Gregory's ServerAnd there we have it. One very small but distinctly ceramic pot. Not exactly pretty, but it's got the distinctive ceramic ring when tapped.
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10 comments
 I'm quite surprised that the kiln got up to those sort of temperatures given its size. At 10 bricks + a paving slab, it's the sort of thing you could fairly easily carry to the beach or some other isolated spot if you live in a flat and don't have access to a garden or yard (check your local laws to make sure you can do it legally, of course). Also, barbeque charcoal is cheap and easy to come by (maybe less so in winter admittedly). I completely forgot to post this. Last week I made a mug and fired it. Results: - Temperature got up to 1,400 °C, higher than the melting point of iron. Far too hot! @jsbarretto I mean you have a high-temperature probe already, go build a PID-controlled fan :P Over the week I made another mug. Much better formed. I fired it today and the results are quite pretty. Unfortunately I had very little charcoal left and I couldn't fire it for more than about 45 minutes, which is nowhere near long enough. It's since broken :( Also, not nearly enough glazing. Lessons have been learned, however! One of those lessons is to buy a better quality thermocouple that won't melt 350 °C below its rated temperature.  @Workshopshed Indeed, and the more air you can throw at it, the cleaner it burns: there was almost no (visible) smoke coming off the thing at all! |
Lessons for next time:
- Tongs and/or poking sticks are useful
- The longer it's in there, the better
- Good ventilation isn't enough, and blowing on it probably isn't healthy, figure out how to build bellows
- Actually convincing the thing to light is surprisingly difficult. It took sawdust, candle wax, and tree bark to finally get going. Figure out how to automate the process better (blowtorch? lighter blocks?)