I gun it another 3 minutes and put it in the kiln for an hour at 250F for final water smoking. Finally, I fire 400F/hr to cone 6. The clay: Plainsman M370. The glaze: G3806C. The lesson: It is not the speed of drying; it is the evenness.
| Articles |
Drying Ceramics Without Cracks
Anything ceramic ware can be dried if it is done slowly and evenly enough. To dry faster optimize the body recipe, ware cross section, drying process and develop a good test to rate drying performance. |
| Glossary |
Once-Fire
The practice of once-firing ceramics (no bisque) to produce fully glazed products. Considerable technical expertise and good testing are required to make it work. This is not a shortcut to skipping bisque firing. |
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